Do you miss exploring the vast landscape of Big Bend, stargazing from your truck bed, or venturing through small Texas towns? So do we, and although we may be temporarily confined to our homes, it doesn’t mean you can’t escape—albeit virtually—to beloved Texas destinations. On Instagram, readers often share their favorite travel photos from our great state using the #TMWanders hashtag, so we recently put out the call for photos to be considered for our downloadable gallery of Texas Monthly video backgrounds. We received some beautiful options, many of which included touching stories behind the photos.
With many Texans working from home or having to quarantine away from family and friends, videoconference applications, such as Zoom, have become powerful tools to help connect people while navigating life during the coronavirus pandemic. Browse the gallery of our hand-selected submissions, read the stories behind them in the photographer’s own words, and download your favorites to transport yourself to Palo Duro Canyon State Park under the stars or escape to the bluebonnet-lined main street of Ennis on your next videoconference call or virtual happy hour.
“Palo Duro Canyon State Park offers miles of hiking trails with stunning views. The canyon camping is unrivaled as sunny blue skies give way to a blanket of stars best admired on a peaceful, moonless night.”
-Alison Takacs, @alison.takacs
“Coreopsis flowers in Palestine. I chase wildflowers every year, but this year most of my wildflower plans were postponed. I look forward to getting back on track next spring.”
-Dana Goolsby, @dgetx
“I had always wanted to take my girlfriend to far West Texas, as she had never been. We had driven into Terlingua Sunday, March 15, with a bit of trepidation as to what all was going on with the virus. We woke up Monday and went to the gas station to fill up. After hearing all the gossip about the parks closing and nervous locals concerned about all the spring breakers, we decided to head back to Dallas. That night I had Las Burras number two reserved deep in Big Bend Ranch State Park. At the last minute, after calling family and friends and scouring the news, we decided to stay and take it one day at a time, knowing the following night was going to be as far away from civilization as we could possibly get. Getting that far off the grid did wonders for both of our spirits, knowing that all of the chatter and panic can be controlled in our own hearts by pragmatic thinking and loving our neighbors as ourselves. It was a wonderful personal growth experience in what I consider the most beautiful part of Texas."
Robin Roden, @texasphoto2020
“Hunting for bluebonnets led my girlfriend and me to Ennis, the bluebonnet capital of Texas, on a rainy Sunday right before quarantine.”
-Daniel Hayden, @danielkhayden
“Few things beat a West Texas sunset! Here the sun is setting over the Glass Mountains in Brewster County on a spring Sunday. I hope we’re all able to find beauty around us and some balance in these uneasy times.”
-Shelby Landgraf, @shelbylandgraf
"This serene, unnamed pond in the Great Trinity Forest lies on the southwest corner of the Texas Horse Park at the end of the Holland Trail. The trail was designed and cleared by Dallas–Fort Worth area veterans groups and named in honor of LTC Dan Holland, an Army officer and veterinarian. Dan was killed by an improvised explosive device on May 18, 2006, outside Baghdad while working with local Iraqis on a mission to inoculate their livestock. The Holland Trail winds through three miles of the Great Trinity Forest, the nation's largest hardwood bottomland forest."
-Jeff Hensley, @nickelintexas
Two horses grazing in the phlox and bluebonnets in Grapeland.
-Dana Goolsby, @dgetx
To download, right click the photograph and select “Save Image As,” choose a destination to save the photograph, and click “Save.” Zoom background showing up backward? To undo, go to settings, select “Virtual Background,” and uncheck the “Mirror My Video” box on the bottom of the window.
