West Texas pride guide

The big sky and the wide-open spaces of West Texas have been captured in a new travel guide for adventurous history buffs.

The Texas Historical Commission, for The Texas Heritage Trails Program, launched the Texas Pecos Trail Region guide at the Commemorative Air Force hangar Thursday.

"I guess we can keep referring to this as a launch because there's planes all around us," Mark Wolfe, chief deputy executive director, laughed. "We are very proud and very excited" to offer this guide.

The new guide encompasses 22 West Texas counties, stretching from Andrews County in the north to Maverick County in the south and from Reeves County in the west to Kimble County in the east. Featured attractions include the Monahans Sandhills and the San Solomon Springs in the Balmorhea State Park.

The Historical Commission asked Virginia Shahan to participate in the unveiling ceremony. Shahan owns the Shahan HV Ranch, near Brackettville in Kinney County, which is where Alamo Village is located. According to its website, Alamo Village is Texas' first permanent outdoor movie location and was built for John Wayne's epic "The Alamo." It sits in the middle of the Shahan HV Ranch, seven miles north of Brackettville on Highway 674. The set includes a full-scale period town and the only replica of the 1836 Alamo mission in the world. Brackettville is included in the Pecos Trail Region

"Know that you live here, be proud of it and tell everybody you live here," Shahan said of West Texas pride.

In the guide, Odessa is touted for being the home to the restored house of George H.W. and Barbara Bush, the second-largest meteor crater in the United States and "one of the only museums dedicated solely to the U.S. presidency." The guide also includes some history, legends and lore of this boom-and-bust town.

In Midland, the guide highlights the Petroleum Museum, the Yucca Theatre and even tells travelers where they can get a taste of flora and fauna at the Sibley Nature Center in Hogan Park.

"Texans like to share things we value ... we have a sense of pride," Wolfe said about why this guide is important to West Texans.

"We preserve these places because they have meaning. History gives value to the places that people live," he said.

Other Texas Heritage Trails

>> Texas Brazos Trail.

>> Texas Forest Trail.

>> Texas Forts Trail.

>> Texas Hill Country Trail.

>> Texas Independence Trail.

>> Texas Lakes Trail.

>> Texas Mountain Trail.

>> Texas Plains Trail.

>> Texas Tropical Trail.