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Texas Mountain Trail Traveling to the majestic mountains and desert frontier of Far West Texas? Your journey of a lifetime

: A Little Stitch of El Paso History! 🪡✨What do sewing machines, architectural history, and a little Spanish Colonial c...
10/13/2026

: A Little Stitch of El Paso History! 🪡✨

What do sewing machines, architectural history, and a little Spanish Colonial charm have in common? The historic Singer Sewing Company Building in downtown El Paso!

Built in 1928 and designed by the famous architectural firm Trost & Trost, this two-story gem at 211 Texas Avenue is proof that even a commercial building can have plenty of personality! Its Spanish Colonial Revival style features a beautiful arched entrance, an iron balcony, a red-tile roof, and three small round windows near the roofline. Look closely, and you can still spot the Singer emblem proudly displayed on the building!

But here's where the story gets interesting! The building wasn't just a place to buy a sewing machine. For more than 50 years, its first floor served as a Singer retail showroom, while the second floor housed a school for seamstresses and tailoring-related instruction. That means this little downtown landmark helped people learn practical skills, create clothing, and keep the art of sewing alive! And here's another reason to appreciate it: the Singer Sewing Company Building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1980 and designated a Recorded Texas Historic Landmark in 1983. Today, it remains a wonderful example of how Trost & Trost helped shape the architectural identity of El Paso.

From grand hotels to neighborhood businesses, the work of Henry Trost and his firm continues to tell the story of the Texas Mountain Trail region. Sometimes, the most fascinating pieces of history aren't the biggest buildings on the block, they're the ones with the smallest details and the biggest stories! Next time you're exploring downtown El Paso, keep an eye out for this historic stitch in the fabric of our region! Have you ever used a vintage sewing machine, or does someone in your family still sew? Tell us in the comments!

Photo Credits 📸: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Singer_Sewing_Company_Building
https://trostsociety.org/buildings/singer-sewing-machine-company/

: A West Texas Treasure: Sacred Heart Mission in Ruidosa! 🌵⛪Tucked away along the Rio Grande in the tiny border communi...
10/11/2026

: A West Texas Treasure: Sacred Heart Mission in Ruidosa! 🌵⛪

Tucked away along the Rio Grande in the tiny border community of Ruidosa, Texas, stands a remarkable piece of history that proves even the quietest places can hold the biggest stories! El Corazón Sagrado de la Iglesia de Jesús, better known as Sacred Heart Mission, a historic adobe church that has witnessed generations of faith, family, and life along the Texas-Mexico border.

Completed in 1915, this beautiful church was constructed using sun-dried adobe bricks made by local residents under the guidance of their priest. During its heyday, Sacred Heart Mission was the heart of a thriving farming community. Families gathered here for Sunday Mass, weddings, funerals, and other important milestones. But when water supplies along the Rio Grande dwindled and farming declined, many families moved away. By the 1950s, the church had fallen out of regular use, and the building gradually began to deteriorate.

Today, the Friends of the Ruidosa Church are working to preserve this historic landmark and protect the stories of the people who built their lives around it. The church was even named to the National Trust for Historic Preservation's 2026 list of America's 11 Most Endangered Historic Places, bringing renewed attention to its importance and the need to protect it. Sacred Heart Mission reminds us that preserving historic places means preserving the memories, traditions, and communities that shaped our region.

Photo Credits 📸:
https://www.marfapublicradio.org/podcast/west-texas-talk/2017-05-04/presidio-county-historical-commission
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ruidosa,_Texas
https://bigbendsentinel.com/2019/09/25/a-breath-of-life-for-ruidosas-crumbling-adobe-church/
https://angellexpeditions.com/friends-of-the-ruidosa-church/
tapatalk.com/groups/theratzingerforum/ruidosa-texas-t1101.html
https://texascooppower.com/the-dirt-church-down-a-dirt-road/
https://savingplaces.org/places/corazon-sagrado

: Terlingua Ghost Town — Terlingua, Texas 👻Long before Terlingua became a destination for desert adventurers, it was a ...
10/09/2026

: Terlingua Ghost Town — Terlingua, Texas 👻

Long before Terlingua became a destination for desert adventurers, it was a booming mining community. In the late 1800s and early 1900s, people flocked to this remote corner of Far West Texas in search of quicksilver, another name for mercury, extracted from an ore called cinnabar. By the early 1900s, thousands of people were connected to the mining boom, and Terlingua had grown into a bustling company town.

