Brownsville, situated at the southern tip of Texas, is right across the Rio Grande and U.S. border from the city of Matamoros, Mexico. It is a historic area with a pleasing mix of Anglo and Hispanic cultures. 

After Texas fought for its independence from Mexico in 1836, and the annexation of Texas by the U.S. in 1845, General Zachary Taylor established an army base (later Fort Brown) here in early 1846 to help establish claim to the disputed territory.  The Battle of Palo Alto marked the initial major conflict between opposing forces in the Mexican-American War, a U.S. victory which eventually led to Brownsville and the surrounding countryside being confirmed as American territory.   

Today the battlefield is preserved by the National Park Service as a national historic site, which I visited after my exploration of the city itself.  My tour guide was the genial and extremely knowledgeable Felix Espinosa, administrative manager of the Brownsville Convention & Visitors Bureau, who appeared to know just about everyone in this city of over 175,000! 

Felix led me on a whirlwind adventure including virtually every significant attraction that Brownsville has to offer, all in just a few short hours. We began on foot with the Heritage Trail Tour and downtown historic district, including the authentic Mexican Market, the Heritage Complex and Stillman House Museum, the Old City Hall and Market Square, Immaculate Conception Cathedral, plus numerous other historic buildings. Next we wandered through the historic brick buildings of Fort Brown, now occupied by the University of Texas at Brownsville.

Our tour continued with visits to the Historic Brownsville Museum Depot, the Old Brownsville City Cemetery, Dean Porter Park and finally, the Brownsville Museum of Fine Art.  Whew!  I though that I was an expert at seeing a lot within a short period of time, but I can’t hold a candle to Felix! I’d suggest that when you are planning your group’s visit here, you allow a couple of full days to include everything. And there is indeed much of interest to see and experience! That will also allow you an opportunity to include meals at a variety of fine Southwestern, Tex-Mex and Mexican eateries. The unspoiled beaches, visitor attractions and resort hotels of South Padre Island are a scant 25 miles away, so you may likely want to diversify your trip to this most visitor-friendly area with an extended stay.

Stillman House Museum, Brownsville Historical Society

Immaculate Conception Cathedral

Gladys Porter Zoo

Spread out through the countryside of East Texas north of Beaumont are the 15 separate units that make up Big Thicket National Preserve. Called the “biological crossroads of North America,” Big Thicket was established to protect an amazing diversity of plant and animal species that thrive in the confluence of forests and central plains. 

With the arrival of white settlers during the 1850s, harvesting of native timbers was soon followed by sawmills, railroads, farming and eventually oil strikes, so designation as a national preserve by the National Park Service created a new management concept to shelter remaining portions of the original ecology. To further environmental impact studies, the United Nations also named Big Thicket an International Biosphere Reserve in 1981.    

Here travelers can explore this extraordinary landscape on easy hiking trails, birding, canoeing, fishing and ranger-led activities. With the splendid weather that accompanied my December visit, hiking several Big Thicket trails became a truly inspiring experience. I was particularly fascinated by the variety of mushrooms that I encountered, including the oyster mushrooms which grow in rows on tree trunks, as shown in the accompanying photograph. 
 
Groups should begin their visits at the excellent Big Thicket Visitor Center.  From here it’s only a short distance to the outstanding Kirby Nature Trail, at the entrance to which fine picnic facilities can be found. Other interesting (and easy) hikes in the area include the Sundew and Pitcher Plant Trails, the latter offering a unique opportunity to explore a bog of the renowned insect-eating plant species.  There is no charge to visit Big Thicket.

Cypress knees in the swamp

Carnivorous pitcher plants

Reflections in Turkey Creek

The San Antonio River Walk is saving me from obesity.

I've been eating my way across the city for four days now, enjoying the best of San Antonio's food during the annual Culinaria celebration. The events have included elaborate lunch and dinner affairs, a Mexican tasting event and a fancy soiree that featured some of the area's leading chefs offering small bites of their very best dishes. Needless to say, I've consumed more calories than my body has required.

After all of this eating, my waistline would be expanding rapidly were it not of the San Antonio River Walk. I've been stayinig at the beauiful Westin hotel, located right on the River Walk in the heart of the scenic downtown district. The San Antonio River and the charming district built up around it may be the most iconic image of San Antonio (save for the Alamo itself), and it makes an ideal place for visitors to stay, eat, shop and explore.

It's also an ideal place to excercise. The river winds through the downtown and neighborhoods such as La Villita, which give it a distinctly Mexican ambiance. Along both sides of the water, the River Walk offers paved pedestrian access, where visitors can stroll alongside the river and well-landcaped gardens that run along either side. Though the weather is already heating up for the summer, the River Walk provides a welcome respite from the heat, so I've been taking advantage of the setting to run a few miles each morning before beginning my touring for the day. Along the way, I pass plenty of other walkers and runners.

