Coming from the UK to discover West TX

[SnapperUK]

Hi,

My wife and I are having a road trip around Texas from July 21 - August 9 after falling in love with the State on a previous visit. I'm a press photographer, but always end up taking working holidays as i love to shoot so darn much!

Anyways, the plan is to fly into Houston, pick up the convertible, sleep, go see the space centre, get over the jet lag, head West out of Houston. We have booked no accommodation and have made no firm plans!
I'm really interested in photographing the wilderness of West Texas, not just the ghost towns, I want to experience and capture the Texan small town vibe as well as the outdoor beauty, such as Big Bend.

I've been through lots of posts on this forum and am getting a feel of where to head out to, but extra input here would be great. I could also do with a little help researching some events as we'd love to see a rodeo and football game, although i understand the season is drawing to a close? Something small-scale and local would be even better for us, rather than a big city. All my previous trips to the USA have been much more fun and exciting in the smaller towns, where people just seem so friendly and welcoming! It would be quite nice to even maybe bump into a few folk from here? Who knows eh?

Many thanks in advance
Ben

[BenE]

Originally Posted by SnapperUK

Hi,

My wife and I are having a road trip around Texas from July 21 - August 9 after falling in love with the State on a previous visit. I'm a press photographer, but always end up taking working holidays as i love to shoot so darn much!

Anyways, the plan is to fly into Houston, pick up the convertible, sleep, go see the space centre, get over the jet lag, head West out of Houston. We have booked no accommodation and have made no firm plans!
I'm really interested in photographing the wilderness of West Texas, not just the ghost towns, I want to experience and capture the Texan small town vibe as well as the outdoor beauty, such as Big Bend.

I've been through lots of posts on this forum and am getting a feel of where to head out to, but extra input here would be great. I could also do with a little help researching some events as we'd love to see a rodeo and football game, although i understand the season is drawing to a close? Something small-scale and local would be even better for us, rather than a big city. All my previous trips to the USA have been much more fun and exciting in the smaller towns, where people just seem so friendly and welcoming! It would be quite nice to even maybe bump into a few folk from here? Who knows eh?

Many thanks in advance
Ben

Hello from West Texas,

First of all, I hope I do not sound too negative, but want to give you some information about West Texas. At the moment most areas are experiencing a severe drought, and record breaking high temperatures. In many places there have been over a week of 100+ temps. With no rain, a lot of the areas are dead, and unfortunately there have been a lot of fires in the outlying areas. Alpine is one city in particular that has suffered fires, and is about 100 miles north of Big Bend National Park. I have no information about Big Bend as far as fires or what the flora looks like, but I will contact someone who works for the park department, and is also a photographer.

Be cautious if you travel in areas close to the border.

What I can tell you, on a more positive note, is that if you stay on Interstate 10, after you leave San Antonio, you will go through several unique small towns, such as Boerne, Kerrville, Sonora, Ozona, and Ft Stockton. If you look at a map, you will see that some other small cities are just north of I10.

Of course there is nothing like mountains, and I am sure that is the appeal of Big Bend. An alternative would be the Guadalupe National Park in the SE part of New Mexico. I do not believe the wildfires have been as severe in that part.
Guadalupe Mountains National Park (U.S. National Park Service)


That is also the same area as the Brokeoff Mountains Wilderness Study Area.

Wilderness Study Areas

Photo link here:

brokeoff mountains - Google Search


That will be close to Carlsbad NM. Here is a link to some of the events in that city:

New Mexico Calendar of Events find out what is happening or add your event.

With that said, if you do come close to the Midland/Odessa area (On Interstate 20), you will be in my neighborhood.

[SnapperUK]

Thanks for the info Ben. The fires look horrendous! I'm assuming local radio stations are the best way to get up to date info while travelling, just in case.

Thanks for the links to the parks too, Gadalupe looks great. We will be around that way hopefully, just got to figure out if we head there from the North and return to Houston via a Southern route.

I'm not a big fan of scary stories before traveling to a place, but i do know the border towns can be dodgy. Does that go for roads running alongside the border? Forewarned is forearmed I guess.

Cheers for the reply
Ben

[BenE]

I will send a message to you, instead of trying to post here.

[Angelo]

Ben, try not to pass up Bandera Texas. bandera texas - Google Maps
there are several Dude Ranches in the area and I'm sure they will allow you to go through their property and photograph it. I always introduce myself and tell them that a CD will be sent to them of their beautiful property. Never been refused.
BE is correct about the draught - I think I mentioned it before.
Just remember, beauty is in the eye of the beholder, so even parched areas can be beautiful and unique.
I will send you a quick email.