New Twist!
We'll be releasing books related to the Butterfield Overland Mail Stage on the 27th or 28th of each month through September 2008 to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the first meeting of the western- and eastern-bound stage coaches at the Guadalupe Mountains. Check at our many historic Butterfield sites in the Texas Mountain Trail region on those dates...you may find a BookCrossing book! For more information on Buttefield, click here.
Texas Mountain Trail BookCrossing Program
The Texas Mountain Trail and four regional Chambers of Commerce and CVBs are working together on a project to promote visitation of our museums, parks and historic sites to be launched the first weekend in October 2007.
The project is based on the very popular BookCrossing concept, a worldwide phenomenon involving more than 4 million books since 2001. BookCrossing--the literary equivalent to geocaching--is the practice of leaving a book in a public place to be picked up and read by others, who then do likewise. Some folks liken the program to a treasure hunt.
Some books travel all over the world, getting “caught” and enjoyed, registered and then “released” many times over. This is a fun way for visitors and potential visitors to learn about our culture, history and natural history, and encourage visitors to enjoy Far West Texas. For more information on BookCrossing worldwide, click here.
When we launch the project to the public, books may be found at our established BookCrossing Zones including:
Fort Davis
Fort Davis Chamber of Commerce
Overland Trail Museum
Overland Trail Campground
Alpine
Alpine Chamber of Commerce/CVB
Lost Alaskan RV Park
Marfa
Marfa Chamber of Commerce
Van Horn
Van Horn Convention and Visitors Center
KOA Kampground
Eagle’s Nest RV Park
Clark Hotel Museum
The Texas Mountain Trail will add custom-made photo stickers to the donated books, highlighting communities, parks, museums, historic sites depicted in them, and encourage visits to those locations. For example:
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Hallie Stillwell’s I’ll Gather My Geese, might have photo stickers of Hallie’s Hall of Fame Museum, Big Bend National Park, Alpine, Marathon, etc.
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The children’s book about javelinas, Don’t Call Me Pig, might highlight the Chihuahuan Desert Research Institute, Davis Mountains State Park, Barton Warnock Environmental Education Center, Davis Mountains Preserve, the two national parks, etc. (Same with books on birds and birding, snakes, reptiles, wildflowers, cacti, etc.)
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Edna Ferber’s Giant!, might direct visitors to the Marfa and Presidio County Museum and the Paisano Hotel.
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Leon Metz’s John Wesley Hardin: Dark Angel of Texas, might have photo stickers of Concordia Cemetery and other key El Paso sites.
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Books on rock art could highlight Hueco Tanks, Red Rock Ranch, or Big Bend National Park, El Paso’s Museum of Archaeology.
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Nevada Barr’s Track of the Cat, could highlight pertinent areas of Guadalupe Mountains National Park
The stickers will direct tourists to independent bookstores in the region, related pages on this website and will acknowledge book donors. A partial list of books and featured attractions is here.
Our hearty thanks to our book donors who make this project possible!
Diane Moore, The Hotel Limpia Gifts, Fort Davis
Jim Glendenning, Alpine
Clark Hotel Museum, Van Horn
Overland Trail Museum, Fort Davis
Overland Trail Campground, Fort Davis
Beth Nobles, Van Horn
Patricia Golden, Van Horn
Ran Horn, Van Gogh Art Gallery, Van Horn
Van Horn Economic Development Corporation, Van Horn
Laura Dameron, Bluff Dale
Dusty and Bonnie Hensen, El Paso Saddleblanket Company, El Paso
Marfa Public Library
Joni Marginot, Marfa Chamber of Commerce
Big Bend Natural History Association
Pete Szilagyi, Fort Davis
Anonymous
We're always looking for donations of new or used books about the region. Books may be dropped off at the following locations:
- Alpine Chamber of Commerce/CVB
- Fort Davis Chamber of Commerce
- Marfa Chamber of Commerce
- Van Horn Convention Center
THANK YOU FOR YOUR HELP!!!!