Exploring New Places

 

Wildflowers and more by the lake

It's fun to explore new places. The Rolling Plains Chapter Texas Master Naturalist decided this year to host public hikes in all 10 counties we cover. April was Archer County. We originally planned the hike for the 5th, but we had that wonderful rain, so rescheduled for this Saturday.

I was responsible for selecting the place for this month's hike so decided to check out Archer City to see what I could find. I thought about a few other locations in the county, but I have been meaning to check out some other things in Archer City and just haven't gotten around to it, so decided to make it a day.

I checked out Burkett Park. Initially, it looked like a typical community park with a playground, a picnic pavilion, and a ball field. However, after some exploration, I found the entrance to a hiking path and decided this would be a good short hike for this event.

Saturday turned out to be a nice morning for a hike, although it was very windy, which for me was disappointing, since it reduces the number of birds seen. We had 15 people participate in the hike. Because the wind was so strong, the lake was very choppy, so other than a couple of Canada geese flying by, there were no waterfowl. However, there were still some nice birds. Canada goose, turkey vulture, black vulture, cedar waxwing, Carolina wren, blue jay, northern cardinal, northern mockingbird, scissor-tailed flycatcher, western kingbird, barn swallow, red-winged blackbird, common grackle, European starling, and house sparrow. A couple of the hikers saw a roadrunner cross the trail, but I missed it. Nothing striking, but any day birdwatching is better than housework. I will need to come back when I can explore more of the trails behind the park.

After the hike, I decided to try Murn's Cafe. I have seen it many times when driving through Archer City, but I have never stopped. If you haven't been there, I would recommend it. Good food and very economical. 

I also stopped in Booked Up. Formerly, Larry McMurtry owned the bookstore, which was housed in multiple buildings. Currently, it is a rare and fine book store. If you are a collector, or a Larry McMurtry fan, you definitely need to stop in to browse. Many of the used books are overpriced (in my opinion), but there are some interesting collectibles, and they do have signed copies of Larry McMurtry's books as well as many books from his personal collection with his bookplate in them. It also houses the Larry McMurtry Literary Center and book sales are considered a donation. I did find an Encyclopedia of Nursery Rhymes I felt I had to have.

Archer City is known for the filming location for The Last Picture Show and Texasville, both based on novels by Larry McMurtry. The courthouse on the square is an interesting building. I need to go back and explore some more another time.

Next time you are driving through Archer City, take a little extra time and stop.

Good Birding!