Traveler Recommendations from Texas Master Naturalists:
Grey Fox near Fort Davis, a "My Favorite Place" blog entry from David Mainz (October, 21, 2006 entry)
Texas Master Naturalists Meet at Davis Mountains Reserve 
Members of the Tierra Grande Chapter (2006) take a well-deserved rest during the hike up Mt. Livermore.
The second training meeting of the Tierra Grande Chapter of the Texas Master Naturalist Program (2006) was held at the Davis Mountains Preserve, Sept. 22-24. Friday evening the training sessions began with a pot-luck dinner followed by presentations by Dr. Cathryn Hoyt on “Weather and Climate” and “Texas Naturalists Prior to WWII.” Saturday morning, a single, laid-back coyote watched the group caravan by four-wheel drive vehicles up the rugged road through Limpia Canyon to the base of Mount Livermore (Texas’s fifth highest peak) for a hike to the mountain’s summit. On the way up, John Karges and Colin Shakleford pointed out species of plants and animals native only to this area and spoke to the practices of forest ecology and management. At the top, a few hardy souls actually climbed to the rocky ridge that marks the summit, while the more winded members ate a sack lunch and watched the young buzzards fly by at eye level. During the trip up and going down as well, Linda Hedges pointed out how interpretive commentaries can enrich a venture into a natural area like the Davis Mountain Preserve; Jackie Poole identified native plants along the trail for the group. The group returned down the mountain on a different trail through one of the only stands of Aspen trees in the area.
Returning to the lodge at the Preserve after the hike, the group enjoyed a campfire cooked meal prepared by Vern Stump. John Karges gave a presentation on herpetology (with some show- and-tell with a live milk snake); then Gary Dowdle took the group outside for some Astronomy 101 to orient them to the major constellations in the West Texas sky.
Sunday morning, the group began clearing a hiking trail on the Conservancy property
adjacent to the Lawrence E. Wood roadside park in the Davis Mountains. The group started mid-morning and by 2:00 that afternoon had cleared about a mile of what will eventually be a 3-mile trail open to the public sometime in the spring of 2007. After the clearing effort, the group wrapped up their weekend, looking forward to a trip to the Elephant Mountain Wildlife Management Area, October 13-15, for their third weekend training session.
Article written by Dr. Nelson Sager, Professor of English at Sul Ross State University and member of the 2006 Tierra Grande Chapter of the Texas Master Naturalist Program.
For more information regarding the Tierra Grande Chapter of the Texas Master Naturalist Program contact Steve Elfring at selfring@bigbend.net or call 432/364-2673.