West Texas Wonders

As part of our West Texas Wonders journalism initiative, we're asking you to tell us how you and your loved ones have been affected by the pandemic.

As part of our West Texas Wonders journalism initiative, we're asking you to tell us how you and your loved ones have been affected by the pandemic. One of the first people to respond to our callout was Lawrence Rivera, a hairstylist in Marfa. Marfa Public Radio's Diana Nguyen talked to Rivera about how his work has been impacted by the coronavirus and the changes he's considering as the pandemic wears on. Marfa hairstylist Lawrence Rivera (Courtesy of) This interview has been edited for brevity and clarity. Listen to the complete interview by pressing play on the above audio player. Diana Nguyen: Lawrence, whenever the pandemic kind of was in full swing, and we were ... Hosted by for KRTS

By Sally Beauvais

By Sally Beauvais As we approach the end of monsoon season in West Texas, now's a good time to step outside and take a moment to appreciate the dramatic summer storm clouds that bring the majority of our region's annual rainfall, from May through September. But no matter the time of year, the cloud show is always pretty spectacular out here in Big Bend country. A cumulonimbus cloud towers over Marfa. (Ross Cashiola / West Texas Cloud Appreciation Society) Former Marfa resident Adele Powers certainly thinks so. But for her, simply looking at clouds without understanding more about them is not enough. So, as a part of her broader quest to learn more stuff about the natural ... Hosted by for KRTS

By Mitch Borden

By Mitch Borden If you're in West Texas and have turned on your TV over the last few decades you have probably seen this on your screen: Boots flying at a spry middle-aged man, who is catching them, all while telling you the location of Pee Wee Dalton’s Boots, and trying to get you to buy a pair. Jack Mousa has been running Pee Wee Dalton's Boots for over 30 years. (Mitch Borden / Marfa Public Radio) These ads, for Pee Wee Dalton’s Boots, are quick. Thirty seconds — practically on the dot. Pee Wee Dalton, the man in the commercial, talks quickly (sometimes in English and other times in Spanish). It's obvious he's putting a lot of energy into his sales pitch and that he w... Hosted by for KRTS

By Sally Beauvais

By Sally Beauvais If you've spent any time waiting for the train to arrive at the Amtrak station in Alpine, you may have noticed it, too: a telephone pole, sticking clear through the pitched roof of a warehouse on the other side of the tracks -- as if it just grew there, like a tree. The former Big Bend Wool and Mohair warehouse is now owned by True Value, a local hardware store. (Sally Beauvais / Marfa Public Radio) The pole doesn't appear to be connected to any kind of system, and there aren't any other poles in the immediate area that resemble it. Alpine resident Mike Green asked West Texas Wonders what it's doing there. This photo from 1945 -- the year the warehouse ... Hosted by for KRTS

By Sally Beauvais

By Sally Beauvais Deana Haggag -- who visited Marfa from Chicago with a group of friends late last year -- has almost always lived in big cities. And the night sky in West Texas left a big impression on her. "I remember that I had never seen stars like that in my life," she said. Haggag and her friends went to a Star Party at McDonald Observatory -- where they ended up staying late and spending some one-on-one time with the guides. As they looked up into the Milky Way from the Davis Mountains, staff told the group about galaxies billions of light years away. "And that's where my brain kept being like, 'Oh my goodness, if this is the universe you're in, and this is how you think about... Hosted by for KRTS

By Sally Beauvais

By Sally Beauvais You may know the iconic species of cactus by its towering physical stature -- its crooked arms, many ribs, and spiny flesh. Or, you may be more intimately familiar with its cartoonish likeness, appearing on countless postcards, motel signs, murals, Tex-Mex menus (and, yes, even radio station logos) associated with Texas and the American West. The saguaro cactus. The problem? The sagauro is native only to the Sonoran Desert, which does not include Texas. That's why Kendall Gerdes, a professor at Texas Tech University in Lubbock, asked West Texas Wonders: Why do Texans use saguaro cacti as a symbol of all things Texas when they don't grow here? Gerdes is... Hosted by for KRTS

If you do much highway driving in Texas, it's a familiar sight: old, rusted trucks packed to the gills with toys, motor oil, textiles, and building materials traveling down the interstate.

If you do much highway driving in Texas, it's a familiar sight: old, rusted trucks packed to the gills with toys, motor oil, textiles, and building materials traveling down the interstate. Sometimes, they're hauling an additional truck -- "IN TOW" spelled out in painter's tape on the rear window. Where do the trucks come from, and where are they headed? Are the drivers scrapping them, selling them or something else? That's what a listener from Alpine asked West Texas Wonders recently. Conveniently, former Marfa Public Radio reporter Lorne Matalon looked into this very question back in 2015, after he met a group of Guatemalan men on a stop along their journey back to Central Amer... Hosted by for KRTS

The Rambling Boy teams up with Marfa Public Radio's Sally Beauvais in an attempt to answer some of the tough history questions that have been submitted to West Texas Wonders.

