Art
October 7, 2021
From California Artists, a Stinging Critique of Texas’s Relationship to Its Land
An ambitious traveling exhibition asks how we became a state of endless fences, dams, and gas flares.
West Texas
Style & Design
August 9, 2021
West Texas Farmers Battle Them, but Now Tumbleweeds Have Become Trendy Decor
The prickly invasive weeds are cropping up all over Etsy and eBay.
Film & TV
June 14, 2021
Donny Cates’s ‘God Country’ Movie Will Bring Superheroes to Texas
The Austin-based artist is adapting his West Texas–set tale for the screen.
Energy
May 20, 2021
Haunting Images of the Permian Bust
Famed portrait photographer Dan Winters shifted his focus to a new character, the Permian Basin, as the storied region weathered a historic oil bust.
Food & Drink
April 9, 2021
A Hedonist’s Guide to Dining in and Around Big Bend
For a food obsessive like me, Big Bend’s culinary scene rivals the nature.
Music
February 4, 2021
Trumpeter Rob Mazurek May Have Made Marfa’s Great Cosmic Jazz Album
As one of the genre’s most prolific players, the West Texas-based musician brings an experimental approach to his work.
Books
November 28, 2020
In Her Tender Poetry Collection, Lucy Griffith Commemorates a West Texas Figure
The San Antonio native's debut book, about a woman known for riding her burro along remote roads, recently won two major poetry awards.
Travel & Outdoors
October 21, 2020
Tour de Texas, Week 7: Tough Climbs and Spectacular Views in West Texas
Bicycling the Big Bend region was an unforgettable experience, with beautiful desert and mountain vistas making up for the painful hills.
The Texanist
July 2, 2020
The Texanist: Is It a Good Idea to Visit West Texas in the Middle of a Pandemic?
A Houston man would like to maintain an annual summer tradition.
Border & Immigration
June 25, 2020
We Didn’t Think We Would Live in El Paso Permanently. It Became Home.
The border city treated my family with care and invited us to find community there.
Travel & Outdoors
June 24, 2020
The Surprising Story of How Salt Has Helped Shape Texas
From the Estelline spring in the Panhandle and the foot of the Guadalupe Mountains to the hypersaline lakes in the Rio Grande Valley, the common mineral is all around us.
Books
January 22, 2020
A Ross Thomas Adaptation Rethinks the Border Noir
'Briarpatch,' a new show on USA Network, portrays a West Texas rarely seen on TV.
Tacos
December 24, 2019
Taco of the Week: Barbacoa at Adriana’s Taqueria y Tortilleria
The expert beef preparation was a nice surprise at this Breckenridge breakfast-and-lunch spot.
News & Politics
December 18, 2019
Racing to Preserve Rock Art in the Lower Pecos Canyonlands
As part of the ambitious Alexandria Project, West Texas archaeologists are documenting several hundred pictographs in just four years.
Tacos
December 3, 2019
Taco of the Week: The Puffy Taco at Abilene’s La Popular Bakery
The fried treat scarcely found outside San Antonio isn’t officially on the menu, but it’s worth inquiring about.
Art
November 20, 2019
How a Brazilian Artist Found Inspiration in West Texas Prehistory and Deep Ecology
Solange Pessoa’s new exhibition at Ballroom Marfa, ‘Longilonge,’ is rooted in archaeology and human psychology.
Music
August 19, 2019
How Explosions in the Sky Became the Sound of Film and Television
Twenty years on, the band is Texas’s most subliminally recognizable export.
Parks & Recs
May 15, 2019
Hope Springs Eternal at Balmorhea
This spring, I revisited this sparkling West Texas gem after its long closure—and I’m glad I did.
Music
March 21, 2019
Premiere: The Final Chapter of Terry Allen’s ‘Pedal Steal’
The Lubbock native talks about his trippy, blood-flecked radio plays, the border wall, and working with Jo Harvey Allen.
Arts & Entertainment
October 23, 2018
On ‘Parts Unknown,’ Anthony Bourdain Asks If West Texans Are the Platonic Ideal of Texans
Spoiler: The answer is yes.
Country Notes
October 19, 2018
For Want of a Nail
Without a good shoeing, a horse can indeed be lost. Enter the farrier.
