Texas Outdoors

Texas Outdoors

Article by Ted Gresham
Photography by George Hosek

Texas has it all: mountains, prairies, sea coast, forests. The world beats a path to Texas’ cities and urban landscapes but it’s in wild Texas, found in an abundance of state and national parks, where true Texas adventure begins.

Texans value their treasures. They’ve established a multitude of parks to preserve important historical, sociological, and geological treasures. Texans love the outdoors, too. Hundreds of parks offer hiking, fishing, camping and swimming. Some even have such things as equestrian facilities or mountain climbing.

Texas State Parks are well maintained, clean, and highly accessible. Facilities are top-quality. Day trippers, Winter Texans with RV’s, Tent campers and wild country back-packers can all find plenty to keep their interest. Water and electric sites are the norm. Some State Parks have complete RV facilities. Virtually all of them have an RV service station. Quite a few State Parks have screened shelters for a very reasonable rate. A few even have cabins.

Texas State Parks are incredibly popular with the locals, proving how Texans value their outdoor opportunities. Popularity, however, has its drawbacks. Folks who want to visit a State Park, especially at peak times like Spring Break, during major holidays, and in the summer, need to choose their park and make reservations early.

National Parks in Texas vary as much in the facilities they offer as they do in the attractions found within them. Several federal agencies have parks in Texas. Most are administered by the National Parks Service (NPS), National Forest Service, or the Army Corp of Engineers. NPS parks are the most well developed and the most popular.

Forest Service parks are located throughout the National Forestlands of Eastern Texas where the U.S. Government works hard to protect and maintain the treasure of Texas forests. Corp Parks are usually found at Corp projects like dams and reservoirs. Forest Service and Corp parks vary a great deal. Some are fully developed while others are bare-bones, having only a few picnic tables, primitive camping, sometimes a boat ramp to an adjacent lake and possibly a toilet.

Bolivar Flats
A mecca for bird watchers and photographers, Bolivar Flats is one of the best locations in SE Texas for shorebirds. New

Lightning Portfolio by George Hosek
When I first started as an outdoor/nature photographer I was obsessed with storm chasing. New

Timm Timmis Bird Portfolio
I've been a fan of Tim Timmis` bird photography since I first saw his images several years ago. New

Wildflower Adventure By George Hosek
I just couldn't take it any longer, after seeing all the wildflower pictures I just had to go see them for myself. New

Rockport Trip Report by George Hosek
I'm driving down S. Fulton Beach Road in Rockport Texas at 5:30 am, just in time to find a location to photograph the sunrise. New

Shoot The Moon by George Hosek
I drove to the south jetty in Galveston with the intention of photographing the full moon rising in the east as the sun sets in the west. New

Enchanted Rock Adventure by George Hosek
I quickly focused on nearby Big Sandy Creek, the light was reflecting off the calm water. New

Brazos Bend State Park
One of Texas finest parks. National Geographic Traveler magazine listed Brazos Bend as one of America's Top Ten State Parks!

Memorial Park Houston
On any given fair weather day, Houstonians can be found taking advantage of a number of well manicured sports facilities at Memorial. New

Buffalo Bayou Houston
One of the largest and most popular, with hiking trails, exercise stations, a dog park, boat launch, skate board park and playground. New

Brazoria National Wildlife Refuge
The thunder of thousands of geese taking flight from the coastal marsh, bathed in the soft hues of a crisp, cold morning is something to behold.

San Antonio Missions
The missions of San Antonio are a main factor in the history of Texas and the core of the development of the city of San Antonio.

Washington on the Brazos Historical Site
At the entrance of Washington county, on U.S. 290 West, there is a sign which reads “Washington County: Birthplace of Texas”.

Texas Coast
Starts just west of Sabine, and stretches 370 miles south to the Rio Grande Valley.

Texas Birding
Fall is a great time of year in Texas as thousands of Ducks, Geese, Cranes, Shorebirds and the Raptors that prey on them converge.

August Lightning Brazoria County
What makes the photo above better than the other lightning shots I took from the same spot is the lit up foreground.

Guadalupe Mountains National Park
Whether you prefer a strenuous three day hike to a remote backcountry campsite or an easy day hike through a stunning canyon...

Star Trails Guadalupe Mountains
From the top of the Guadalupe Mountains in west Texas,
Ancient light from distant stars illuminates the night.

Dog Canyon, Guadalupe Mountains National Park
I arrived at the Guadalupe Mountains at 4:00 am, folded the seat back and slept for a couple of hours until sunrise.

Light Painting, Guadalupe Mountains National Park
Early one morning while waiting for the sun to come up and hopefully break through the dense clouds, I decided to try some light-painting.

Big Bend National Park
Visit Big Bend for all the reasons you avoid cities: big skies, clear air, big adventures in the outdoors. Changing seasons are mere blinks in Big Bend country.

Wildflowers Big Bend National Park
Early Spring at Big Bend National Park can be remarkable. Sometimes when the conditions are right the park transforms itself.

Lightning Big Bend National Park
Lightning exploded onto the hills in the distance. I watched hoping one would strike a little closer, then, out of nowhere a bright flash crashed to the ground.

Big Bend Lodging
Welcome to Texas Explorer's Big Bend Lodging, RV and River Rafting, Travel and Information webpage. The source for Big Bend phone numbers, addresses, links and pictures.

Big Bend Ranch State Park
Huge mountains tower over a vast desert expanse, rushing water carves massive canyons out of solid stone.

McDonald Observatory
The McDonald Observatory is one of the great Observatory Centers of the world. Built in the 1930's under terms of legacy from William Johnson McDonald.

Content copyright George L. Hosek. The articles and photographs on this site are for viewing on your computer only, absolutely, no commercial or personal reproduction without written consent from George Hosek.