Listener Josh Knight asked West Texas Wonders whether the meteor crater in Odessa was actually produced by a crash, and, if so, what ecological impact that collision might have had.

Listener Josh Knight asked West Texas Wonders whether the meteor crater in Odessa was actually produced by a crash, and, if so, what ecological impact that collision might have had. Marfa Public Radio looked to Nature Notes for the answer. The reporting led to unexpected places – and as far as the asteroid belt. Thanks to Knight for submitting this question. Five miles west of Odessa, a 600-foot-wide circular hole marks the West Texas landscape. It's shallow  – just 15 feet deep. The Odessa Meteor Crater is a subtle feature, but it tells an explosive story – with truly cosmic implications. “Trying not to appear in the least excited before these cow-men is a job, to say ... Hosted by for KRTS

The Rambling Boy teams up with Marfa Public Radio's Sally Beauvais in an attempt to answer some of the tough history questions that have been submitted to West Texas Wonders. Susan Kirr of Marfa is curious why several of the old houses on Sacramento Street have two front doors. Austin Fay of Marfa wants to know when the last bighorn sheep was seen in the Big Bend. David A. Dunn of Oakland, Mississippi asks how the Toe Nail Trail, which runs from Christoval to Fort McKavett, got its name. Trisha Runyan of Presidio says she grew up with stories of buried treasure dropped from wagons carrying gold and supplies between San Antonio and Chihuahua, and she and her friends used to... Hosted by for KRTS

By Mitch Borden

By Mitch Borden It doesn’t take much to see the Permian Basin’s economy is doing pretty well right now. Just look at Midland and Odessa, the two cities’ unemployment rate is around two percent, wages are high and property values are rising. It won’t be a surprise to anyone the reason for this is oil, and if you’re working in the industry you may be doing pretty well. But all of this led one listener to submit this question to our West Texas Wonders series: “If you don’t work in the oil field in Odessa, how screwed are you?” Before launching into this question, Marfa Public Radio asked around to see whether people agreed and the short answer: it depends. T... Hosted by for KRTS

Rachel Maxwell of Alpine wants to know what the highest level of education the Burro Lady achieved was. Harry Hudson of Dallas wants to know how Mrs. Kerr of Fort Stockton's marriage proposal related to rainfall. Gretchen Coles of Marfa wonders what route Old Ft. Davis Road followed from Marfa to Fort Davis when it was built -- according to her plat map, it included the street she lives on. Phoenix Navidson of Marfa is curious about why there are so many old gas stations in town.

Rachel Maxwell of Alpine wants to know what the highest level of education the Burro Lady achieved was. Harry Hudson of Dallas wants to know how Mrs. Kerr of Fort Stockton's marriage proposal related to rainfall. Gretchen Coles of Marfa wonders what route Old Ft. Davis Road followed from Marfa to Fort Davis when it was built -- according to her plat map, it included the street she lives on. Phoenix Navidson of Marfa is curious about why there are so many old gas stations in town. On this episode of The Rambling Boy, Lonn teams up with Marfa Public Radio's Sally Beauvais to answer some more of our listeners questions about esoteric regional history. These questions came to us via West... Hosted by for KRTS

Listeners Linda Beranek, Guadalupe Espinoza, and Josh Knight are among many Marfa Public Radio listeners who have submitted questions about esoteric local history to West Texas Wonders.

By Mitch Borden

Listener Ken Richards has always noticed the unique fragments and features of the Big Bend. "I assume some of that, a lot of that, moved around by earthquake,” says Richards. “But I'm wondering if it's seismically active now.”

Listeners Linda Beranek, Guadalupe Espinoza, and Josh Knight are among many Marfa Public Radio listeners who have submitted questions about esoteric local history to West Texas Wonders. So we turned to resident historian Lonn Taylor, also known as The Rambling Boy, to answer their questions about: the story behind the Sierra Madera Astrobleme signs between Fort Stockton and Marathon, whether the Davis Mountains State Park Indian Lodge is haunted, and how true it could be that Hotel Settles in Big Spring was once home to a brothel. Hosted by for KRTS

Listener Ken Richards has always noticed the unique fragments and features of the Big Bend. "I assume some of that, a lot of that, moved around by earthquake,” says Richards. “But I'm wondering if it's seismically active now.” West Texas Wonders teamed up with Nature Notes to find the answer. We don't think “Texas” and “earthquakes.” But the answer to Richards' question is yes: tectonic forces that shaped the mountainous Trans-Pecos landscape are still at work. And now there's another factor: hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, is leading to small quakes from Monahans to the edges of the Davis and Guadalupe mountains. Scientists say these tectonic and human-made force... Hosted by for KRTS