One of Terlingua's most fascinating landmarks is the Perry Mansion, built in 1906 by Howard E. Perry, the businessman behind the Chisos Mining Company. This two-story mansion, with its distinctive arches and sprawling porch, overlooked the mining community below. Meanwhile, many miners and their families lived in much simpler stone and adobe homes, some of whose ruins still stand today. Terlingua's historic cemetery also tells a sobering story of the people who lived and worked here, including those lost to mining accidents and the 1918 influenza epidemic.

As mercury production declined and the mines closed in the 1940s, many residents moved away, leaving buildings and ruins scattered across the desert. Terlingua became known as a ghost town, but its story didn't end there! Today, Terlingua has found a whole new life as a quirky desert destination near Big Bend National Park. Visitors can wander among historic ruins, browse the old trading post, grab a bite at the Starlight Theatre, and take in the spectacular desert scenery.

Have you explored Terlingua Ghost Town? Tell us in the comments!

Photo Credits 📸: https://authentictexas.com/texas-ghost-towns/
https://www.desertusa.com/dusablog/terlingua-ghost-town/?srsltid=AU7gw4V-d1uVH_aPlBhuTmzEVhVnUw7sa1xTA62rHThKB7VW2Sd38dIR
https://blog.annemckinnell.com/2012/04/19/sunset-on-a-ghost-town/
https://ghosttowntexas.com/ghosttown.html
https://www.dallasites101.com/blog/post/terlingua-texas-ghost-town-guide/

🤠 : The Rock Art of the Mountain TrailBefore photographs, before written histories, and long before highways crossed We...
10/07/2026

🤠 : The Rock Art of the Mountain Trail

Before photographs, before written histories, and long before highways crossed West Texas, people were leaving their stories on the rocks. Across the Texas Mountain Trail region, ancient rock art gives us a remarkable glimpse into the people who lived, traveled and survived in this rugged landscape thousands of years ago.

With more than 500 prehistoric campsites, shelters and rock-art sites, Big Bend Ranch holds an incredible record of human history. Pictographs here include humans, animals, insects, geometric designs and star patterns. Some paintings date back roughly 3,000–5,000 years, while later images show horses, longhorn cattle, Spanish saddles and crosses, revealing how the arrival of Europeans became part of the story on these walls.

For more than 10,000 years, people have been drawn to Hueco Tanks for its water, food and shelter. The park contains more than 200 painted “masks,” the largest known concentration of these distinctive images in North America. Later rock art includes horses, dancing figures, handprints and people wearing European clothing.

And the amazing part? These aren't simply “drawings on rocks.” They are fragments of stories, beliefs, journeys and everyday life left behind by people who lived here thousands of years before us.

So here's today's question:

What story do you think someone 3,000 years from now would tell about us based on what we leave behind?

Photo Credits 📸: https://tpwd.texas.gov/state-parks/hueco-tanks/history
https://tpwd.texas.gov/state-parks/hueco-tanks/history
https://www.nps.gov/bibe/learn/historyculture/archaeology-in-big-bend.htm
https://tpwd.texas.gov/state-parks/big-bend-ranch/history

🤠 : Where the Wild West Came Through TownWhere gunfighters, outlaws, and the Butterfield Overland Mail met. Long before...
09/30/2026

🤠 : Where the Wild West Came Through Town

Where gunfighters, outlaws, and the Butterfield Overland Mail met. Long before El Paso became the bustling border metropolis we know today, the Pass of the North was a crossroads for travelers, traders, soldiers, stagecoaches, cattle drovers, and more than a few infamous gunslingers.

At the heart of it all was San Jacinto Plaza, one of Downtown El Paso’s oldest and most important public spaces. The plaza’s history stretches back to the days when travelers crossed this region by wagon and stagecoach. The Texas Historical Commission describes the square as a place that witnessed everything from ox-drawn carts and covered wagons to stagecoaches, six-shooters, and the arrival of the railroad. The Butterfield Overland Mail stagecoach route came through Franklin, the settlement that became El Paso, beginning in 1858. Stagecoaches carried mail, passengers, and freight between St. Louis and San Francisco, making El Paso an important stop along one of the nation's great overland routes.

El Paso's reputation as a rough-and-tumble frontier town was reinforced by figures such as John Wesley Hardin, whose violent career eventually brought him to El Paso. Hardin was killed in an El Paso saloon in 1895 during a confrontation with Constable John Selman Sr. San Jacinto Plaza was once famous for its live alligators! The plaza became known as “La Plaza de los Lagartos”, Alligator Plaza, and the reptiles became one of its strangest attractions. Today, sculptures honor that unusual chapter of El Paso history.

