U.S.A. - Texas - Big Bend National Park

Big Bend National Park
The Chisos Mountains were born of volcanoes, and erosion has left jagged peaks of lava and ash. The usually plaid Rio Grande patiently carries the Chisos, bit by bit, to the Gulf of Mexico, more than 800 miles away.

Sent by Big Bend National Park.

Big Bend National Park is a national park located in the U.S. state of Texas. Big Bend has national significance as the largest protected area of Chihuahuan Desert topography and ecology in the United States, which includes more than 1,200 species of plants, more than 450 species of birds, 56 species of reptiles, and 75 species of mammals.

The park covers 801,163 acres (1,252 sq mi; 3,242 km²). It is larger than the state of Rhode Island. Few other parks exceed this park's value for the protection and study of geologic and paleontologic resources. A variety of Cretaceous and Tertiary fossilorganisms exist in abundance. Archaeologists have discovered artifacts estimated to be 9,000 years old, and historic buildings and landscapes offer graphic illustration of life along the international border in the 19th century.

For more than 1,000 miles (1,600 km), the Rio Grande/Río Bravo forms the international boundary between Mexico and the United States, and Big Bend National Park administers approximately 244 miles (393 km) along that boundary. The park was named after the area, which is bounded by a large bend in the Texas-Mexico border (see map at right below).

Because the Rio Grande serves as an international boundary, the park faces unusual constraints while administering and enforcing park rules, regulations, and policies. In accordance with the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, the park's territory extends only to the center of the deepest river channel as the river flowed in 1848. The rest of the land south of that channel, and the river, lies within Mexican territory. (read further)

USA - Texas - Austin (2)

AUSTIN, TEXAS
Austin is one of the most beautiful areas in Texas. The city spreads over scenic hills and is divided by the Colorado River.

Sent by Christy, a postcrosser from Texas, USA.

This is from Wikipedia : Austin (/ˈɒstɨn/ or /ˈɔːstɨn/) is the capital of the state of Texas and the seat of Travis County. Located in Central Texas on the eastern edge of the American Southwest, Austin is the thirteenth most populous city in the United States of America and thefourth most populous city in the state of Texas. It was the third-fastest-growing large city in the nation from 2000 to 2006. Austin has a population of 820,611 (2011 U.S. Census). The city is the cultural and economic center of theAustin–Round Rock–San Marcos metropolitan area, which had an estimated population 1,783,519 (2011 U.S. Census), making it the 34th-largest metropolitan statistical area in the United States and the fourth-largest in Texas.

In the 1830s, pioneers began to the settle the area in central Austin along the Colorado River. After Republic of Texas Vice President Mirabeau B. Lamar visited the area during a buffalo-hunting expedition between 1837 and 1838, he proposed that the republic's capital then located in Houston, Texas, be relocated to the area situated on the north bank of the Colorado River near the present-day Ann W. Richards Congress Avenue Bridge. In 1839, the site was officially chosen as the republic's new capital (the republic's seventh and final location) and was incorporated under the name, Waterloo. Shortly thereafter, the name was changed to Austin in honor of Stephen F. Austin, the "Father of Texas" and the republic's first secretary of state.

The city grew throughout the 19th century and became a center for government and education with the construction of the Texas State Capitol and the University of Texas at Austin. After a lull in growth from the Great Depression, Austin resumed its development into a major city in the 1980s and emerged as a center for technology and business. Many Fortune 500 companies have regional offices or headquarters in Austin including Whole Foods Market, Apple, AMD, Google, IBM, Intel, Texas Instruments, and 3M. Dell's worldwide headquarters is located in nearby Round Rock, a suburb of Austin.

Residents of Austin are known as "Austinites". They include a diverse mix of government employees (e.g., university faculty; staff, law enforcement, political staffers); foreign and domestic college students; musicians; high-tech workers; blue-collar workers and businesspeople. The city is home to development centers for many technology corporations; it adopted the "Silicon Hills" nickname in the 1990s. However, the current official slogan promotes Austin as "The Live Music Capital of the World", a reference to the many musicians and live music venues within the area, and the long-running PBS TV concert series Austin City Limits. In recent years, some Austinites have also adopted the unofficial slogan "Keep Austin Weird". This interpretation of the classic, "Texas-style" sense of independence refers to: the traditional and proudly eclectic, liberal lifestyles of many Austin residents; a desire to protect small, unique, local businesses from being overrun by large corporations; and, as a reaction to the perceived rise of conservative influences within the community. In the late 1800s, Austin also became known as the City of the "Violet Crown" for the wintertime violet glow of color across the hills just after sunset. Even today, many Austin businesses use the term "violet crown" in their name. Lastly, Austin is known as a "clean air city" for the city's stringent no-smoking ordinances that apply to all public places and buildings, and all restaurants. 

