Sunday, March 08, 2009
Texas, so they say, is like a whole different country. And based on the way much of America is going, I like that difference more and more all the time. But enough about politics. Let’s talk the beauty of Texas’ landscapes and topography, shall we?
Our own little family home heaven outside Waco is a good example of the diverse and beautiful terrain in the Lone Star State. On our small ranch, we have a little bit of everything: impenetrable clusters of ash juniper (which Texans call cedar thickets), pecan groves and forests of live oak, cedar elm, red cedar, mesquite and more.
We have prickly pear, wildflowers, wild blue stem grasses and every imaginable vegetation one could seek.
And we have all the stunning wildlife that goes with them.
A beautiful river winds through our grounds, some wetlands and marshes, as well as babbling brooks if there is adequate rainfall. We also have farmland with hayfields and various agriculture grown in and around the area.
Traveling around Texas, I am amazed at the beauty and diversity of this great state. The piney woods of East Texas are totally different from the south Texas deserts. The Hill Country is a sight to behold with its rolling, forested landscapes.
On one great mule deer hunting trip way out west near Kermit and Andrews, I was pleasantly surprised and educated to the amazing vast sand dunes that looked like scenes from Lawrence of Arabia — pure, undulating, barren as far as the eye could see.
I was expecting to see someone riding over the horizon on a camel at any minute.
Thriving in West Texas
Fortunately, instead of camels I saw herds of mule deer. These large deer, normally associated with Montana, Colorado, Wyoming and other western mountain states, are thriving in West Texas.
Big trophy bucks? Well, this may very well be one of the deer hunting world’s best-kept secrets. It’s yet another testimony to the good conservation work of landowners, hunters and the professional biologists at Texas Parks and Wildlife.
In that region, giant white wind turbines and multicolored, oil-sucking pumpjacks dot the wide, open spaces, providing energy for the masses. Snaking pipelines and white holding tanks can be seen far and wide.
A sand dune recreational area we visited was alive with families enjoying a hot sunny Texas winter day on their noisy ATVs. By all appearances, the happy-go-lucky American Dream was alive and well.
Joined by cattle rancher Fred Wight and gung-ho hunter John Bermea, my deer-hunting friend Gary Sitton and I would cruise the dunes in search of mule deer each morning.
With each step, the sugar-like grains of lovely beige sand would slowly cascade down and over the spiraling rivulets of swirling soft granules, creating endless waves of graphic, abstract nature art. Stunning.
With deer, javelina, bobcats, hawks, eagles, badgers, porcupines, blue quail, jackrabbits and all sorts of indigenous critters always in sight, it is a wild animal lover’s paradise. I killed a pair of magnificent old bucks and two stinky javelina and had the time of my life climbing the dunes of West Texas.
If you haven’t done it yet, you’re missing out on one of Texas’ greatest treasures.
Ted Nugent is a Waco-based musician and television show host. Contact him directly at tednugent.com.
