We just finished Oktoberfest in Fredericksburg (#33). I calculate that I personally poured over 1,500 cups of beer over those 4 days. I heard lots of fun music, danced Jami in and out of a tent and through the parking lot. I clapped and hollered for the local band “The Polkamatics”, laughed at their corny humour, and ultimately, danced the last chicken dance.
Oktoberfest in Fredericksburg, Texas, where if you’re not having fun, it’s your own fault.
A TED Talk by Elizabeth Gilbert, author of Eat, Pray, Love made a 20 minute TED Talk a few years ago. Watch it. Trust me on this.
Yes, this is true
I’ve always been a reader. I was that kid who would figure out the number of books I was allowed to take out, and then choose books long enough to get me through the week before I could come to the library again. Although, to be fair, it was rarely a week. My parents were quite willing to encourage me in this kind of prolific reading. They didn’t even vet my choices or prohibit certain things*, reasoning that whatever I read was probably still better than getting involved with ‘The Drugs’ that haunted the school of every child of the eighties.**
So I read everything. Mysteries, horror, LGTBQ literary fiction, god-awful drugstore romance, non-fiction about dying in the Arctic…everything. Reading was my favourite thing to do, especially during classes when I couldn’t be bothered to pay attention.***
But when I went to university and generally became…
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How We Could Have the Best School System in Texas
I hear a lot about America’s failed public education system, but in the debate about how to “fix” education, I’ve never heard this: leave us alone. American business learned a long time ago that problems were best solved by the people closest to the problem. How many of us really believe that anyone in Austin or Washington can improve education in Gillespie County?
I believe this county is full of intelligent, dedicated, enthusiastic people and that if we were allowed to decide what our schools looked like and how they worked, they would be at the top in the state by every standard. If we could custom-design our school year, would it be the same as every other public school system in the state? I bet not. You know who lobbies the legislature for school start and finish dates? The lodging industry. Huh? Our textbooks (if we even had them!) might be different from those used in El Paso or Texarkana. Our graduation requirements might be completely different than those in Dallas or Houston. We would decide what success or failure looked like.
I’ll bet if we could design the school experience from start to finish, we wouldn’t have a ridiculous drop-out rate – instead, we would have an expanded program to teach the construction trades in partnership with local businesses. We have half about half a dozen precision machine shops in the county – good paying jobs with great benefits. Our high school would graduate kids who had participated in a joint program with the machine shops, knowing that they liked the work or not, ready for an internship. We already know what the principles of technology program has done for our kids – both my sons are engineers who went through PT from beginning to end- and there are many others. We might have kids graduating into a course of study at the coming culinary arts center. Business and public education would come together in a way which would benefit both. Give teachers flexibility. Teaching World War II? Bring in a veteran to tell first-hand what it was like. Teaching physics – bring in one of our many fighter pilots to talk about airflow in supersonic flight. Anatomy and physiology – give the kids an opportunity to spend an hour with a doctor talking about the body.
You get my drift? Teachers could teach without being told what and how by bureaucrats in Austin. Testing? Probably not – but we could decide here, instead of having it forced on us. Our school year would be what fit us. We would succeed or fail on our own. The fortunes of a community in many ways rise and fall with the quality of its education system. A community with a poor school system would have a challenge to meet – and I’ll bet they could rise to that challenge, too.
How about making Gillespie County an Education Free Zone?
I didn’t call this meeting, at a coffee shop. I arrive two minutes late, and he is already at a table. I sit across from him. His eyes dart around, noticing everything happening in the coffee shop, but he hides behind a grey beard. I know that, like all writers, he has an agenda. Writers are always looking for something; praise for a recent novel, comment on a recent success, or even a request to inscribe a book. Maybe they are looking for a new character, one with unusual flaws or habits, or perhaps they are eavesdropping on conversations. This particular writer has spent much of his life in the company of literary people, and was even the writer in residence at one prestigious university, professor and lecturer at others. His notes and correspondence and drafts are in a collection at a university, for God’s sake!