By Mitch Borden Today we’re diving into a question from our West Texas Wonders series and this one is taking us to the Permian Basin. Sarah Ross Kelliher, a librarian at the Midland Centennial Library, asked us to get to the bottom of the saying, “For every bar in Odessa there’s a church in Midland.” This phrase is pretty significant for Ross Kelliher because it's the reason her family originally moved to Midland instead of Odessa in the ‘90s. So we dispatched Marfa Public Radio’s Mitch Borden to find out if there’s any truth to the local saying or is it just talk. So, let’s cut to the chase. How accurate is the saying, “for every bar in Odessa there’s ... Hosted by for KRTS

By Sally Beauvais

Listener Rachel Monroe was preparing recently for a Big Bend river trip. It was summer, and she thought she and her companion, a park ranger, could sleep in the open air, under the stars. But the ranger rejected that idea – emphatically. The borderlands, the ranger said, are home to a blood-sucking insect known as the cone-nose or kissing bug. And the insect can transmit a fatal disease.

What kinds of turtles live around Marfa? The question comes from Nathan Stueve. The answer we found surprised us.

What kinds of turtles live around Marfa? The question comes from Nathan Stueve. The answer we found surprised us. For this episode, West Texas Wonders is teaming up with Nature Notes – our weekly look at the natural world of the Chihuahuan Desert region and the Llano Estacado. Marfa is surrounded by arid grasslands, stony summits and badland deserts. And yet, the area is home to multiple aquatic turtles – including the rarest turtle in the United States. The rough-footed mud turtle is a threatened species in Texas. Scientists are working to understand, and preserve, this mysterious creature. The most familiar West Texas turtle is a land-dweller. Watching a desert box tur... Hosted by for KRTS

Listener Rachel Monroe was preparing recently for a Big Bend river trip. It was summer, and she thought she and her companion, a park ranger, could sleep in the open air, under the stars. But the ranger rejected that idea – emphatically. The borderlands, the ranger said, are home to a blood-sucking insect known as the cone-nose or kissing bug. And the insect can transmit a fatal disease. West Texas Wonders teamed up with Nature Notes to find out how true this could be. “My impression was that they would bite you, and it was one of those situations where you would be okay, and then 10 years later you would get a terrible disease and you would die,” Monroe said. “I think you woul... Hosted by for KRTS

By Sally Beauvais More than a fifth of the people who call the vast Big Bend region of West Texas home are 65 or older, according to census data from 2016. And many of them, at one point or another, will have to leave to seek healthcare. Marfa resident Suzanne Dungan says as she loses more and more friends and relatives in the area, it makes her sad to realize that many aren't getting the help they need at the end of their lives.  Dungan lost her husband in January of 2018, after a battle with dementia and prostate cancer. And they traveled almost 500 miles away to give him a comfortable end of life. "We have 3 counties and an aging population," says Dungan. "And you would think tha... Hosted by for KRTS

By Carlos Morales You might associate Marfa for a lot of things, the mysterious lights in the desert, the concrete, minimal art.  But you might not hear a lot about Marfa’s military history. In the early 1900s, Camp Marfa was set up as a cavalry post during the Mexican Revolution. Decades later, it would become Fort DA Russell, which would be home to hundreds of American troops By World War II. Then, in 1943 about 200 German prisoners of war arrived. The years they were held in West Texas is what led one listener to submit a question to our West Texas Wonders series. Around Marfa, it doesn’t take long to find someone who knows something about the German POWs and their... Hosted by for KRTS

There's no denying it -- Classical Midday host and longtime Fort Davis resident Roseland Klein is in great shape. Roseland, lovingly known as the matriarch of Marfa Public Radio, is celebrating her 90th birthday on Saturday, December 8th. And like many of us at the station, listener Nicki Ittner is curious about how she does it. She asked: What kind of yoga does Roseland Klein do and how often? Does she have the secrets to life in her yoga practice? Play the audio to find out. Have a question about people, places, or things in West Texas that you'd like Marfa Public Radio to investigate? Ask here: Hosted by for KRTS

JD DiFabbio isn't the only listener who's asked Marfa Public Radio about the status of horny toads in West Texas. She wants to know the current population; another listener is curious if they're endangered yet; another wonders if she's seen fewer of them in her backyard because she's depleted their diet by getting rid of pesky ant beds. West Texas Wonders is teaming up with Nature Notes to answer these queries about the horny toad. It’s no surprise they’re the subject listeners ask about most. Short in stature, horny toads are long in charisma. They’re the Texas state reptile. But what do we know about this Texas icon? Plump, armored, they’ve inspired multiple names. “Horny... Hosted by for KRTS

