Passport to Texas

Sheryl Smith-Rodgers topaz hunting. Photo courtesy

TPW Magazine: Hunting for Blue Topaz Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

How about going hunting on your next long weekend–hunting for Texas blue topaz, that is.

05- Mason County is the only place where this particular gem is found.

Sheryl Smith-Rodgers, http://www.sherylsmithrodgers.com/, wrote about Texas Blue Topaz in the October issue of Texas Parks and Wildlife magazine.

22-Texas blue topaz is our state gem. It was designated as that in 1969; and I guess I’d read about it through the years. And just decided that it would be cool to experience topaz hunting. There are three ranches there in the county that charge a daily fee. But you can go in and hunt for it.

She set out one weekend to explore the town of Mason, and to hunt for the state gem. She thought she’d find one.

04-I was determined to, but never happened.

Texas Blue Topaz may have eluded her, but Smith-Rodgers says small town hospitality did not.

19-People are so nice in Mason County; they have a lot of nice restaurant and you still get the feel of a small town. We stayed at a B&B right on the square, across from the courthouse. We went to see a movie–they have an old time movie theater. It’s a great place just to get away for the weekend.

Sheryl Smith-Rodgers’ article on hunting for Texas blue topaz is in the October issue of Texas Parks and Wildlife magazine.

That’s our show for today. Funding provided in part by Ram Trucks. Guts. Glory. Ram

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

Spindletop-Gladys City Boomtown Museum. Photo by Richard Nowitz.

TPW Magazine: Exploring Beaumont, Texas Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Beaumont never seemed like a destination to me. Yet, after reading Sheryl Smith-Rodgers’ article about it in the December issue of TPW Magazine, I’ve reconsidered.

05— I guess I was surprised that there are many museums there.

There’s the Spindletop-Gladys City Boomtown Museum, the Energy Museum, the Fire Museum, the Art Museum of SE Texas, the McFaddin-WardHouse Historic Museum and many others. Plus, there’s good grub.

10 – They have Cajun there since they’re so close to the Louisiana border; Cajun food’s real big there. Seafood – being so close to the Gulf – they have really great seafood.

They have nature, too, and a lot of it, including the Cattail Marsh, a 600-acre manmade wetlands.

30 – It was constructed to treat the effluent from the city’s wastewater treatment plant. But it’s also become a hotspot for birders. They’ve got more than 240 listed bird species there. And, when I was there visiting, just during the course of maybe an hour, it was amazing how many birds that we saw. There’s alligators that have migrated over from the bayou into these wetlands. It’s just a really cool place.

Beaumont. Who knew? Learn more about this town with a little something extra when you read Sheryl Smith-Rodgers Three Days in the Field article called Mixing Oil and Water, in the December issue of Texas Parks and Wildlife magazine.

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