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MARFA, Texas— Rolling southeast on Highway 90 from El Paso, the telephone polls blur into the horizon, white antelope tails bob near ranchers' water troughs and one Prada shoe and handbag store blurs by. The shoe store is the first inkling that Marfa, Texas, isn't like the rest of the small towns that dot the highway to Big Bend. One part Taos circa 1980, one part hipster New York arena, and one part dusty West Texas town, it's become almost embarrassing for an art aficionado to have not been there. "(Marfa) has been in Paris Vogue, Dwell, New York Times...

Between 10 and 14 May 2004 a dozen members of the UT Dallas SPS chapter conducted a series of experiments in order to determine the origin of the mysterious lights commonly seen near the town of Marfa, TX. The Marfa mystery lights are a phenomenon that occurs after dusk outside the town of Marfa, Texas where lights are observed to appear, disappear, and move about seemingly at random on the horizon.

The wooly devil (Ovicula biradiata) was discovered by a volunteer at Big Bend National Park. (Image credit: James Bailey © California Academy of Sciences) While walking in Big Bend National Park in Texas' Chihuahuan Desert, a park volunteer came across a fuzzy flower that turned out to be a never-before-seen species. The "woolly devil," as researchers have named it, is in the sunflower family and also represents a new genus. This is the first time in nearly 50 years that a new plant genus has been described in a U.S. national park, since the discovery of the July gold shrub...

Five members of a Wisconsin police force resigned on the same day - an exodus that represents nearly half of the department. The Village of Big Bend announced the resignations this past week, after officers told brass they were fed-up with a 'toxic' work environment created by the village board. The same board decided to disband the department back in September, a decision that was reversed last month following pressure from locals. However, within that span, the town's longtime police chief, Don Gaglione, suddenly died - and local coroners recently confirmed it was a suicide. The revelation likely added to...

U.S. Customs and Border Protection revealed on Wednesday Border Patrol agents working in the Big Bend Sector rescued 25 illegal immigrants who were abandoned in a locked trailer in low temperatures. ... ...While the Big Bend Sector in Texas is one of the most remote sectors along the U.S.-Mexico border, it had experienced an increase in illegal activity in 2021 during the still ongoing border crisis. Compared to fiscal year 2020, fiscal year 2021 saw a 233 percent increase in unaccompanied children encounters, a 62 percent increase in family encounters, and a 365 increase in single adult encounters. ...

Associate Justice Antonin Scalia was found dead of apparent natural causes Saturday on a luxury resort in West Texas, federal officials said. Scalia, 79, was a guest at the Cibolo Creek Ranch, a resort in the Big Bend region south of Marfa. According to a report, Scalia arrived at the ranch on Friday and attended a private party with about 40 people. When he did not appear for breakfast, a person associated with the ranch went to his room and found a body. U.S. District Judge Fred Biery said he was among those notified about Scalia's death. "I was told...

In honor of Veterans Day, here's a look at a mostly forgotten story from the early days of military aviation in our country. Every NPS area, even if it wasn't created specifically to commemorate a historical event, includes some interesting tales from the past. At Big Bend National Park, one of those stories involves Pancho Villa and the Army Air Corps.

PBS ranch series receives some local advice Cowboy life BY RAY WESTBROOK AVALANCHE-JOURNAL Cowboys riding hard after cattle in the heat of a Big Bend summer in 1867 could find relief from their work only by falling exhausted at night onto their crudely fashioned camp site. It was life hanging by a thread, with neighbors perhaps 25 miles away and no way to reduce the distance by speed. Today, the scene has been repeated south of Alpine, except a TV camera followed the cowboys wherever they rode. Producers of a reality show about 19th century ranching, which will air nationally...

FBI bulletin outlines possible terrorist plot at Texas border BY ALFREDO CORCHADO AND JASON TRAHAN The Dallas Morning News DALLAS - (KRT) - Dirt roads trace pale lines across a desolate landscape of bald peaks and plunging canyons near Texas' Big Bend and bridge the international boundary at dozens of improvised crossings. For decades, these routes have been used to smuggle drugs and humans. Now there is growing concern they could become deadly conduits for terrorism. The concern is buttressed by a confidential but unclassified FBI intelligence bulletin, obtained by The Dallas Morning News, that contains the vague outlines of...

Memo lists possible border terror plot Officials play down plan described in secret FBI bulletin 11:03 PM CDT on Saturday, July 16, 2005 By ALFREDO CORCHADO and JASON TRAHAN / The Dallas Morning News Dirt roads trace pale lines across a desolate landscape of bald peaks and plunging canyons near Texas' Big Bend and bridge the border at dozens of improvised crossings. For decades, these routes have been used to smuggle drugs and humans. Now there is growing concern they could become deadly conduits for terrorism. The concern is buttressed by a confidential but unclassified FBI intelligence bulletin, obtained by...

Okay, okay... I know this is late for The Birthday, but I just received it.  I checked snopes and they don't seem to have it yet.  The e-mail came from a woman whose brother went to high school with Bum at French High School (Beaumont, Tx), so I'm thinking he really wrote it.  It sure sounds like him, anyway.  Does anyone know him personally so we can verify? HAPPY BIRTHDAY, TEXAS -- FROM BUM PHILLIPS  Being Texan by Bum PhillipsDear Friends,   Last year, I wrote a small piece about what it means to me to be a Texan. My...

SAN ANTONIO -- Authorities said a thong-wearing bicyclist committed suicide when he fell 100 feet to his death at Big Bend National Park in June. Joseph Gottschalk, 52, earned the nickname "Thong Man" by showing his buttocks during leisurely bike rides around San Antonio -- first near his southeast San Antonio home, then into other neighborhoods. His death was ruled a suicide Saturday due to "a preponderance of evidence," Brewster County Justice of the Peace Shirley Williams said in Sunday editions of the San Antonio Express-News. Gottschalk's naked body was found by passing hikers June 21 below a cliff at...