Texas Pecos Trail Region Newsletter August 2015 TPTR Mission The Texas Pecos Trail Region develops and promotes heritage preservation and tourism throughout the richly diverse West Texas area. Inside this Issue: Pecos Trail Partners Event— 1 McCamey Pecos Trail Partners Event — McCamey TPTR Partners Event, Cont’d 2 The Texas Pecos Trail Region held our bi-monthly Partners Event on Travel Itinerary: 2 Natural Wonders July 16 in McCamey TX at the Santa Fe Depot and Park. Board members and guests from Brackettville, McCamey, Midland, Monahans, Rankin, and State Fair of Texas 3 Sonora attended. Heart of Texas-West 3 The group carpooled from the depot to downtown McCamey to visit Map Release Party the new Veterans Memorial, which features two large curving walls with Preservation Spotlight: 3 the names of local veterans, an eternal flame, and a large open space. Carmelite Monastery Everyone then trekked across the street to a florist/gift shop and drove a Aug Calendar of Events 4 couple of blocks further to see the Girl Scout Hut, a 1940 rock building and Contact Information 4 one of McCamey’s historic landmarks. The group returned to the depot to tour the Mendoza Trail Museum and the 1915 Adrian House. The board of directors and executive director discussed the recent TPTR Board of Directors billboard campaign, upcoming promotions, funding needs, and the Bill Hodges (Chair) participation agreement moving forward with the THC. Ellen Crossland of Sonora Main Street, Sonora McCamey was voted as the new Vice Chair of TPTR. Two small heritage Ellen Crossland (Vice Chair) Mendoza Trail Museum, McCamey tourism grants were awarded to the Friends of the Fort Clark Historic District and the George W. Bush Childhood Home. Guest were also given Peggy Kelton (Secretary) Upton Cnty Historical Commission, McCamey door prizes and goodies bags. We appreciate the Upton County Historical Commission and their Sherry Phillips (Treasurer) Mayor of McCamey volunteers for a delicious home-cooked meal, Wendy Rossiter of the Betty Damron McCamey Chamber of Commerce, and our board members who helped Crane County Historical Commission, Crane make the meeting enjoyable and productive. We look forward to seeing Russell Nowell you all next time! Fort Clark Historical Society, Brackettville Bill Simon More Smart Choice Auto Group, Junction Photos Jefferson Spilman on Pg 2 Fort Lancaster State Historic Site, Sheffield Ruben Vargas Trendy T’s, Midland TPTR Partners Event, McCamey—Cont’d Travel Itinerary: Natural Wonders The Pecos Trail Region is home to some remarkable, one-of-a-kind natural features! Odessa Meteor Crater Monahans Sandhills Odessa Monahans Designated a National Natural This State Park east of Monahans Landmark in 1965, this impact site preserves glistening sand dunes includes a trail into the crater and and native vegetation, inviting a museum with meteorite samples, guests to explore, sand-surf, camp geology exhibits, sci-fi movie overnight, and bird-watch. posters, and more! Sierra Madera Astrobleme Caverns of Sonora Ft. Stockton Sonora Its central cluster of hills (actually a Considered one of the most rebound structure) rises more than beautiful caverns in the world, this 700 feet, while its eroded crater privately-owned attraction offers bed spans six miles in diameter. guided tours daily, a gift shop, Watch for the TxDOT highway camping, and RV sites. A National signs between Fort Stockton and Natural Landmark. Marathon on U.S. 385. Devil’s Sinkhole Kickapoo Cavern Rocksprings Kinney & Edwards Counties A National Natural Landmark and State Natural Area, this vertical This State Park features a cavern offers evening bat primitive caving experience on the viewings during the summer and western Edwards Plateau, as well guided nature hikes. Tours begin at as bat viewings, camping, hiking, the Devil’s Sinkhole Visitor Center and mountain biking. Photo by in downtown Rocksprings. Trisha Urban. To learn more of these and other heritage tourism attractions in the Pecos Trail Region visit http://texaspecostrail.com. Pecos Trail Newsletter Aug 2015 Page 2 State Fair of Texas Heart of Texas—West Map Release The Texas Pecos Trail Region will once again Texas Parks & Wildlife will share a booth space with the Heritage Trails in soon release a reprint of their the popular Food & Fiber Pavilion to promote Heart of Texas-West Wildlife Trail tourism destinations statewide. We will offer Map, which includes the eastern copies of our regional travel guides and the new half of the Pecos Trail Region. Texas Heritage Travel Guide. To celebrate the map release The State Fair, held at Fair Park in Dallas and promote its birding and between Sep 25—Oct 18, is attended by millions wildlife visitor attractions, the of people, with a conservative estimate of Ozona Chamber of Commerce 15,000 folks visiting our booth. This is a great will host a release party at the Ozona Visitor opportunity for partners and communities within Center on October 15. Organizations in the map our region to promote their visitor attractions to