While Child Protective Services repeatedly insisted (and the media largely regurgitated this insistence) that the agency had no choice but to pull children from the Yearning For Zion ranch, that it was acting out of extreme concern for the safety and well-being of those individuals, two Alpine legal aid attorneys representing some FLDS mothers found the actions of the state in the ensuing weeks “unbelievably horrible.” by Marlys Hersey    more »

With the new council seated (and former Mayor Clouse in attendance as citizen), the May 20 meeting was dominated by an update on the “Solid Waste Project” by Grant Jackson of Naismith Engineering, Inc., who shared the latest findings from a study, to be completed this August, to help “recommend to you a menu of options available” for when Alpine’s landfill reaches its maximum holding capacity. by Marlys Hersey    more »

A large portion of Wellman’s talk ended up being about, well, preventing Big Bend NP from becoming another Organ Pipe NM in Arizona, where Wellman was Superintendent when the tides turned, so to speak, and within just a few years, the park was ravaged by illegal immigration. Organ Pipe became, Wellman told the group, “a war zone between two drug lord factions.” The “hundreds of miles of illegal roads in the park” and some 200,000 migrants coming though a park half the size of Big Bend took a huge toll on the park’s natural and human resources and forced the closure of 90% of the park to public access. by Marlys Hersey    more »

Who knew? It turns out that the big ol’ yucca (left) at the southeast corner of the Alpine Civic Center on W. Holland Avenue is the “Largest of its species growing in the United States.” The National Register of Big Trees informed the city of this distinction on May 5.   more »

Attendance was notably lower than at some other annual meetings, and the number of ballots cast for new directors decreased from last year’s elections, perhaps more fallout from a lawsuit that has hobbled the association for a year and half. The lawsuit, instigiated by a collection of property owners against others on the board at the time the legal petition was filed, stems from the core allegation that... by Marlys Hersey    more »

On Friday, Nov. 16, at Alpine’s Gallery Night Artwalk, featured artist James Evans showed a collection of his photos, “Of Missing Persons,” residents of the Big Bend... by Marlys Hersey    more »

• Big Macs and The Bible: Americans are more familiar with Big Macs than the Bible, a recent poll has found. Less than half of respondents – 45 percent – could recall the commandment “honor thy father and mother” but...   more »

Now I am a journalist in search of the truth. To be more accurate, I am a reporter covering the issues and people of the Big Bend. Over the past several years we have strived to provide a quixotic lens on a unique region by way of thorough research, investigation and analysis. We have had our ups and downs.   more »

A few months ago, I hit that point where I just couldn’t do it anymore: I just can’t answer every dumb or out-of-line question posed to me at the Border Patrol checkpoint, just to get through in as little time as possible. I can’t smile and pretend that I don’t know they’re violating my civil rights. Not every week. Not even occasionally. by Marlys Hersey    more »

We expect intense thunder and lightning and monsoon rains in July, August, and September. But May? by Marlys Hersey    more »

A public service announcement...   more »

Ceil Drucker (at right, with Jeff Renfrow) celebrated the opening of her new business in Terlingua, Desert Lotus Healing Arts, with a grand opening “pie & chai” reception on January 29.   more »

It's been an unusually cold & wet & SNOWY winter in the Big Bend. Here are some glimpses from the beginning of the season....   more »

The Ghost Town Offspring made their public debut on Saturday, Dec. 2 at the High Sierra Bar in Terlingua.   more »

Monte Schatz, with pet lizards. Photo by James Evans. He was a brilliant man, versed in many topics – science, music, art. You would look in an art book about a fresco in Italy, he could tell you every detail about it, who did it and when. He hadn’t listened to rock and roll since the end of the 60’s because he thought there was no more good rock and roll after that. He loved classical music and he had lots of tapes on Renaissance chants. He loved nature and he was passionate about the desert, and he incorporated all the elements of nature and reptiles into his art. He loved his reptiles and was a masterful snakehandler. He had the best sense of humor of anybody I ever met....    more »

To be in Terra’s company is to believe that anything is possible. Terra radiates optimism, her language peppered with adjectives like “beautiful,” “enchanted,” “charmed,” “magical,” and “incredibly beautiful.” Her homeschooling’s “self-teaching curriculum,” she explains, is based on reading the classical books, and is “so great, because it lets you realize that the sky’s the limit.” by Marlys Hersey    more »

“My husband and my mother did not have a horrid death,” said Jo Tucker, who lives south of Alpine, and experienced the benefits of hospice care from the local team of providers for the death of both her husband and mother. “There was no agony, no pain, no horrid expression – thanks to hospice…. You couldn’t ask for a better team…. They know how to stay one step ahead…. I knew what was going to happen because they told me…. [My husband] could stay at home, look out the window, listen to music he loved.” by Marlys Hersey    more »

A visitor at the hot springs in Big Bend National Park was attacked by a bobcat, emailed a friend. It sounded too weird to be true, yet there on the National Park Service’s website was the official account. by Marlys Hersey    more »

Mariah Smith reveals a key ingredient to the savory chili cooked at the Boys & Girls Club of Terlingua in late January, a practice run (supervised by club volunteer Bonnie Hill, in background) in preparation for Terlingua’s first-ever Junior Chili Cookoff, scheduled for Saturday, February 18 at Ms. Tracy’s Café in the Ghost Town, starting at 9 am.   more »