Photo Credits 📸: https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth875323/
https://www.digie.org/en/media/59561
https://www.archpaper.com/2016/06/swa-remakes-san-jacinto-plaza/
https://worldlandscapearchitect.com/swa-remakes-el-pasos-100-year-old-historic-park/
https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g60768-d10202365-Reviews-San_Jacinto_Plaza-El_Paso_Texas.html

🌵 : Barton Warnock Visitor CenterThis week, we’re heading way out west, where the desert tells stories that are 570 mil...
09/28/2026

🌵 : Barton Warnock Visitor Center

This week, we’re heading way out west, where the desert tells stories that are 570 million years in the making! Located just east of Lajitas, the Barton Warnock Visitor Center serves as the eastern gateway to Big Bend Ranch State Park and is much more than a place to pick up a map. It’s a fascinating introduction to the geology, plants, wildlife, and people that have shaped the Big Bend region.

The visitor center features a fossil cast of a Tylosaurus, a giant marine reptile that lived during the Late Cretaceous, when a shallow sea covered much of West Texas. The original fossil was discovered near Big Bend in 1990. The park’s dramatic mountains and mesas were shaped by ancient volcanic activity. The Solitario, for example, is a massive volcanic feature about 10 miles in diameter. Outside the center is a two-acre desert garden showcasing plants adapted to the tough conditions of the Chihuahuan Desert, including prickly pear, cholla and ocotillo.

Dr. Barton Warnock spent decades studying the plants of the region with his students from Sul Ross University. The center houses 1,692 preserved plant specimens from his collections, essentially a botanical library of the Big Bend. Barton Warnock manages the River Corridor of Big Bend Ranch State Park, about 56,000 acres along the Rio Grande. The entire state park encompasses more than 300,000 acres, making it the largest state park in Texas. Big Bend Ranch State Park is home to more than 300 recorded bird species, along with black bears, mountain lions, mule deer, javelina, bats, and dozens of species of reptiles.

Photo Credits 📸: https://texasmountaintrail.blogspot.com/2012/08/visit-barton-warnock-center-learn-all.html
https://tpwmagazine.com/archive/2020/apr/wanderlist/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barton_Warnock_Visitor_Center
https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g56758-d270321-Reviews-Barton_Warnock_Environmental_Education_Center-Terlingua_Texas.html
https://tpwd.texas.gov/state-parks/barton-warnock

: Limpia Creek Vista Trail via Sheep Pen!Today we’re heading into the beautiful Davis Mountains for a hike to one of th...
09/24/2026

: Limpia Creek Vista Trail via Sheep Pen!

Today we’re heading into the beautiful Davis Mountains for a hike to one of the best viewpoints in Davis Mountains State Park, Limpia Creek Vista! This roughly 9-mile adventure takes you through rugged mountain terrain, open grasslands, and oak-juniper woodlands before rewarding you with sweeping views across the surrounding mountains and valleys. And yes… you’ll earn those views!

Limpia Creek Vista is the highest point in Davis Mountains State Park, sitting at roughly 5,700 feet in elevation. The route via Sheep Pen includes around 950 feet of elevation gain, making those big views feel even more rewarding. The Davis Mountains are a unique mix of high-desert and mountain environments, creating a surprisingly diverse landscape for plants and wildlife. Keep your eyes open while hiking, the park is home to a variety of birds and wildlife, and you never know what you might spot along the way. Once you reach the vista, take a minute to stop, catch your breath, and soak it all in. The panoramic views are a pretty great reminder of why we love exploring West Texas!

West Texas weather can change quickly, and the combination of elevation, sun, and rocky terrain can make this hike more challenging than it first appears. Bring plenty of water, wear sturdy shoes, and check trail conditions before heading out.

🏔️ Davis Mountains State Park: Fort Davis, Texas

Photo Credits 📸:
https://www.alltrails.com/trail/us/texas/limpia-creek-vista-trail--2/photos

🏡✨ : The Hidden Residential Gem in MarfaWhen you think of Henry C. Trost in Marfa, chances are your mind goes straight ...
09/22/2026

🏡✨ : The Hidden Residential Gem in Marfa

When you think of Henry C. Trost in Marfa, chances are your mind goes straight to the iconic El Paisano Hotel. But long before the El Paisano welcomed Hollywood stars, Trost was designing homes for the people who actually lived and worked in West Texas.