USA - Texas - Mapcard (3)

TEXAS
THE LONE STAR STATE
STATE CAPITAL : Austin
STATE FLOWERS : Bluebonnet
RANK BY ENTRY : 28th
AREA (Sq. Miles) : 267,336
STATE SONG : Texas Our Texas
MOTTO : Friendship
HIGHEST ELEVATION : Guadalupe Park - 8,751 ft.
LOWEST ELEVATION : Gulf of Mexico - Sea level
STATE BIRD : Mockingbird
STATE TREE : Pecan
RANK BY SIZE : 2nd
ADMITTED TO STATEHOOD : 12-29-1845

Sent by Piper, a postcrosser from Spring, Texas, USA.

USA - Texas - Guadalupe Mountains National Park

GUADALUPE MOUNTAINS NATIONAL PARK
A permanent stream makes McKittrick Canyon an oasis for wildlife in the heart of the Guadalupe Mountains.

Sent by C.T., a postcrosser from California, USA.

This is from Wikipedia : Guadalupe Mountains National Park is located in the Guadalupe Mountains of West Texas and contains Guadalupe Peak, the highest point in Texas at 8,749 feet (2,667 m) in elevation. It also contains El Capitan, long used as a landmark by people traveling along the old route later followed by the Butterfield Overland Mail stagecoach line. Visitors can see the ruins of an old stagecoach station near the Pine Springs Visitor Center. Camping is available nearby at the Pine Springs Campground. The restored Frijole Ranch House is now a small museum of local ranching history and is the trailhead for Smith Spring. The park covers 135 square miles (350 km2) and is in the same mountain range as Carlsbad Caverns National Park which is located about 25 miles (40 km) to the north in New Mexico. Numerous well-established trails exist in the park for hiking and horse-riding. The Guadalupe Peak Trail offers perhaps the most outstanding views in the park. Climbing over 3,000 feet (910 m) to the summit of Guadalupe Peak, the trail winds through pinyon pine and Douglas-fir forests and offers spectacular views of El Capitan and the vast Chihuahuan Desert.

The park also contains McKittrick Canyon. During the Fall, McKittrick comes alive with a blaze of color from the turning Bigtooth Maples, in stark contrast with the surrounding Chihuahuan Desert. A trail in the canyon leads to a stone cabin built in the early 1930s, formerly the vacation home of Wallace Pratt, a petroleum geologist who donated the land in order to establish the park.

USA - Texas - State Flower (3)

BLUEBONNET
Official State Flower
Round Top, Texas.

Sent by Cate, a postcrosser from Texas, USA.

"Named for its color and, it is said, the resemblance of its petal to a woman's sunbonnet, the bluebonnet is the state flower of Texas. It blooms in the early spring and can be readily found in fields and along the roadsides throughout central and south Texas. Scientifically named Lupinus texensis, the bluebonnet is also called buffalo clover, wolf flower, and (by the Mexicans) el conejo. It was adopted as the official state flower by the Texas Legislature in 1901."(Source)

USA - Texas - Dallas Museum of Art

Dallas Museum of Art
1717 North Harwood St, Dallas, TX 75201.

Sent by Lynn, a postcrosser from Dallas, Texas.

This is from Wikipedia : The Dallas Museum of Art (DMA) is a major art museum located in the Arts District of downtown Dallas, Texas, USA, along Woodall Rodgers Freeway between St. Paul and Harwood. In 1984, the museum moved from its previous location in Fair Park to the Arts District, Dallas, Texas. The new building was designed by Edward Larrabee Barnes, the 2007 winner of the American Institute of Architects Gold Medal.

The Dallas Museum of Art collection is made up of more than 24000 objects, dating from the third millennium BC to the present day. The museum is also defined by its dynamic exhibition policy and award-winning educational programs. The Mildred R. and Frederick M. Mayer Library (the museum’s non-circulating research library) contains over 50,000 volumes available to curators and the general public.

