Wednesday, March 06, 2013

What IS the Texas Mountain Trail?

Our organization, the non-profit Texas Mountain Trail, began with the roadsigns along a figure-8 in Far West Texas.  The scenic driving route was set up in the mid-sixties by Governor Connolly's effort to promote ALL of Texas for HemisFair '68.  Not only was there a Texas Mountain Trail in Far West Texas, but there were nine other scenic driving routes all across Texas, each designed to show the best of a particular region.

Fast forward to the 1990s, and the state's effort to promote visitation to our historic sites and to encourage travelers to find "the authentic Texas."  The legislature empowered the Texas Historical Commission to develop--through a blend of federal/state/local funds--the Texas Heritage Trails program.  The first region to be developed was the Abilene-based Texas Forts Trail.  Our Texas Mountain Trail organization kicked off in 2005.

Since then we've been promoting the assets of Far West Texas to travelers (and in turn, helping with the economic development of the region) and developing programs like:

Far West Texas Wildlife Trail Sign
Barton Warnock Center
Big Bend Ranch State Park
The Far West Texas Wildlife Trail (in partnership with Texas Parks and Wildlife and our neighboring Texas Pecos Trail)





Peak Fitness Challenge website
www.geobetty.com/peak
The Peak Fitness Challenge (in partnership with PhiDev, Inc., GeoBetty.com, Guadalupe Mountains National Park and Franklin Mountains State Park)

Easy avenues for you to discover your own Texas Mountain Adventure, through our Facebook page, our Twitter account, our YouTube Channel, as well as our appearance at many marathon and bike event expos and speaking engagements at places around the state including an REI store near you!

We are working on special projects JUST FOR YOU, including researching heritage foodways, Dining Along Historic Highways, the CCC in the region, and the craft of bootmaking.

And we're providing technical and marketing support for individuals and businesses that are supporting the economies of our Far West Texas communities.  Won't you join us?

BECOME A MEMBER:
 
Now you can join Texas Mountain Trail as a member, and help support the growth of the region.
 
Click here to make a safe, secure tax-deductible membership donation!   (Membership gifts are tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law, contact your tax advisor for questions)

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