Passport to Texas

Overnight tent camping at Lost Maples State Natural Area.

TPW Magazine--Taking the "Tense" Out of Tent Camping Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

This is Passport to Texas

Does the thought of tent camping at a state park give you anxiety? An article in the October issue of Texas Parks and Wildlife magazine may help quell your fears.

Writer and avid tent camper, Wendel Withrow, addresses ten of the most common anxieties people have when it comes to overnight tent camping and how to overcome them.

Anxiety about the unknown is something a we all face. Address it by getting to know the park. Start with one that’s close to home, and spend the day, exploring—particularly the camping loops. Get a feel for where you and fellow campers will pitch your tents and spend the night.

Willingly trading in your pillow-top mattress for a sleeping bag on the floor of a tent may seem mad. Tent camping doesn’t have to be unpleasant. Gear like ultra-plush sleeping pads and bags stuffed with soft down or synthetic insulation will keep you off the ground and comfy.

If you’re concerned you won’t sleep because of worry about wildlife roaming the park in the dead of night, know that they’re not interested in you. Although, keeping your provisions and waste away from your tents and securely stowed will ensure they’ll give you a wide berth. Although, mosquitoes are another story.

The Oct. issue of Texas Parks and Wildlife magazine with the article on overcoming tent camping fear is on newsstands now.

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

TPW Magazine--Invasion of the Body Snatchers Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

This is Passport to Texas

If you don’t believe zombies are real, then read Nathan Adams’ article in the October issue of Texas Parks and Wildlife magazine; it’s sure to change your mind.

Adams writes: Texas is home to three known “zombie parasites,” creatures that attack and infect their animal hosts. But these zombies don’t want to eat brains — at least not at first. They want to control them.

These parasites have figured out how to bypass the immune system and interface directly with the host brain. They manage to get the host to do things that are bad for the host, but good for the parasite.

The parasites aren’t the zombies – they are zombie-makers. Read about the bizarre tale of the crypt-keeper wasp, which is the parasite of the gall wasp—which is a parasite of oak trees. It’ll blow your mind—like it does the gall wasp.

There’s also a fluke worm that lives its life using three different hosts: a snail, a fish and a bird. How it does that will leave you slack jawed.

Finally Nathan Adams writes about the phorid fly—which actually isn’t so bad. It parasitizes fire ants, causing them to lose all perspective and purpose. Which is good news for native ant species.

Find all the ghoulish details in Nathan Adams’ article Invasion of the Body Snatchers, in the October issue of Texas parks and Wildlife magazine. On Newsstands now.

We receive support from RAM Trucks. Built to serve.

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

Famous Texas Trees in Texas State parks.

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This is Passport to Texas

American poet Joyce Kilmer could have been thinking about Texas’ legacy trees when he wrote: I think that I shall never see a poem lovely as a tree.

Read about these natural marvels in an article by Russell Roe, called Silent Sentinels: The legendary trees of our state parks tell the story of Texas. Find it in the August/September issue of Texas Parks and Wildlife magazine.

In it, Roe writes: “Our Texas state parks contain many remarkable trees. Four of them have risen to such a level of historical importance that they have been included on the Texas A & M Forest Service’s Famous Trees of Texas Registry.”

These include: The La Bahía Pecan, at what is now Washington-on-the-Brazos State Historic Site. It bore witness to the birth of Texas.

The Goliad Anacua tree has kept watch over Goliad’s Mission Espíritu Santo, and stands near the entrance to the chapel.

The Goose Island Big Tree in Rockport is a long-lived live oak that’s survived for more than a thousand years. Found at Goose Island State Park.

And rising 103 feet into the air, a cypress named Old Baldy stands as a stately beauty along Austin’s Onion Creek in McKinney Falls State Park.

Read about these and other legacy trees in Texas in the August/September issue of Texas Parks and Wildlife Magazine. On Newsstands now.

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

Bouldering at Hueco Tanks State Park. Image: Brandon Jakobeit.

TPW Magazine - Hueco Rock Rodeo Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

This is Passport to Texas

The January 2018 issue of Texas Parks and Wildlife magazine, features a story about the Hueco Rock Rodeo by Russell Roe.

The Hueco Tanks Rock Rodeo is a bouldering competition they hold every year at Hueco Tanks State Park outside El Paso. And it is the top bouldering competition in the nation, if not the world.

During four days in February, competitors cling to and climb boulders and small cliffs using nothing but their hands and feet.

Bouldering may lack the drama of scaling a high peak. The climbers are drawn to it because of the purity of the climbing and the powerful, graceful moves required, and the mental challenge of finding the best way to the top.

Climbers spot… and cheer on one another. Some climbs find competitors seemingly defying gravity.

At Hueco Tanks, they’re really kind of finding the steepest thing they can climb. Which is often the roof of a cave. They’re moving horizontally across the ground—holding on by their feet and their hands. And, it goers seem like it defies gravity.

Look for Russell Roe’s Hueco Rock Rodeo story in the January issue of Texas Parks and Wildlife Magazine.

The history of Hueco Tanks, concerning bouldering, is so rich. And this competition celebrates bouldering and celebrates Hueco Tanks’ history, and the development of that sport.

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

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

Texas Water Safari. Image: TPW TV Series

TPW Magazine - Featuring Epic Texas Challenges Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

This is Passport to Texas

Expect months of action-packed stories in Texas Parks and Wildlife magazine.

We have chosen as our theme for 2018: the year of epic Texas challenges.

Editor, Louie Bond. And just what are epic Texas challenges?

The biggest. The best. The most. The fastest. Whatever hyperbole you can come up with… You know, Texans love to brag [good natured] and challenge each other. So. We’re going to play on that Texas spirit all year long.

Louie said the challenges align with the Texas Parks and Wildlife mission.

We thought about all of the things that we love to write about in the magazine, and we started looking at all the events that happen in Texas. We figured there was no way to make it all match up month-for-month with our publication. But you know the magic that happens. We found all the different categories and were able to place one in each month of the magazine. So, it just worked out perfectly.

In 2018, readers will paddle to the coast during the Texas Water Safari, bag big deer at the Muy Grande deer contest, push personal limits during the Howl at the Moon Relay, and hang on for dear life at the Hueco Tanks Rock Rodeo and more.

One thing readers might like to know is that if one particular month doesn’t please them—each month is totally different. So, I hope that they hang on for an issue that piques their curiosity.

The latest issue of Texas Parks and Wildlife magazine is on newsstands now.

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

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