Mellard wasn’t a hotelier or a developer, he was a West Texas cattleman and pioneer. He acquired ranch property south of Marfa in 1908 and became an important figure in the region’s ranching community. He was also involved in helping establish Marfa’s first school. So this wasn’t just a fashionable house dropped into the desert. It was a home designed for someone deeply connected to the working landscape of the Big Bend. By 1915, Henry Trost had been working in the Southwest for more than a decade.

Trost was a style chameleon. During his career he worked in everything from Prairie and Mission Revival to Pueblo Revival and, later, Art Deco. His Southwest story started before El Paso. Trost moved to Tucson in 1899, where the region's Spanish Colonial architecture, and especially Mission San Xavier del Bac, reinforced his interest in Mission Revival. He moved to El Paso in 1903. The Mellard house is part of a surprisingly small Marfa portfolio. The Henry Trost Historical Society lists only a handful of Trost & Trost projects in Marfa, including the Mellard Residence, the Allen Marshall McCabe House, the Childers Home Addition, and, of course, the later El Paisano Hotel. 1915 was right in the middle of Trost's big productive period.

The Frank Courtney Mellard Residence is a great reminder that Trost's legacy isn't just about grand hotels, skyscrapers, and civic landmarks. Sometimes the most revealing Trost buildings are the ones designed for everyday life, homes where his experiments with regional architecture, climate, and style could become part of the fabric of West Texas.

Sacred Heart of Jesus Catholic Church, Shafter, Texas ⛪ This , we're heading out to the wide-open desert of West Texas ...
09/20/2026

Sacred Heart of Jesus Catholic Church, Shafter, Texas ⛪

This , we're heading out to the wide-open desert of West Texas to visit a little church with a BIG story! Located in the historic community of Shafter, Sacred Heart of Jesus Catholic Church is a beautiful reminder of the people, faith, and history that helped shape this remote corner of Texas.

Shafter was once a booming mining town. Silver mining brought people from all over to this rugged part of the Chinati Mountains. At its height, Shafter was home to thousands of residents and had businesses, a post office, a hospital, and even saloons! Silver put Shafter on the map. The community became famous for its incredibly productive silver mines and was once described as having some of the richest mineral deposits in Texas. The church has deep roots. Sacred Heart was established during Shafter's mining era, serving the Catholic families who called this isolated community home.

Today, Shafter is a ghost town. Many of the buildings and businesses that once filled the community are gone, but Sacred Heart remains as a beautiful connection to the area's past. That's what makes places like this so special. It's more than an old building, it's a reminder that faith can remain long after towns change, mines close, and generations come and go. Imagine attending Mass here more than a century ago, surrounded by miners, ranching families, and the rugged West Texas landscape. What a story these walls could tell!

Have you ever visited this little piece of West Texas history? 👇

Photo Credits 📸: https://exploretexas.blog/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/shafter-ghost-town.jpg
https://exploretexas.blog/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/img_1336.jpg
https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=10212549331906427&set=pcb.290106458177889
https://www.instagram.com/p/C5d17O-uPr5/?img_index=2
https://trekkermom.wordpress.com/2017/09/12/sacred-heart-catholic-mission-church-at-shafter-texas/

TRAILS THURSDAY! 🌵🥾Today we're heading into the rugged beauty of Big Bend National Park for a hike to one of the park's ...
09/17/2026

TRAILS THURSDAY! 🌵🥾
Today we're heading into the rugged beauty of Big Bend National Park for a hike to one of the park's most recognizable landmarks: BALANCED ROCK!

The Balanced Rock Trail via Grapevine Hills is a short but scenic adventure through the Chihuahuan Desert. The trail follows a sandy wash surrounded by towering rock formations before climbing up to the famous Balanced Rock. Grapevine Hills is a fascinating geological area formed by an ancient volcanic intrusion called a laccolith. Over millions of years, erosion exposed the unusual formations we see today. Those giant rounded boulders weren't placed there by Mother Nature overnight! Weathering and erosion have slowly sculpted the rocks into their distinctive shapes.

The trail is about 2.2 miles round trip with approximately 80 feet of elevation gain. Most of the hike is relatively easy, but the final stretch gets rocky and steeper as you make your way to Balanced Rock. There is very little shade, so bring plenty of water, sunscreen, and a hat. And remember, desert heat can sneak up on you! The road to the trailhead can be rough, so check current road conditions before heading out and make sure your vehicle is suitable for the drive.

And of course, don't forget the camera! Balanced Rock makes for one seriously impressive photo backdrop. Have you hiked to Balanced Rock? If you have, tell us what you thought of the trail! 👇

Photo Credits 📸: https://www.alltrails.com/trail/us/texas/balanced-rock-via-grapevine-hills-trail/photos

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