Ferns of Southwest - Texas a Land of Diversity from Swamp to Desert.

 

 

            You will arrive at DFW Airport, which is fifteen miles long and three miles wide.  It consists of five terminals and seven runways.  It is the largest in size and the fourth largest in volume in the nation.  The airport is located between Dallas and Ft. Worth so it would be more practical so we will stay at a nearby hotel to avoid expensive taxi rides.  Hotel pickups are free.  There are many daily direct flights from Great Britain, Germany and the Netherlands.

            Everyone should arrive on October 2, 2007.  The tour will begin early Wednesday, October 3.  We will then tour the fern garden of Ruth Dynbort, and then proceed to the sixty six acre Dallas Arboretum and Botanical Garden (which is only twenty five years old).  It contains the finest color gardens in the U.S., as well as the Fern Dell Garden.  Lunch will be in the garden before proceeding to Casa Flora, the largest fern liner grower in the U.S.  Their plants (106 varieties) are grown in four tissue culture laboratories, three of which are in Florida and one in Dallas. In small groups, we will take a brief tour of their laboratories and greenhouses and a greenhouse housing where their new ferns are being trialed and tested for speed of growth and cold hardiness before a decision is made to produce a variety. 

            Proceed to Naud and Wim Burnett’s home for wine, cocktails, beer and appetizers.  We will then enjoy dinner at an authentic Tex-Mex restaurant as guests of Casa Flora.

             Dallas hosts the State Fair of Texas during the first two weeks of October, with an attendance of a million and a half visitors.  There will be exhibits of pigs and other animals, a Midway with rides, museums, and a musical in the Music Hall.  There will also be fun rides, including the world’s largest ferris wheel and the bearded lady on the midway.   It’s great to sit on the bench and watch the world go by.

 

October 4, Thursday

            We will leave the DFW hotel for the fern garden of Judy Caughlin in nearby Arlington where we will see around 150 species in her woodland garden.  Proceed to Fort Worth to B.R.I.T. and a tour of their world-class Horticultural library and Herbarium of Texas Ferns and Native Plants.  Lunch will be at the Kimball Museum, which is located in the Arts District, which includes the Ft. Worth Botanical Garden, which we will be visiting next.  Their gardens were started in the 1930’s so it has acquired a very mature appearance.  The garden also includes a Japanese Garden, a garden of perennials, roses, theme gardens, as well as a large conservatory with many ferns.

            We will then have dinner (on your own) at a new 2000 room Gaylord Texan Hotel with all of the rooms looking into large glass-roofed gardens.  Too expensive to stay at but nice to visit.  I have been forewarned that some of their fifteen restaurants there can be pricy as well.  It’s a short bus trip from our hotel.  It is the Texas version of the original Opryland Hotel in Nashville, Tennessee.

 

October 5, Friday

            Today and tomorrow are considered the most hectic days in Dallas.  Not only is the State Fair in progress, but the football game and rivalry between the Texas University and Oklahoma University is taking place at the Cotton Bowl at the State Fair.  So we must leave early to avoid the drunken visitors.  We will start at Tyler State Park where we will see many Native Ferns in the pine forests.  We will then proceed to Hot Springs, Arkansas vicinity to see the Galvan Arboretum where Don Crank, a fern enthusiast, will show us 52 fern species in the next tour garden.

            The evening meal will be at our resort hotel at De Gray State Park near the Hot Springs.

 

October 6, Saturday

            Don Crank will lead us to the Ouachita (wash a tah)  National Park including  Meyers Creek where we will see twenty six genus/species of ferns.  We will be wandering over hills and dells with accompanying creeks and swamps where native stands of Dixie Wood fern, Marsh fern, other ferns and fern allies are abundant.  Don urges us to have waders, waterproof shoes, or an extra pair of washable shoes.  This is an all day event and we will have lunch in the forest.

            Dinner will be at the resort where we will have a slideshow for participants who would like to bring slides.

 

October 7, Sunday

            Leave for Nacogdoches  (pronounced nak, ugh, doe, chez.  It is an Indian word).  We will take a scenic road through a pine forest.  We will stop briefly at Caddo Lake, which was created by an earthquake in Madrid, Missouri in the late 1800’s.  There we will see primeval forest, swamp lake with Cypress trees festooned with Spanish Moss from their limbs and cypress knee growths projecting above water level.  There should be native ferns nearby.  It’s a really weird and spooky place.  We will then proceed to Nacogdoches to the Mast Botanical Gardens at Stephen F Austin University.  Roger Hughes will be our host.  We will then proceed to an experimental forest with pavement for a pleasant walk in a pine and oak forest where native ferns are plentiful.  

