Passport to Texas

Passport to Texas from Texas Parks and Wildlife

Sometimes beauty is best viewed from a distant vantage point. The April issue of Texas Parks and Wildlife magazine highlights five of the best sky high views of the state. Associate publisher, Charles Lohrmann…

Photographer Laurence Parent and writer Wendee Holtcamp are describing five of the best views in the entire state of Texas. And most of the top five views they chose are in West Texas.

The westernmost if the Wyler Tramway at the Franklin Mountains SP. The view is from the top of Ranger Peak. And it’s about 56-hundred feet. You can see New Mexico to the West. The entire city of El Paso…and across the Rio Grande to Ciudad Juarez.

And not too far away is Guadalupe Peak, which is the highest point in the entire state. Then, also within range of that is McDonald Observatory, which is on Mount Locke. And, then the unique aspect of the famous view from McDonald Observatory is into the night sky, of course.

And then a sentimental favorite view is Enchanted Rock, which is only 18-hundred and 25-feet, but it’s a view that many Texans enjoy.

And one manmade view on the list is the San Jacinto Monument, which is the most eastern view. So, once you take a look at the April issue, you can make your own checklist of the best views, and then write us with your view of the Lone Star State.

Thanks Charles.

That’s our show…For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti

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Passport to Texas from Texas Parks and Wildlife and the Sport Fish and Wildlife Restoration Program

The March issue of the Texas Parks and Wildlife Magazine is on newsstands now. And in it you’ll find an article by Jim Blackburn – an environmental attorney and planner from Houston — who writes about one of his more memorable kayaking experiences along the Texas coast.

We were out on Bolivar flats in our kayaks, and there were literally thousands of avocets, which are gorgeous black and white birds with sort of a brownish neck and sort of an upturned bill. They’re wading birds, probably about fourteen-sixteen inches in height. There were literally thousands of them, and they would sort of just rise and fall in a mass. Just the patterns that threes birds made, were just incredible to see. And I’ve just never seen that many avocets in one place.

When you’re on a kayak, says Blackburn, you can get closer to nature than you ever thought possible.

I oftentimes take my kayak to the rookery islands to see the large fish-eating birds – the herons…the egrets… going through their breeding rituals… and then later in the spring raising their young. And those are really, really nice experiences.

Download a Canoing and Kayaking resource guide.

That’s our show… made possible by the Sport Fish and Wildlife Restoration Program… helping to fund the operations and management of more than 50 wildlife management areas.

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

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