I don’t know what he wants from me yet, but he must be desperate; he has already paid for my cup of coffee.
He politely inquires about my writing, how’s it going, and so on, but I don’t believe a word of it. The inquiry about me is perfunctory; writers secretly hold all others in disdain. We tire quickly of people saying, “Oh, have you read this or that?” Of course we haven’t; we’re writing. Lately, I have been reading Hemingway, finding fault; his style, his negativity, the sometimes confusing flow of the story, but only in private. If I mention that out loud, I know I will be accosted and forced to admit my inferiority. Inside, unspoken, is the sure knowledge that I am better than Hemingway, and that someday the world will know.
In our first meeting I learned that he had been friends with one of my favorite writers, one whose writing helped shaped my stories. He had told me that “Abbey was all about Abbey.” Now, I’m thinking, the same thing is true of my new friend. He’s just like all the rest. Searching for perfection in a single phrase. Looking for the unexpected. So we quickly get to the point: he’s back into writing again, wants to take on some new work as an editor. He is about to publish a book of short stories. He is re-working a long abandoned novel. Now it makes sense, this invitation to meet. Eyes darting back and forth, he lays it out, and his unspoken vulnerability is revealed; Facebook, Twitter, blogging, he knows none of this. He is naked in the digital revolution.
I quickly lay out my offer: he speaks to our writing group, we get him the maximum publicity. We casually mention that his skill as an editor is back on the market. We talk about my group sponsoring a follow-on presentation, charging a fee, splitting the cash. The deal is done. He shakes my hand and leaves.
He is something I may never be – a seasoned writer.
On the porch at the Stone Village Grocery in Fort Davis, Texas, I had a conversation with two DPS Troopers (Highway Patrol for you non-Texans). I asked where they went each day in their territory, which is the size of several eastern states. He didn’t hesitate – we go where the road takes us.
While hiking in the Davis Mountains nearby, I watched a peregrine falcon fly overhead, then disappear in an impossibly fast dive. When I got back to the Stone Village Tourist Camp, where we stayed for almost a week, I looked it up on the excellent Cornell website, and a peregrine falcon is exactly what I had seen. I hiked in the area again several times, but never saw the bird again.
The Troopers go where they will, without a plan. The bird sees prey, and dives.
I’m not sure what this all means, but it seems important.
Carl Fabre, Certified Interpretative Guide
What is it that makes Enchanted Rock so enchanting? Many, perhaps most of the parks hundreds of thousands of visitors go home to say they climbed a big rock. According to Carl Fabre, The Rock has much more to offer visitors who want to be educated, who want to be involved. In fact, a visit to The Rock can be magnificently memorable.
Carl is a Certified Interpretive Guide. When he was nineteen, he took an aptitude survey, and found out that what he wanted most was to be a nature guide. Over forty years later, after a career as a nurse anesthetist, he became just that. Carl has been a frequent visitor since the seventies, when he began climbing, exploring, camping and photographing at Enchanted Rock. Along the way he became a Texas Master Natural Naturalist, and developed an intimate knowledge of the geology, plant, and animal life at The Rock. He knows enough about the area to customize a tour for his audience, so that each group leaves enlightened, engaged, entertained, and enthusiastic.
Eco-tourists can learn to appreciate the different species of vultures soaring overhead, how to ID them, and their natural history. On his Riparian Zone Tour, Carl’s emphasis is on ethnobotany, and birders can see and explore habitat where birds are more prevalent. His Backside Tour can be a glimpse into the history of rock climbing here over the years, pointing out classic climbs, and answering everyone’s questions on “how do they get up there”, and “how do they get down”? Children’s groups have more hands on experiences with pieces of mesquite, yucca, flint, and carrot shavings (yes, carrot shavings!). Everyone hears stories; legends from the Native Americans about the magic of the area and from frontier times and Texas Rangers. Stories from the early days of European settlers, or stories of its days as a private park. Carl says that ten thousand years of habitation have left plenty of material for his tours.
