Passport to Texas

Muy Grande Deer Contest, Image: https://muygrandevillage.com/

TPW Magazine - The Buck Stops Here Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

This is Passport to Texas

The excitement mounts as hunters across Texas await the November 3rd deer season opener.

None are more eager than those who plan to participate in the annual Muy Grande Deer Contest–the granddaddy of all deer hunting contests. Read about it in an article by John Goodspeed, in the November issue of Texas Parks and Wildlife Magazine.

Goodspeed captures the thrills and disappointments of the final day of the competition–the last day of deer season. Hunters continue to vie for dominance in multiple categories until the final hour. They agonize as they watch their rankings rise and fall on the leader board.

Leonel Garza founded the contest in 1965. Operating out of his family’s gas station and convenience store in Freer in South Texas, Garza started Muy Grande to celebrate the bounty and quality of white-tailed deer in his region. He says South Texas Deer are as wide as the Rio Grande and as big as the state of Texas.

The contest and Mr. Garza have been honored at the Texas State Capital contributions to whitetail conservation, deer management, and major economic contributions to the state of Texas and South Texas.

Catch the excitement when you read John Goodspeed’s article on the Muy Grande Deer Contest in the November issue of Texas parks and Wildlife magazine. On Newsstands now.

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For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti.

Tony Amos. Image: Earl Nottingham, TPWD.

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This is Passport to Texas

Shortly after Anthony “Tony” Amos joined the University of Texas Marine Science Institute in Port Aransas in 1976, he began patrolling a seven-mile stretch of beach every other day.

That’s how Melissa Gaskill begins her article for the July issue of Texas Parks and Wildlife magazine; it’s a tribute to Tony Amos, a man who lived and shared his passion for the understanding and conservation of marine life.

He passed away in September of 2017, but his legacy lives on among those who knew him and worked with him. Melissa writes: One of Amos’s best-known achievements is the Animal Rehabilitation Keep, or ARK, which came about somewhat by accident.

He came across oiled birds and sea turtles on his beach patrols after a 1979 oil spill in Mexico’s Bay of Campeche, and brought them to the MSI campus… building shelters for the birds and putting the sea turtles in unused tanks.

That ad hoc effort grew into a thriving marine wildlife rehabilitation facility with a sea turtle building and outdoor bird enclosures. The MSI renamed it the Amos Rehabilitation Keep in August, 2016.

Read Melissa Gaskill’s story about Tony Amos’ life and legacy in the words of those who knew him, in the July issue of Texas Parks and Wildlife Magazine. On newsstands now.

We receive support from RAM Truck: built to serve.

For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti.

The calm before the storm?

TPW Magazine--Texas Water Safari Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

This is Passport to Texas

This Saturday, June 9th, the 56th Annual Texas Water Safari gets underway. Known as the World’s Toughest Canoe Race, individuals and teams of paddlers endure the grueling non-stop, 262 mile trip from San Marcos to Seadrift.

Read a nail-biting account of the trek written by adventurer, Russell Roe, for the June issue of Texas Parks and Wildlife magazine. It’s another installment of the magazine’s year of Epic Texas Adventures.

Roe captures the spirit of the event as he follows novices and seasoned veterans alike, as they wipe out at rapids and lose all their gear, negotiate log jams, suffer blazing heat, oppressive humidity, the indignity of biting insects.

These intrepid souls paddle on, despite the dark of night, losing their way, and the weight of exhaustion that descends on them all. Paddlers have a 100 hour time frame to reach their destination.

What’s even more remarkable is there’s no big cash prize at the end of the race. Just memories and bragging rights. Talk about an epic adventure.

Read this thrilling story called Epic Texas Challenge — Texas Water Safari by Russell Roe in the June issue of Texas Parks and Wildlife magazine. On Newsstands now.

That’s our show…. brought to you in part by Ram trucks: built to serve.

For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti.

Surf’s up in Corpus Christi. Image from http://www.visitcorpuschristitx.org

TPW Magazine: Texas Surfing Championships Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

This is Passport to Texas

While you won’t find world-class waves along Texas’ 367 miles of coastline, you will find a legion of surfing enthusiasts engaging the sport with almost cult-like fanaticism.

And in the May issue of Texas Parks and Wildlife magazine writer, Dave Brown, introduces readers to competitive surfers, in his article: Epic Texas Challenge — Texas Surfing Championships.

Brown puts readers in the middle of the action at the Texas Gulf Surfing Association State Surfing Championships, held each spring at Bob Hall Pier in Corpus Christi.

In the article, we meet surfers, including nine-year-old Keagan Sohls who won the state champion titles in both the Menehune and Micro-Grom divisions. And longtime surfer, Brett Hopkins, who is a grandfather.

Brown writes: There weren’t many surfers in Texas before 1960, but by 1965 that changed. Perhaps due to the Beach Boys romanticizing the sport.

Whet your appetite for surfing with Dave Brown’s article: Epic Texas Challenge — Texas Surfing Championships in the May issue of Texas Parks and Wildlife magazine.

That’s our show…. brought to you in part by Ram trucks: built to serve.

For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti.

Bass fishing partners.

TPW Magazine: Epic Texas Challenge: Angler vs. Fish Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

This is Passport to Texas

Throughout 2018, Texas Parks and Wildlife Magazine is highlighting epic Texas challenges. In the April issue: Angler versus Fish. Largemouth Bass, to be exact.

The article, by Randy Brudnicki, takes readers on a journey through time, starting with a competition in 1955 that was the precursor of the Texas State Bass Tournament.

This year’s tournament is April 28 & 29 at Toledo Bend Reservoir.

Brudnicki asks and answers the question: what makes this tournament epic. He writes that perhaps it’s a combination of elements such as a storied history, unpredictable weather, venue vagaries and a high level of fierce competition.

Part competition, part reunion and part angler fellowship, the Texas State Bass Tournament has kept the man vs. fish vs. man challenge alive for 63 years.

The tournament includes divisions for mixed adult/child teams, senior teams, high school teams, adult teams and individual teams. Competitors range in age from 8 to 80.

Read about the trials and triumphs from past tournaments in Epic Texas Challenge: Angler vs. Fish in the April issue of Texas Parks and Wildlife Magazine.

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For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti.