A fresh look at Marfa

We are thoroughly enchanted by the photographs created by the 13 lady photographers on Marfa{trip} Blog. http://www.marfatrip.com/, so we're featuring their photographs for three days straight. This is one of our favorites. (Who doesn't want to do cartwheels in the middle of a deserted road?)

Their blog says it best,

"We are 13 lady photographers from all over the US who decided to get together, form relationships, support one another and create some incredible bonds of friendship. We created this blog to serve as a way to share our adventures with one another and with you. We are excited to share the adventure of our travels. Come join us to see 13 photographers gather together. Some exciting adventures await! Here's to MARFA!"

Be sure to visit their blog, http://www.marfatrip.com/ to see more images. And come right back here tomorrow and Monday!

Here's a couple of links to help you plan your visit to Marfa. Here and here.

Rodeo Boys waiting their turn

Another shot of Van Horn's American Junior Rodeo this year! To see a slideshow of all our photos from the rodeo, click here.

Big Bend Ranch Paintings in London: Alan Pando

Eighteen year old, Alan Pando, is one of eleven Presidio High School artists invited to exhibit in London's Saatchi Art Gallery this summer. The artwork is inspired by nearby Big Bend Ranch State Park and Fort Leaton State Historic Site. Click here to read more about the show.

Laurie Holman is the art teacher at Presidio High School. “I am an artist as well as an art teacher. I have lived in the Big Bend for 15 years and my love of the rugged beauty is often reflected in my artwork. So often in my class, the students want to paint beach scenes, cityscapes and snow covered mountains…places that most of them had never seen or been before. I tell them to paint what they know, to see their surroundings in a new and different way. So, this is what they did and with great success."

Alan says his "inspiration for, 'Ft. Leaton,' was the structure and color of the old trading post and the history behind it as well." He has been studying for a year, and says "I like to try all different kinds of media. I also like experimenting with different kinds of media."

To learn more about Fort Leaton State Historic Site, click here and here.

To learn more about Big Bend Ranch State Park, click here and here.

'The Disappeared' exhibition at UTEP

The Disappeared is an exhibition so ambitious in scope that it encompasses three exhibition spaces of The University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP): Stanlee and Gerald Rubin Center for the Visual Arts, Centennial Museum, and Union Exhibition Gallery. We visited the exhibition at the Centennial Museum and were moved by the works on display.

From the exhibition publication:

"The word 'disappeared' was refined during the military dictatorships that ruled many Latin American countries during the mid-to-late twentieth century, when it came to describe members of the resistance, their sympathizers and everyday citizens who were kidnapped, tortured, and killed by the regime. The exhibition contains work by thirteen contemporary artists and one artists' collective in a variety of media from Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Guatemala, Uruguay, and Venezuela, who over the course of the last thirty years have made art about the disappeared. Some worked in the resistance; some had parents or siblings who were disappeared; others were forced into exile. The younger artists were born into the aftermath of those dictatorships. Others have lived in countries maimed by endless civil war."

Plan to visit the Centennial Museum and the other exhibition locations on the UTEP campus now through September 11.

Flowering Beauty

A rainbow cactus blooming near Van Horn.

I can see for miles

One of Texas' premier hikes: A view of the Chihuahuan Desert floor and in the distance, Mexico, from the summit of the South Rim trail in Big Bend National Park.



For information on hiking in the Texas Mountain Trail region, visit: www.texasmountaintrail.com/hike

El Paso eateries profiled in Saveur magazine

The recent Texas issue of Saveur magazine has a feature article on El Paso's cuisine....and rightly so! There are great places to experience in the city. This is one, Jaime's Hut. Take a look at the article yourself, and plan to visit one of these special places soon.

We are building a new heritage food section on our website, check it out at: www.texasmountaintrail.com/food Visit it often for new culinary adventures!