The River Walk is San Antonio's best toursim asset, and the city has gone to great effort to expand it in recent years. An expession project currently underway has added several miles of walkable riverfront extending from the downtown area in either direction; when the project is finished, there will be more than 8 miles of walkable riverfront. The expansion projects allow pedestrians to walk north to the city's museum district, and south to the grand homes in the historic King William neighborhood.

Of course, running isn't for everyone, and the city offers other ways for visitors to experience the River Walk. Groups can take a boat tour of the downtown district, with guides who tell the history of the River Walk and point out some of the area's most interesting spots. River taxis also ply the waters through town, picking up visitors along the River Walk and ferrying them to wherever they want to go. There's even a lock system that allows the boats to ride up river to areas of higher elevation.

I think my morning runs along the River Walk are helping me stay in shape during this trip — or at least that's what I tell myself. Even if I'm not burning off all of the calories, though, I'm certainly enjoying the view.

A group explores the River Walk via boat.

The River Walk includes stone bridges, shade trees and great architecture.

Visitors can use the River Walk to access hotels and museums.

I decided to make an overnight stop at Texas’ Guadalupe Mountains National Park, which, although authorized by Congress back in 1964, is still one of our least known parks. In fact, my motor home was the only one there that night, although a few more hardy souls than I were camped out in their tents nearby, braving a cold winter night (daytime was quite pleasant, as desert areas warm up substantially after the sun rises).  

Although this is primarily a hiking park for those interested in exploring this splendid mountain wilderness on foot, there are several features and short walks available to groups that make this a very worthwhile stop for groups traveling from El Paso to Carlsbad Caverns. In addition to very scenic views of the Guadalupe Mountains themselves, both along U.S. Highway 62/180 and at the Pine Springs park headquarters area, there is an excellent movie and small museum at the Visitor Center, plus restrooms and picnic facilities in an area where few visitor amenities can be found.

I would recommend exploring the park beyond the Visitor Center, however, as there are several points of interest that are very convenient to the highway. At “The Pinery,” one can visit the ruins of a mid-1800s Butterfield Stagecoach Station, while just up the road is the Frijole Ranch History Museum, a complex including an original ranch house, springhouse, schoolhouse, bunkhouse and barn which tells the story of the pioneers who settled in the Guadalupe Mountains area. 

I’d also suggest taking the short (.4 mile round trip) trail, which is wheelchair accessible, from the Frijole Ranch to scenic Manzanita Spring, unless your group has the time and stamina for the more moderate (2.3 miles round-trip) Manzanita/Smith Spring Loop Trail, which I enjoyed immensely, capping off a beautiful morning.

Frijole Ranch Cultural Museum

Manzanita Spring

Desert landscape from Smith Spring Trail

At the Saeur-Beckmann Farmstead, I discovered what exactly Little Miss Muffet was eating when she was snacking on curds and whey in the traditional nursery rhyme. The living history farm portrays the working lifestyle of a 1918 Texas farm at the Lyndon B. Johnson State Park and Historic Site in Johnson City. Just down the road from Lyndon B. Johnson’s childhood home, the farm uses costumed interpreters, period farm equipment and live animals, such as the rather intimidating horned Texas longhorn cattle.

I discovered the curds and whey by following my nose to the wonderful smells coming from the farm’s kitchen. The cook working on turning the curds and whey into cottage cheese explained how she used a wood-burning stove to create dishes far and away better than anything store bought.

Nearby, the Lyndon B. Johnson National Historic Park left me feeling as though I knew the Johnson’s personally. On a driving tour, I passed by the president’s birthplace, cemetery and the Texas White House, where he lived from 1951 until his death in 1973. Details, like the presence of a phone on the president’s chair in the dining room, gave insight into the daily life of Johnson. I learned even more about the president's life and the time period he lived in at the Lyndon B. Johnson Library and Museum before an evening looking at more San Antonio Christmas lights.

 Lyndon B. Johnson Library and Museum

Lyndon B. Johnson Library and Museum 

San Antonio Christmas lights

Looking up, it seemed to be raining Christmas lights. The colored Christmas lights hanging down from the high branches of the cypress trees lining San Antonio’s River Walk twinkled downward like water trickling down a waterfall. 

The 122,000 dazzling lights reflecting onto the San Antonio River created quite the Christmas wonderland. I happily strolled past shops, restaurants and live music along the stone path before deciding on a barbeque dining establishment.

Earlier that day, I started off my guided trip with Mayflower Tours by learning the Spanish colonial history of the Texas town. Originally constructed in 1731, the San Fernando Cathedral has remained a spiritual center of the town since a group of 15 families arrived in San Antonio from the Canary Islands on the invitation of King Philip V of Spain. Not far off, the 1720 Mission San Jose became the largest Texas mission with amazing stone ornamentation still intact. Both churches, along with the colorful and festive Mexican market, show the mix of indigenous and Spanish influence created when the Spanish originally conquered the area.

 San Antonio River Walk

San Fernando Cathedral 

San Jose Mission