We decided to extend our time to include not only the book talk in Alpine but also several days to take in as much as possible of the beautiful sights and historical remains in Big Bend. Greg and Jennifer had never visited the park and this would be only my second trip. The first one was in 2004 when Ron, my husband, and I discovered many photos and articles about my grandfather, Jim Landrum, and my mother, Mary Susan Landrum, in the Big Bend Archives at Sul Ross. This time, my husband, Ron, decided to stay in Houston because of his business.
We rented a Chevrolet Tahoe SUV and drove over eight hours from Houston to Marathon in West Texas. It's seventy miles to the Big Bend from the Marathon/Alpine/Marfa area. Arriving in Marathon, we checked into the historic Gage Hotel and settled in to get our bearings and make plans for the Artwalk in Alpine the next day.
The next morning was cool and crisp as we headed to Alpine for breakfast. The events of the day included an Art Car Parade which featured lots of cars of many different themes and colors. Visitors with various license plates began arriving. The eclectic crowd came from all walks of life with different interests and hobbies. We noticed campers, motorcyclists, travelers in SUVs and bicycles. Authentic Alpine volunteers manned the booths selling home-cooked West Texas fare like chili, barbecue, and tamales. Also, in the crowd were hippies and cowboy wannabes all decked out in jeans, cowboy shirts and hats. The true working ranch cowboys were easily noticed by their sunburned faces, hats that had seen better days, and scuffed boots covered with West Texas dust.
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| Entering Front Street Books |
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| With my son, Greg, outside Front Street Books |
Entering Front Street Books, we noticed the steady stream of customers eager to buy books featured in the evening’s program. Julie, one of the knowledgeable staff employed by Jean Hardy, the owner of Front Street Books welcomed us. She patiently reviewed the plans for the evening.
An eager crowd interested in historical books about the Big Bend and the surrounding area gathered for our presentations that night. I was thrilled with everyone’s interest in my grandfather’s handwritten letters that are the essence of my first book. A lively discussion with questions and answers followed. Then three other authors gave informative presentations about their books. All the books revealed many significant characters that lived in the area at different times in history. Other authors featured were Don Cadden (Tied Hard and Fast: Apache Adams – Big Bend Cowboy); A. Z. Hayes (The Last Peace Officer); and Mike Cox (West Texas Tales and Big Bend Tales).
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| A.Z. Hayes, Don Cadden & Mike Cox |
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| Lively Discussion among Guests |
We were looking forward to Monday to finally visit the Big Bend. When Monday arrived, the three of us were in the SUV early to make our way to Big Bend, seventy miles south. Our first stop was at the famous Hallie Stillwell Store and Museum. I was elated to meet Nannette Patton, Hallie Stillwell’s granddaughter and manager of the Hallie Stillwell Store and Museum. The famous Hallie Stillewell, Nannette’s grandmother, was one of Mother’s dear friends and lived to be 99. Nannette used a stamp with Hallie Stillwell's signature to autograph one of Hallie's books I had brought. In return, I gave her a signed copy of my book. After a while, we said our good-byes.
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| Visiting with Nannette Patton |
Entering the park we were relieved that my lifetime national park pass could get all of us into the park at no charge. We headed toward the Panther Junction Ranger Station. The sights were wonderful along the way. Cactus, century plants, ocotillo, creosote bush and lechugilla were spotted as we made our way to our first stop, the ranger station at Panther Junction. Surprisingly, we saw a javelina along the roadside and snapped a photo as he quickly scrambled out of sight in the desert brush. Later in the trip, we spotted a hawk, a small herd of cattle, and a few wild horses.
Upon arriving at Panther Junction, the amazing Casa Grande rising abruptly to the sky directly behind the restaurant mesmerized us.
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| Casa Grande |
As we were seated for lunch, we turned and in front of us was a fabulous view of the Window, a space between two mountain peaks through which you can see for miles into the Chisos Basin. After lunch, we hiked on one of the designated trails for a better view of the Window.
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| The Window |
A highlight of the trip was our visit to Mount Locke, home of the famous McDonald Observatories, where we enjoyed a guided tour through the observatories. While inside one of the three dome shaped buildings, we were instructed how to manipulate a control device and with one flip of a switch, the telescope moved in several different directions. I moved the observatory’s dome so the window would be in the right position through which the telescopic lens would view the stars. A feeling of power came over me as I turned on that switch. What a thrill! We also looked at the sun in real time and with the aid of a computer receiving the information from one of the powerful telescopes.
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| Telescope at McDonald Observatories |
It’s true, “The stars at night are big and bright … deep in the heart of Texas.” We drove to Terlingua Ghost Town and Study Butte and found our lodging at La Posada Milagro high on a ridge overlooking miles of the surrounding area. The night time sky lights up with a gazillion stars which are actually suns in the vast universe. The Milky Way was so clearly visible that it looked as though a huge patch of bright pixie dust had been strewn across the sky. It reminded me of how powerful the Lord is to have made such a vast outer space and beyond.
Don Staton, our tour guide with Big Bend Overland Tours out of Terlingua Ghost Town took us on a fantastic 10 hour trip through Big Bend. At Glenn Springs, we found the remains of the school my mother attended in 1926, 500 yds. to the north of the remains of what was probably a cattle dipping station.
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| Remains of Glenn Springs School |
We saw lots of artifacts and it was hard to not yield to temptation and bring all of them home with us. Of course, that is not allowed in the park.
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| Greg looking at some Glenn Springs Artifacts |
Don, our guide, pointed out where the US soldiers had placed their weapons on a hill to defend the area.
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| Jennifer, Greg and our guide, Don |
A visit to La Noria and Ernst Tinaja was exciting because I'm almost sure we found the remains of the trading post, once called the Ernst Big Tinaja Trading Post, where my grandfather was manager after Judge Ernst's murder in the early 1900s.
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| Remnants of an Old Well at La Noria |
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| Me at Ernst Tinaja |
The remains were outlined in stone indicating the two rooms of the store and surrounding rocks which could have been a wall to keep out sheep and goats, etc.
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| Remains of the Ernst Store |
We picnicked at Hot Springs and viewed what's left of the lodge. At Panther Junction Station, we arrived just five minutes before closing. Luckily, I met Mike Boren, Executive Director of Big Bend Natural History Association. He invited me to present my book at the February Panther Junction Pioneer Days. Hmmm, another trip to the Big Bend perhaps?
On our way home, we went south from Terlingua to Santa Elena Canyon and had a great time taking more photos and hiking up to the scenic lookout.
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| Ready to Hike! Greg, me and Jennifer |
A border patrol helicopter checking out the area flew over us while we were visiting that canyon.
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| U.S. Border Patrol Helicopter over Santa Elena Canyon |
After lunch at Lajitas, we drove through the scenic Big Bend Ranch State Park and then on to Presidio. Further north we observed a drone keeping an eye on things in that area. In Marfa, we enjoyed a restful overnight stay at the beautiful Paisano Hotel. Early Thanksgiving morning we headed home taking I 10 east through Loop 1604 around San Antonio. We certainly broke with tradition when we had hamburgers for Thanksgiving lunch at a Whataburger on the north side of San Antonio on our way home. It tasted almost as good as a turkey dinner since we were famished.
All in all, the trip was very exciting. What a wonderful mix of emotions as we found significant remains of buildings in which our ancestors once lived and where my mother, Mary Susan Landrum, went to school. Best of all, it was a joy for me to experience a stronger bond with my kids. We were together for seven days as we traveled through the wild, exciting Big Bend of Texas searching for more family history.