Travel & Outdoors
August 24, 2018
The Highs and Lows of Cycling the Fort Davis Scenic Loop
Cyclists take on the grueling Davis Mountains route to experience awesome views and thrilling descents.
Film & TV
May 4, 2018
Watch a Clip From ‘The Iron Orchard’ Before Its Premiere
The film debuts at the Dallas International Film Festival this weekend.
Country Notes
April 18, 2018
The Snakebite That Almost Killed My Cat
My cat was a fearless hunter who stalked the countryside—until she squared off with a rattlesnake.
Politics & Policy
March 26, 2018
More Sinkholes for West Texas?
A new study from two SMU scientists finds that oil and gas activity has made the ground unstable over a 4,000-square-mile swath of West Texas.
Travel & Outdoors
March 21, 2018
West Texas Hikes That Will Take You to Another World
These mountain hikes will take you to new heights—and new extremes.
Travel & Outdoors
February 12, 2018
Spring Break Itinerary: The Best of West Texas
What to do, where to eat, and more if you’re heading to Fort Davis, Marfa, Marathon, and/or Big Bend this season.
Libations
January 23, 2018
Three Enterprising Vets Hope Sotol Becomes the Next Mezcal
Despite its rich Texas history, sotol is a little-known spirit. The men behind new Driftwood distillery Desert Door want to change that.
January 15, 2018
Adventurers Explore Both Sides of Border in 1,200-mile Journey Along the Rio Grande
Over three installments, we follow a film team as they—by bike, horse, and canoe—document how a physical wall would affect the area, water, and its people.
Film & TV
December 21, 2017
The Wildcatters
Can a 1960s novel with a cult following finally become the blockbuster film its fans believe it should be?
Energy
July 20, 2017
Oil Theft is Increasing in West Texas
Marfa Public Radio reports on the down side of the boom.
Style & Design
April 27, 2017
The Big Bend Open Road Race
We found fast cars, big skies, and a whole bunch of daredevils at this annual high-speed race weekend out west.
Travel & Outdoors
January 10, 2017
2017 Travel Inspiration
Looking back on last year's best stories to plan this year's wanderings.
Country Notes
December 21, 2016
The Earth Below
The skies of West Texas are so grand that it’s easy to forget how much is going on under our feet.
Travel & Outdoors
October 7, 2016
Where to Wander To Next: October 2016
Selections from my personal wanderlist.
Travel & Outdoors
July 14, 2016
Wandering Around Alpine
An Insta-dispatch from the flourishing West Texas frontier town.
Food & Drink
April 20, 2016
The Chilton
West Texas’s claim on this fizzy, lemony cocktail is unprovable? We’ll drink to that.
Energy
January 27, 2016
Something in the Air
For a few months every year, life in West Texas is defined by the wind.
Family
November 18, 2015
Friday Night Lite
The only thing that’s smaller about six-man football is the field.
Energy
August 19, 2015
A Pipeline in the Sand
As the oil industry tries to make inroads in far West Texas, it’s learning that Alpine is no Midland.
Country Notes
June 12, 2015
Gone Loco
This year’s heavy rains have brought countless blessings to West Texas—and one very nasty weed.
The Daily Post
May 8, 2015
About That Outbreak of Chlamydia in West Texas…
A small high school in Crane, Texas, just confirmed that 20 of its 300 students have been diagnosed with Chlamydia, spurring a revisitation of the district’s abstinence-only sex education curriculum.
Texas History
May 7, 2015
A Mighty Wind
In drought-ravaged West Texas, cotton farmers find good omens in unlikely places.
Business
April 30, 2015
Buy a Truck at Benny Boyd in Andrews and Get an AR-15
Or a 9MM or a Ruger deer rifle. No, this is not a fake ad.
Energy
April 13, 2015
Silica Alley
A funny thing happened on the way to the San Angelo fracking sand transloading facility.
Energy
March 4, 2015
Learning to Roughneck
Growing up in the Permian Basin, I thought I had a sense of what it was like working the oilfields. Turns out I didn’t know a damn thing.
Country Notes
February 3, 2015
Consider the Chicken
The competition at the Big Bend Livestock Show is fierce. But treat your animal right and you might get to be number four with a pullet.