USA - Texas - Mapcard (2)

TEXAS
Texas won its freedom from Mexico in 1836. It was an independent nation for 10 years and was annexed by the United States in 1845.

Sent by Betsy, a postcrosser from Texas, USA.

USA - Texas - Dallas

DALLAS, TEXAS.
Reflection with mauve sky and tower.

Sent by Elizabeth, a postcrosser from Dallas, Texas.

USA - Texas - Allen Railroad Station

Allen Railroad Station. The first train robbery in Texas occured here by The Sam Bass Gang in 1878. The station is now a museum. Trians no longer run through Allen. The track remains.

Sent by Jan, a postcrosser from Allen in Texas, USA.

USA - Texas - State Flower (2)

Bluebonnets, one of 5,000 species of wild flowers that grow in Texas, blanket roadsides and meadows through the spring season.

Sent by Ellen from Meridian in Idaho, USA.

USA - Texas - State Flower (1)

BLUEBONNETS (Lupinus Texensis)
The Texas State Flower

Sent by Ezra, a postcrosser from Kansas, USA.

This is from Wikipedia : The bluebonnet, as a name common to several North American species of Lupinus, is the state flower of Texas. They typically grow about 0.3 m (1 ft) tall. The name may come from the shape of the petals of the flower and their resemblance to the bonnets worn by pioneer women to shield themselves from the sun. It may instead be derived from the Scottish term bluebonnet, for the traditional blue coloured version of the tam o'shanter hat.

Lupinus texensis is almost exclusively blue in the wild. A random genetic mutation does occasionally create an albino white bluebonnet naturally. Texas A&M University researchers were successful in breeding red and white strains, creating a Texas state flag in bluebonnets for the 1986 Texas Sesquicentennial. Further research led to a deep maroon strain, the university's official color.

Lupinus argenteus var. palmeri (syn. L. palmeri) grows in Texas, California, Colorado, Utah, Arizona and New Mexico. It is commonly referred to as a bluebonnet lupine.

Bluebonnet season in Central Texas generally runs from mid-March to late May.

USA - Texas - Wildlife

Sent by Michael from Whitewright in Texas, USA.

... and thanks for the beautiful stamps.

USA - Texas

Discover the many faces of the Lone Star State: a hill country meadow covered in bluebonnets, a solemn night view of the historical Alamo, and a fiery Gulf Coast sunset.

Rudy of Corpus Chriti promised to send me five postcards and here it is the fifth postcard from him.

USA - Texas - Mapcard (1)

The fifth postcard sent by Rudy from Corpus Christi in Texas.

USA - Texas - Corpus Christi (3)

Corpus Christi, Texas - Sparkling City by the Sea. The city is a major deepwater port and one of Texas most popular seacoast playground.

The fourth of the five postcards sent by Rudy who lives in Corpus Christi.

USA - Texas

A windmill is silhouetted against the sunset.

The third of the five postcards sent by Rudy of Corpus Christi.

USA - Texas - Corpus Christi (2)

Cole Park has become a Windsurfer's Delight. A strong, prevailing wind produces spectacular waves necessary for high-speed surfing. Corpus Christi is becoming known all over the United States and internationally as a Mecca for Windsurfing Tournaments.

The second of five postcards sent by Rudy who lives in Corpus Christi in Texas.

USA - Texas - Corpus Christi (1) - Greyhound Racetrack & Clubhouse

One of the five postcards sent by Rudy who lives in Corpus Christi, Texas. It shows a Corpus Christi Greyhound Racetrack and Clubhouse located at 5302Leopard Street. Year-round racing, open seven days a week.

USA - Texas - Port Isabel Lighthouse

The Port Isabel Lighthouse was constructed in 1852. Its light was extinguished in 1905 when the emergence of railroads decreased the amount of commercial shipping. Dedicated as a state park in 1952, this historic landmark became a popular tourist attraction.

The last of the five postcards sent by Demaris of Texas, USA.

USA - Texas - Mission San José

Mission San José, often referred to as "the Queen of Missions", was established in 1720 by Father Antonio Margil. Carefully restored, this mission reflects the peace and beauty of the Texas wilderness. The carved stonework and wooden doors remain as a perfect tribute to the beauty of simplicity.

The fourth of the five postcards sent by Demaris of Texas, USA.