Carl says, “I will help to you connect your experience that goes beyond the facts; to reveal what things mean here, and how they fit together, and why they matter. I don’t strive to cover the material so much as to uncover it. I can show you tent blisters and doughnuts, rare plants, and reclusive wildlife, the kind of places it takes years of experience to locate.”
I asked Carl how E-Rock could be a better experience, and he came up with two things: “First, I’d like to see an accessible naturalist on the Summit Trail at all times, pointing out what people miss, explaining what they are seeing, and helping when they get lost. That would be my dream job! I’d like to see someone helping people understand that Enchanted Rock is much more than a big piece of granite. Second, I’d like to see a big effort to educate visitors with dogs to keep them leashed. This rule needs to be enforced somehow to keep them from disrupting the native wildlife, out of the vernal pools, and damaging the experience for others.
Is it time you found out what Enchanted Rock is really about? Carl’s Interpretive Guide services can be engaged by calling Rock-About at (512) 415-0804, and arranging an Interpretive Tour.
Superintendent, Enchanted Rock SNA
If you love camping, you love the outdoors, you love quiet, you love nature, you love Enchanted Rock, read on. Your dream job has just been taken. Doug Cochran was appointed as the superintendent of Enchanted Rock SNA on July 1st. I spoke with him last week.
Robert: “Where do you come from, Doug”
Doug: “I was born in San Antonio and went to high school in Laredo. I got a degree in parks and recreation from A&M in 1982. I worked for the City of Victoria park department for 28 years. The way I see it, I trained for this job for 28 years.”
Robert: “What do you like about living in the park?”
Doug: “I’m forty five seconds from my office! Of course, I’m on call, and I do get called out often. I am a long time camper, too. I love the Texas State Park system. Out here, it’s really quiet. I enjoy the animals, the songs of crickets and the birds, but the quiet is wonderful.”
Robert: “What is your vision for this park?”
Doug pointed to a plaque on the wall of his office. “Right there. The mission statement.” I got up and read the plaque: To manage and conserve the natural and cultural resources of Texas and to provide hunting, fishing and outdoor recreation opportunities for the use and enjoyment of present and future generations. “That sums it up. That’s my job, working with the staff, enhancing the visitor experience. Asking questions of the staff, for example, “Why do we do that?” Sometimes there is a better way.
Robert: “How do you feel about volunteers?”
Doug: “Volunteers will help us be more successful. We have three park host sites, but only one host. I’d like to have three. We’re not doing a bad job, but I want to find ways to do it better. We’re going to recruit and using more volunteers during peak times, too. That will really help our staff, with volunteers taking care of some of the work.”
Robert: “How tight is the budget?”
Doug: “Collecting user fees is very important. We expect more visitors than ever this year. We might have to purchase water again. Trails, trash, keeping the place looking good; with an increasing number of people here, we have a lot to keep up with.”
Robert: “What can you do about the long lines on the highway when the park is full?”
Doug: “My first concern is for the safety of the staff and people waiting on the highway. There is potential for someone to get hurt. I am going to work with TXDOT, Fredericksburg, Llano, the DPS, we are going to come up with some better signage. I’d like to see a shuttle service from the cities here, to minimize the cars. I’m introducing myself to the city council in Fredericksburg next week. I am going to be very engaged with the local communities.”
Robert: “What message would you like to put out to our readers?”
Doug: “Pick up trash. Yours or someone else’s. Be careful not to impact this place any more than necessary. Remember we are always short of water. There are a lot of people on the trails. This park is a unique experience; let’s keep it that way.”
Look for more information on what is happening at E Rock on this blog or on our Facebook page.
Robert Deming, Friends of Enchanted Rock volunteer, lover of all things natural, camper, climber, regular E Rock visitor, Facebook and Blog editor for the Friends, author of Enchanted Rock Red and Enchanted Rock Blue(s)
Scene of the Crime
Today I revisited the scene of the crime, where Enchanted Rock Red began. Map location
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