BIG BEND

Big Bend National Park is typically busy with hikers during spring break but on Saturday morning, it was filled with snow.

Endemic to our state, bluebonnets grow from central Texas’ Blackland Prairie to the Big Bend, thriving in the Edwards Plateau’s arid conditions and often forming expansive carpets in pastures and along highways. Ennis, south of Dallas, is the state’s “Official Bluebonnet City,” and Burnet in the Hill Country is the “Bluebonnet Capital of Texas.” Portrayals of bluebonnets grace Texas galleries and living rooms, none more treasured than the original oil paintings of W.A. Slaughter, 1923-2003, a self-taught as a landscape painter. So, it is fortunate the 1901 Legislature turned down a proposal for the cotton boll to be the state flower, choosing instead Lupinus subcarnosus. Otherwise, historian Jack Maguire’s ode could not have been written: “The bluebonnet is to Texas what the shamrock is to Ireland.”In time, other bluebonnet species were identified, so the 1971 Legislature designated the most striking one, Lupinus texensis, in addition to the 1901 choice and “any other variety of bluebonnet not heretofore recorded.”

Whether served on white tablecloths or in a Styrofoam cup mixed with Fritos at a football game, there is no argument that chili con carne is a Texas staple.

Here are some of the top positive news stories from around the state including a Texan being nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize, moves to protect big horn sheep, a disabled dog in Lubbock making a global pet calendar and more.

Visitors of Big Bend National Park now have a new 3-mile loop trail to test their hiking skills on.

The Rendezvous Land Yacht is parked in the middle of the West Texas desert near Big Bend National Park and can be rented for $120 per night.

Officials with the West Texas park said the 53-year-old woman was visiting the area with her family for the first time.

Federal officials say more than 60 migrants were found in a box truck stopped on a highway in the remote Big Bend region of West Texas.

Mexican long-nosed bats visit Big Bend every year, but their food source is in jeopardy as drought and wildfires become more frequent

By Big Bend SentinelALPINE – Sul Ross State University is helping to host another vaccine drive with DSHS and Nomi Health. Individuals will be able to get the first or second dose. Those seeking a second dose or a “booster” dose should make sure to bring their CDC vaccine card with them. The Thursday, September 30, vaccine event will run from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m at SRSU’s University Center on the second floor. It will be the parking lot to the right, and the University Center is the large building along that parking lot.

ALPINE — The first lecture in Sul Ross State University’s new Spotlight series will highlight the latest research coming out of the Center for Big Bend Studies. Dr. Bryon Schroeder, the center’s director, will speak about their latest archeological findings in the Big Bend region in a virtual lunchtime talk on Friday, September 17, discussing roughly 13,000 years of human occupation in the Big Bend region and what they left behind.

The Big Bend Sentinel and the Presidio International weekly newspapers are currently hiring for a full time reporter. The right candidate will be responsible for researching, reporting and writing newsworthy stories from the Big Bend area of Texas.

Storm surge warnings posted for the coast from Panama City Beach east through Florida’s Big Bend.

Storm surge warnings posted for the coast from Panama City Beach east through Florida’s Big Bend.

En cambio, comenzó una práctica privada y, en cuatro años, sus préstamos fueron condonados y podría estar en camino a una gran ciudad. Billings y su esposa, Susan, dieron el salto y se injertaron en la comunidad alpina. COVID ha jugado un papel importante en exacerbar la escasez de trabajadores de la salud en el área de Big Bend. “Realmente disfruto la enseñanza y el servicio, y realmente siento este llamado ahora para tratar de trabajar en el desarrollo de la fuerza laboral para las comunidades rurales”, dice. Billings cree que si hay una razón por la que recibió el premio Médico de Familia del Año de Texas, “es porque practico la medicina fuera de la sala de examen”, dice.

Dear Editor,We are grateful to each and every person who supported Serious Starlight — Big Bend Conservation Alliance’s fundraiser supporting the Big Bend International Dark Sky Reserve. The reserve, once designated, will be greater in size than the other 18 Dark Sky Reserves in the world combined, helping protect major wildlife habitats and migration corridors in the Big Bend region of Far West Texas and Northern Mexico.

The U.S. National Hurricane Center has warned of life-threatening storm surges, flooding and isolated tornadoes.

By Big Bend SentinelTRI-COUNTY – Independence Day celebrations are kicking off this Friday and running through the weekend across the Big Bend area, with different communities offering a variety of ways to celebrate the Fourth of July this year. In north county, fireworks can be launched off at Vizcaino Park, east of Marfa on Golf Course Road. In south county, fireworks will happen at the drag strip on FM 170 west, across the highway from the chili plant. She said other vendors weren’t able to come up with extra this year either, leaving Fort Davis without a show. Rounding out the weekend of celebrations will be a 5K fun run in Fort Davis on Monday, July 5.

ALPINE - At Night is a 50-image exhibition, juried by renowned night photographer Lance Keimig, spotlighting one of our greatest natural resources — the dark sky — while also building awareness about light pollution and its disruption of wildlife and ecological balances when the dark sky is impaired. Works by Marfa, Presidio and Terlingua high school students will be on exhibit as well. At Night is made possible through grants from the Texas Commission on the Arts and a partnership with Fujifilm.

Big Bend Conservation Alliance recently held a series of workshops for students throughout the tri-county area. The program was in conjunction with the Museum of the Big Bend's upcoming exhibition, At Night, a photography show which will spotlight one of our greatest natural resources — the dark sky — while also building awareness about light pollution and its disruption of wildlife and ecological balances.

The fire burning in the rugged high country of the Chisos Mountains in far West Texas has now charred 929 acres of the 10,000 acres within Big Bend National Park, according to park superintendent Bob Krumenaker.

Over the last few months, there's been a lot of talk about walls on the U.S.-Mexico border. Conor Knighton, "On The Trail" again, as part of "Sunday Morning"'s celebration of the National Park Service's centennial, takes us to Big Bend, the national park along the border whose natural walls are stunning to behold.