West Texas, Steinway Pianos, & the Explorers Club by Matthew A. Nelson
West Texas, Steinway Pianos, & The Explorers Club by Matthew A. Nelson 1 West Texas, Piano, Explorers Club Matthew A. Nelson West Texas, Steinway Pianos, & The Explorers Club by Matthew A. Nelson Part 1: West Texas Prelude – September, 2004 April 2005 Explorers Club Program in Alpine “You may have been to the Chisos Mountains, Lajitas and Santa Elena Canyon in the lower Big Bend, but have you been to Sierra Vieja, Ruidosa and Candelaria in the upper Big Bend? How about Vieja Pass, Camp Holland, the O2 Ranch, the Chinati Hot Springs, Pinto Canyon, and the Rio Grande Rift Valley? The upper Big Bend is the target of our April 15-17, 2005 spring program, and will be based in salubrious Alpine in Far West Texas, which boasts one of the most comfortable climates in the state. At an altitude of 4,481 feet, the April daytime temperatures are typically in the high 70s to very low 80s. Our hosts will be Sul Ross University and the Museum of the Big Bend. Our evening speakers will feature geologist Jay Quade of the University of Arizona, and Richard Fisher, Director of Wilderness Expeditions, both of Tucson, specialists in worldwide studies of rift valleys and canyons respectively. Our field trip guides will be archeologist Bob Mallouf, Director of the Center for Big Bend Studies, upper Big Bend historian Glenn Justice, Jeff Francell with the Texas Chapter of the Audubon Society, and Jon Kalb, research fellow with the University of Texas. Both “heavy duty” and “light duty” field trips will be offered: an over night trip to the Rio Grand Rift; tours of prehistoric and historic sites; a birding excursion to the Davis Mountains; a “star party” at McDonald Observatory; tours of the Donald Judd home and the Chinati Art Museum in Marfa; tour of World War II Camp Russell in Marfa; the Shafter ghost town; forts built on the Cibolo Creek Ranch by Milton Faver near Shafter; and the Chihuahuan Desert Nature Center and Botanical Gardens near Fort Davis.
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