By Diana Nguyen In Texas, 95 percent of the land is privately owned, much of it by ranchers. And if you drive out West, the swaths of private land holdings get even bigger. But how did these parcels of land get to be so huge? That’s what Alpine-listener Ned Allen asked for our "West Texas Wonders" series. But ranches originally weren't supposed to get this big. Homestead acts encouraged people to settle western lands - but there were different acts that applied to the country, and to the state of Texas. In both cases, the amount of land a person could claim was limited. Despite the laws, land holdings in Texas grew over generations. But how? That's the question we're exploring for "We... Hosted by for KRTS

 In rural West Texas, it doesn’t take much for your internet connection to go down. A pounding rainstorm, heavy winds, construction workers accidentally cutting a crucial cable — all very real scenarios that can leave you without internet for hours. That’s why one listener submitted this West Texas Wonders question from Monahans: Will small west Texas towns ever have access to decent internet services? If you’re going to try and find a reliable internet connection in rural Monahans, Texas your best bet is to look for books.  Inside the Ward County Library, there's an island of about 15 computers. That's where 21-year-old Andrew Kagle is sitting.  It’s midday,... Hosted by for KRTS

Marfa's Adele Powers asked West Texas Wonders about a natural phenomenon that touches the lives of everyone and everything in the region, literally -- wind. “Windy season is the bane of my existence,” Powers said, “and I think for a lot of other people too. I remember getting on my bike a couple years ago, and I couldn't ride it because I was being blown off. It seems like this miserable thing – and I want to know why it happens.” West Texas Wonders is partnering up with Nature Notes for this story. E.V. Smalley brought it to the attention of a cosmopolitan audience in an 1893 article in the Atlantic. There was, he wrote, “an alarming amount of insanity... in the pra... Hosted by for KRTS

When it comes to one plant found in abundance across West Texas, Big Spring native Alan Cox wants to get the story straight. He asked Marfa Public Radio: "How much truth is there to the old story that mesquite trees aren't native to West Texas? Growing up, Cox heard the story that Mesquite seeds were brought to the area stuck to the hooves of cattle. "You look at really old photos of the area, the landscape seems so much more clean and open than it does now in many places, where it's totally polluted by mesquite,” says Cox. West Texas Wonders is partnering up with Nature Notes for this story. It's been called “the devil with roots” – the thorny bane of cattle, horses... Hosted by for KRTS

As we approach peak summer festival season, one Marfa resident is out to learn the real rules of the busiest intersection in town  -- the 4-way stop on San Antonio and Highland. And they're not as simple as you might think. Whether in flip flops or on wheels, Ben Shurley makes his way through the 4-way stop on a daily basis. And he knows there's a set of rules for how people are supposed to move through it. But he consistently notices how drivers tend to take matters into their own hands when they roll into the intersection. Often, it gets chaotic. So he asked West Texas Wonders straight up: "How do 4-way stops work?" Marfa's Chief of Police Estevan Marquez says he sees a ... Hosted by for KRTS

An anonymous listener asked Marfa Public Radio: What's the deal with the abandoned skyscrapers in downtown Midland? "Most of these buildings downtown were built for the Texacos, the Mobils, all those major oil companies." It's a question that stirred a lot of curiosity in West Texas -- it won our first West Texas Wonders voting round. Standing on the corner of Big Spring and Texas, John James is looking up at the West Texas sky. “We’re in downtown Midland, staring at what I consider to be the three musketeers,” says James, as cars fill in and out of parking lots. “Three vacant buildings who need some life breathed into them.” The three buildings James is looking ... Hosted by for KRTS

This Summer, we asked you to start sending us your questions about our region -- big or small, silly or serious. It’s all part of a new journalism project we’re calling West Texas Wonders. High school teacher Ella Lujan posed us a serious question -- just ahead of the new school year, she heard Midland Independent School District still had a large number of teaching vacancies to fill. She asked why employees are leaving in large numbers, and what the district is doing to try and solve the problem.  Turns out, one parent in Midland was already working to figure this out by the time Ella asked her question. Hunched over her kitchen table, Jennifer Carpenter sifts through a ... Hosted by for KRTS

By Diana Nguyen A few weeks ago, we asked you to send us questions that you have about our region for a new journalism project we’re calling West Texas Wonders. The first question we're answering comes from listener David Missert in Oregon. It deals with something that's piqued the curiosity of West Texas locals and tourists alike: "I’ve seen the Marfa lights, but what is the real story behind them?" Missert says he visited the Marfa Lights Viewing Area on a road trip several years ago, but didn't have many expectations. "All of a sudden, these lights appear. White lights, and some green lights, and some red lights, way off in the distance," Missert says. "It just did not ... Hosted by for KRTS