region are invited to participate and offer a diverse cross-section of potential travelers. educational programs for event visitors. Cost to participate is $100 per organization The map reprint will introduce five new (discount for TPTR members). Please limit one wildlife sites in Crockett County: the Crockett brochure and 300 copies. You will be emailed County Interpretive Trail, Fort Lancaster State instructions on how to send your brochures Historic Site, Escondido Draw Recreation Area, directly to the State Fair. For more details or to Twistflower Ranch, and Jarrett Juno Ranch. participate contact Scott Jordan at (325) 387- For more details contact Shanon Biggerstaff at 3900 or [email protected]. the Ozona Chamber at (325) 392-3737. Preservation Spotlight The historic Carmelite Monastery represents an important piece of Stanton and Martin County history, West Texas building styles, and late-1800s Texas frontier settlement. In the early 1880s, a small group of Carmelite friars from Kansas arrived at Grelton Station on the Texas and Pacific Railroad to create a German Catholic community – the only one of its kind in West Texas. They named their town Marienfeld (German for Field of Mary) and sold about half of their land to build their new Carmelite establishment, including the monastery pictured here. For a couple of years the colony flourished, but by 1888 sandstorms and drought caused many of the settlers to abandon Martin County. The Sisters of Mercy later occupied and then purchased the building during the 1890s to operating an academy until it closed in 1938. Today the 1884 monastery is the colony’s only remaining building. Its Gothic pointed windows and four-foot-thick adobe walls strikes a blend of Southwest building style and European architecture. The building is also a standing legacy of the West Texas pioneering spirit in the face of hardship and misfortune. Martin County Convent, Inc. is a non-profit group of citizens actively working to preserve the Historic Carmelite Monastery. They are contracting with Pat Taylor, a historic adobe preservationist from New Mexico, and have started work on stabilizing the foundation and basement. The group plans to utilize the site as an interpretive center and develop the grounds into a landscaped native Texas plant garden. For more information, group tours, or to get involved, please contact John Kennady at (432) 213-6366 or [email protected]. Pecos Trail Newsletter Aug 2015 Page 3 Regional Upcoming Events Aug Event – Location Aug Event – Location 1-21 Permian Monsters — Museum of the Southwest and 27 Summers Off the Patio— Annie Riggs Memorial Midland Centennial Library, Midland Museum, Ft. Stockton 1-16 West Texas Triangle: Ben Woitena — Museum of the 28-29 Summer Mummers — Yucca Theatre, Midland Southwest, Midland 29-30 AIRSHO — Commemorative Air Force, Midland 1 Montalvo House Market — Montalvo House, 29 Midland Downtown Farmers’ Market — Museum of the Brackettville Southwest, Midland 1 Summer Mummers — Yucca Theatre, Midland 1 Midland Downtown Farmers’ Market — Museum of the For more details on upcoming events, please visit the Events Southwest, Midland or Highlights sections at http://texaspecostrail.com. 1 Hot Summer Nights with Cool Music — Noel Heritage Park, Odessa 2 Summer Sunday Lawn Concert — Museum of the Southwest, Midland 2 Cantaloupe Fly-In & Pancake Breakfast — Pecos Municipal Airport, Pecos Statewide Events, Workshops, Etc. 6-8 Rock the Desert — Rock the Desert Festival Field, Midland/Odessa Aug 14 Historical Marker Webinar — On-line — The Texas 7-8 Summer Classic Rodeo — Hill Country Fairgrounds, Historical Commission is offering a free webinar on Junction historical research fundamentals, writing narratives, 7-8 Summer Mummers — Yucca Theatre, Midland and the marker application process. RSVP required. Call 7 First Friday Art Walk — Downtown Del Rio (512) 463-5853 or email [email protected]. 7 Noches Musicales — Plaza Brown, Del Rio 8 Midland Downtown Farmers’ Market — Museum of the Sep TTIA Texas Travel Summit — San Antonio — Annual Southwest, Midland 20-23 conference for travel and tourism industry professionals 9 Summer Sunday Lawn Concert — Museum of the to network and learn about travel trends, marketing and Southwest, Midland promotions, best practices, and other topics. Presented 13 Summers Off the Patio— Annie Riggs Memorial by the Texas Travel Industry Assn. Read more or register Museum, Ft. Stockton at www.ttia.org. 14-15 Summer Mummers — Yucca Theatre, Midland 14 Noches Musicales — Plaza Brown, Del Rio Sep 25- State Fair of Texas — Fair Park, Dallas — The Heritage 15 Midland Downtown Farmers’ Market — Museum of the Oct 18 Trails Program will have a booth in the Food & Fiber Southwest, Midland Pavilion to promote tourism statewide. Pecos Trail 16 Summer Sunday Lawn Concert — Museum of the visitor sites and communities are encouraged to have Southwest, Midland their tourism-related guides on display. Participation 20-23 Midland County Fair — Midland County Horseshoe, $100 each (discount for TPTR members).