Ghost Town Resurrected
by Kleo Maxwell
I
f you hit the blinking light at
Holland and 5th in Alpine at 5
p.m. on a weekday, you may expe-
rience the only traffic jam in Big Bend,
unless you happen to be behind a vehi-
cle that stops in the middle of the road
for a roadrunner or javelina. Vistors
and residents agree that the lack of
traffic is very attractive.
Much of the land in Big Bend is
comprised of private ranch land. Rene
Ybarra, a hunting guide since 2004,
reports that about 70 per cent of pri-
vate ranch land is used for hunting, 30
per cent for ranching and that approx-
imately 85 per cent of ranches allow
10
Cenizo
commercial hunting packages. With
more than 200 private ranches in the
area, none are smaller than a couple
thousand acres, most are larger. Mule
deer, pronghorn antelope, and big
horn sheep are all found in Big Bend.
Aoudad, a non-native sheep, is open
season and draws many hunters to the
region. Texas Parks and Wildlife
works with 40 ranches in Brewster
County alone, in a managed Lands
Deer Program, which allows an
extended hunting season with proper
resource management.
The McDonald Observatory hosts
thousands of visitors every year. Lack
First Quarter 2016
of light pollution in Big Bend lends to a
brilliant viewing of the night sky. At
night, the ribbon of the Milky Way
and falling stars are commonly sighted.
During the day it is not uncommon
to watch thunderstorms 50 miles away
or the sunset on the distant mountains
of Mexico, from the porch in the
Ghost town. Many visitors remark on
the “clear skies” of Big Bend.
Since the early days of Big Bend
National Park, there has been talk of
an international park, encompassing
wilderness areas on both sides of the
river. Though the recent political cli-
mate indicates the improbability of
Photo courtesy of Cassandra Perez
such an endeavor, the hope and belief
of those who experience life on the Rio
Grande is that one day communica-
tion and cooperation will return. Bill
Ivy, who grew up on a homestead near
the old Lajitas crossing, remembers,
“Living on the river we considered
ourselves neighbors, not foreigners.”
People come to visit Big Bend for
many reasons. Fort Davis has its
mountain beauty, Alpine its tiny cos-
mopolitan charms, Marfa its arts,
Marathon its gateway. But Terlingua
is unique even among the quirky ham-
lets of Big Bend: it has the river, the
Park, and the ghost town.