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State Parks: Lake Tawakoni

Monday, February 6th, 2012

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This is Passport to Texas

The first time most of us heard of Lake Tawakoni State Park, it was because of a massive spider web found at the site. But there’s more to this ten year old park than arachnids. Our State Park guide Bryan Frazier explains.

59—It really endeared itself to people nationwide because of that spectacular spider web that was one in a million. And so it put it on the map in some respect, but it’s a great place, too.

It’s just east of the Dallas/Fort Worth area, if you’re not familiar with that, near Wills Point, Texas. If you’re familiar with Dallas and the suburb of Mesquite, it’s just east of there, so a lot of people can find it that way.

It’s got access to a big lake, that’s good fishing. There are 78 campsites; 16 of them that are full hook-ups with water, eclectic, and sewer connections for RVs.

And for their 10 year anniversary–which is going to be on February 18–and it’s going to be from nine o’clock in the morning to six o’clock in the evening, there will be activities—everything form a kid’s bouncy house, to geocaching, to Dutch oven cooking, to fishing to toys and games and all different activities.

So, check it out on our website—and that’s texcasstateparks.org. And that’s Lake Tawakoni’s ten year anniversary.

That’s our show for today…with funding provided by Chevrolet, supporting outdoor recreation in Texas; because there’s life to be done.

For Texas Parks and Wildlife I’m Cecilia Nasti.

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State Parks: Fishing for Rainbows

Wednesday, February 1st, 2012

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This is Passport to Texas

Get to a state park with fishing opportunities while there’s still a chill in the air for your chance to reel in the last of the rainbow trout. Out state park guide Bryan Frazier explains.

The water temperature has to stay below a certain temperature for the rainbow trout to do well, and February’s a great time, because it’s usually the last month that there’ll be stockings for rainbow trout.

We’ve got 16 parks that have been stocked throughout the season that are state park… I would encourage people to go to any of the rainbow trout [stocking] places. There’s more than a hundred locations all across the state—in cities and counties. But state parks are neat because you don’t need the rainbow trout stamp or the fishing license because no one ever needs a license or stamp to fish inside any Texas state park.

So, you can find all that on the website, but you’ll look on the fishing website on the Texas parks and Wildlife home page.

It’s a great reason to get outside during what’s typically a mild winter in Texas, and enjoy something else. It’s a new slant on fishing, and you can do it this time of year when you don’t necessarily think about fishing. But. It’s even better for rainbow trout when it’s cold.

That’s our show for today…with funding provided by Chevrolet, supporting outdoor recreation in Texas; because there’s life to be done.

For Texas Parks and Wildlife I’m Cecilia Nasti.

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State Parks: Campfires Allowed

Monday, January 30th, 2012

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This is Passport to Texas

Starting a campfire in a state park this past summer wasn’t just a bad idea, it was terribly dangerous given the drought, and so it was banned. But now that winter’s here and we’ve had some rain, we can start to cozy up to campfires again. Our State Park Guide Bryan Frazier has details.

48— With the drought that we had in Texas, most people are understanding that that affects everything we do. And at the end of the summer—at the apex of that drought—we had burn bans in more than 200 counties here in Texas.

But now we’ve had enough rain in the fall and the early part of the winter that a lot of those burn bans have been lifted.

The campfire is an undeniable part of our tradition of sitting around it and not just cooking and roasting marshmallows and telling stories, but it really becomes the social centerpiece of the camping experiences around the campfire. In the wintertime, you know, it helps to keep you warm, too.

And so it’s a nice natural place to gather. So having those burn bans lifted in most of our counties is really good news for a lot of people who want to get out and enjoy an old fashioned campfire for their camping experience.

Thanks Bryan.

That’s our show for today…with funding provided by Chevrolet, supporting outdoor recreation in Texas; because there’s life to be done.

For Texas Parks and Wildlife I’m Cecilia Nasti.

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State Parks: Hiking at Meridian State Park

Tuesday, January 24th, 2012

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This is Passport to Texas

Now that the weather has cooled folks visiting state parks can do what they like best—take a hike. Bryan Frazier suggests hikers stretch their legs on the refurbished trails of Meridian State Park.

60— Hiking is the most popular activity that people seek out in a park. And Meridian State Park had the AmeriCorps crew out there to develop the trails.

They’ve got a nice granite surface—they’ve cleared the overhead, so it’s a lot easier and a lot more accessible. They’ve got 500 yards of this trail that are paved and ADA accessible. And it just happens to coincide with some of the best places to see the endangered Golden Cheeked warbler. Almost all the sightings are right in and around that paved area because of the location there.

So, I think that’s a bonus.

But, you know, Meridian State Park is another CCC [Civilian Conservation Corps] built park; it dates back to the 1930s. A lot of the trails are in primitive back country areas—there’s a master plan to renovate all the areas of the trail.

So check out Meridian State Park. It’s up near the town of Meridian–Northwest of Waco when you get up near the Granbury area–it’s not too terribly far from there; come back toward the Fort Worth area. It’s right in through there in Meridian.

Thanks Bryan.

That’s our show for today…with funding provided by Chevrolet, supporting outdoor recreation in Texas; because there’s life to be done.

For Texas Parks and Wildlife I’m Cecilia Nasti.

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State Parks: Hiking at Lake Brownwood

Thursday, January 12th, 2012

 State Parks: Hiking at Lake Brownwood: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

This is Passport to Texas

What’s the activity visitors say they enjoy most when at a state park? Bryan Frazier has the answer as well as a great place in which to do it…whatever it is.

60— Some recent visitor surveys that we did on site in state parks showed that the most popular feature and activity that people are looking for in a state park is hiking. It really fits well with our
mission, because in a lot of our parks, we’re renovating trails and making those better and bigger and flatter and more accessible.

And at Lake Brownwood State Park we have really made some impressive changes people will notice when they get there.

About two miles or trail have been renovated, and the rock has been replaced.

You know, Lake Brownwood was built by the CCC [Civilian Conservation Corps] in the 1930s and some of those trails date back to that. So, they’ve gone in and put a nice surface on it. They’ve cleared the overhead on it; the trails go over to the CCC area.

People will be pleasantly surprised when they get there. It’s in the Hill Country area kind of where the panhandle plains meets the hill country…it’s southeast of Abilene, just outside the town of Brownwood.

Thanks Bryan.

That’s our show for today…with funding provided by Chevrolet, supporting outdoor recreation in Texas; because there’s life to be done.

For Texas Parks and Wildlife I’m Cecilia Nasti.

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