Being there was extra time to spend in Alpine, Texas I explored the little town and discovered the Museum of the Big Bend located at the Sul Ross State University.
The museum covers the natural and human history of this culturally diverse region.
Native Americans inhabited the area for thousands of years before the arrival of the Spanish.
Long before Texas became part of the United States, Mexican people lived on both sides of the Rio Grande River.
Then there was the westward expansion across America.
And don’t forget the more modern icon of Dan Blocker, playing Hoss Cartwrite from the 1959-1973 TV show Bonanza, whose Alma Mater is the Sul Ross State University.
Also on exhibit was “Trappings of Texas”, an annual western art show that opened with the Texas Cowboy Poetry Gathering at the end of February.
Plus selections from the the Davis Map Collection.
Too many interpretive signs with too much text caused me to only read the headlines. Otherwise I’d have been in this sweet little museum about five times the hour it took me to take it in.
Yet I did enjoy the historical preview to the Big Bend area as I plan to visit Big Bend National Park on my return to Arizona.