            Dinner will be on your own.  Hotel not yet selected.

 

October 8, Monday

            The agenda for that day is not yet decided.  An option is to drive to Houston, stopping at a native nursery and Big Thicket National Forest (the last virgin forest left in Texas).  We should see many ferns.  We are attempting to see a tropical fern collector before visiting the Mercer Arboretum in the area of north Houston (a large and growing city).  We will more than likely spend the night somewhere in a Houston suburb.

 

October 9, Tuesday

            On our drive to Austin the (Capital of Texas) we may stop by a small botanical garden specializing in Mexican natives before visiting Zilker Botanical Garden in Austin, which has a newly installed fern garden.  It has large ground covers of Marselea.  We will proceed to the hotel, which overlooks the major bridge on Town Lake.  The underside of the bridge is home to a million and a half Mexican bats.  It is quite a spectacle to see a cloud of bats fly out at dusk for a night of eating insects.

 

October 10, Wednesday

            We are planning a short trip to see ferns in native habits.  Arrangements are being made to tour a few private gardens and end up at another garden for cocktails and walking a few blocks to the home of Staghorn enthusiast Laura Joseph for dinner in her garden.

 

October 11, Thursday

            We will take a short drive to San Antonio where we will visit the San Antonio Botanical Garden and perhaps some native fern sites as well as the Riverwalk near the Alamo and Riverwalk.  There are many restaurants along the Riverwalk or you may want to take a riverboat, which cruises the winding river through the heart of the city.  San Antonio is a major U.S.A. tourist attraction.

 

October 12, Friday

            We must leave early to depart for the Enchanted Rock Mountain which is a broad granite dome that can be climbed and often see small pools with Marcelea.  It is a bit out of our way but well worth it. We will proceed on the second longest journey of the trip to Big Bend National Park in area called the Trans-Pecos, which is part of the Chihuahua Desert.  We will spend the night at the Marathon Texas or the Chisos Mountain Lodge, which is at an elevation 8,000 ft and can be quite cool even when it is hot in the desert below.   You will marvel at the next two days when you see the xerophytic ferns that survive in an area with 8” of rain.  Quite often there are summer and fall rains in the mountains and ferns quickly resume growth after being dormant.  We will have tours to the native sites of abundant ferns by naturalist Petei Zelazny.  You will be given a book on of the Trans-Pecos, which she was involved in its creation.

 

October 13, Saturday and October 14, Sunday

            Petei will take us to Cat Tail Falls, Girls Scout Camp and to Fort Davis area in the Davis Mountains that can get up to 20” of rain (mainly in the summer) so there is an abundance of ferns.  The desert wild flowers can be wonderful after rainy spells.  Also to be seen are the herbarium in Alpine of Sul Ross University, native plant nursery Marfa lights (mysterious, darting lights visible to Indians before European settlers) Fort Davis and McDonald observatory for those who would like to see the outer space university of Texas facility.  “The stars at night are big and bright, deep in the heart of Texas.”

            While this part of Texas is in what some may consider “God forsaken”  country, we hope you will find it fascinating and so peaceful, you will want to come back.   

 

October 15 Monday

            This will be the longest part of the tour on our return to DFW, and with a short stop at Monahan Sand Dunes State Park.   Giant sand dunes make you feel like you’re in the Sahara. 

            After visiting the Sand Dunes, we will return to the hotel at DFW and for our farewell dinner.  Most participants will probably return to your homes on Oct. 16.  Any of you who wish to stay an extra few days are welcome to stay with Wim and Naud. (A maximum of four people).

 

            Texas geological record began over a billion years ago when it was covered by the ocean and sediments built up over the ages and with many uplifts about three hundred million years ago.  The Ouachita Mountains rose from Big Bend to Arkansas.  These mountains blocked sediment and created the ingredients for the vast West Texas oil fields.  These mountains are now covered with sediment and rock until about 2 to 66 million years ago with sediments 50,000 ft. under the Gulf Coast plain.  The Davis Mountains and Chisos Mountains with many peaks, in Big Bend, were created by volcanos, which we see today.

            While making our journey across Texas we will call your attention to the features formed by the uplifts, formations and the locations where the dinosaurs were abundant and their foot prints can be seen in many in dry riverbed and limestone rock.

            About 2 million to 10 million years ago, the Ice Age ended and its ice melted, the sea level rose, and bays and estuaries were formed.  The rivers brought more sand to form beaches and barrier islands.

Source:  Roadside Geology of Texas