Heritage Tours and Texas Exes Present The “West Texas Adventure” Tour Exclusively For Texas Exes Members – September 2022
Grab your exclusive chance to see the most dramatic and overpowering scenery in Texas – the mountains and high desert of the Trans-Pecos region and the Big Bend National Park area, partly in the company of one of Texas’ most noted historians and screenwriters, former UT Professor Stephen Harrigan, author of the recently-published Big Wonderful Thing: A History of Texas.
Along the way, you will visit several of the most iconic towns of West Texas: Pecos, Fort Davis, Marfa, Fort Stockton, Lajitas, Terlingua, Marathon and the Big Bend National Park.
Just a few of the many highlights:
Futuristic astronomy and other-worldly mysteries…
- Check out the cutting edge of astronomical research when you participate in a Nighttime Star Party and private daytime tour of UT’s McDONALD OBSERVATORY telescopes.
- Search for the MARFA LIGHTS, one of the world’s greatest UNEXPLAINED MYSTERIES! Aliens? Ghosts? Scientific phenomena?
The State’s most dramatic scenery and geology…
- Go sightseeing in the BIG BEND NATIONAL PARK, which includes seeing the jaw-dropping Santa Elena Canyon from the Rio Grande riverbank.
- Walk the Chihuahuan Desert Research Institute grounds with professional naturalists. Don’t touch the cactus.
- Enjoy 3 of the top 4 “Most Scenic Drives in Texas” as voted by Texas Highways readers – truly the State’s most spectacular scenery! Plenty of photo stops on the Davis Mountains Loop west of Fort Davis, Presidio to Lajitas Highway bordering the Rio Grande River (FM170) and the Ross Maxwell Scenic Drive (inside Big Bend National Park).
Time travel to the authentic Wild West, when you see West Texas as it really was…
- Go back in time at the most photogenic fort in America, FORT DAVIS, and relax in the West Texas high desert town of Fort Davis, the location of the movie DANCER, TEXAS.
- Enjoy the ghost town of TERLINGUA, the world-famous site of the Texas Chili Cookoff, thankfully, without the crowds.
- Tour the Annie Riggs Hotel in FORT STOCKTON, where the bloodstains on the Sheriff’s desk are still there. Your dinner will be catered at the Fort itself. Don’t rile the sheriff.
- Be careful in the Saloon of the West of the Pecos Museum, where a gunfight shot up the place. Your dinner there will not be quite that dangerous.
- See memorabilia from the movie Giant at the EL PAISANO HOTEL in Marfa, before having dinner at the hotel. Many of the cast and crew stayed here.
Plus other pleasurable moments…
- Bunk down for two nights at the historic INDIAN LODGE outside Ft. Davis, and two nights at the scenic CHISOS MOUNTAINS LODGE nestled right in the heart of Big Bend National Park, plus one night at the Pecos Best Western and one night at the Fort Stockton Fairfield Inn.
The tour includes the following meals:
- Four breakfasts: The Pecos Best Western, the Fort Stockton Fairfield Inn, and Indian Lodge Black Bear Restaurant (two).
- Five lunches: Chihuahuan Desert Research Institute, Fort Davis Drug Store, Lajitas Resort Hotel, Big Bend National Park, Gage Hotel in Marathon.
- Five dinners: West of the Pecos Museum in Pecos, Hotel Limpia in Fort Davis, Jett’s Restaurant at the Hotel Paisano in Marfa, Starlight Café in Terlingua, on the fort grounds in Fort Stockton.
This is an exclusive Texas Exes Flying Longhorns tour. While you do not have to be an alumnus of UT to travel with us, we do ask that all Flying Longhorns travelers have an active membership in the Texas Exes. Memberships start at just $50.
Click here to download a detailed itinerary of the tour in PDF form, last updated January 10, 2022. This should be considered accurate as of time of update but due to the uncertainties caused by the pandemic, it is possible that some elements may have to be altered even during the tour itself. Registered tour passengers will be kept informed of any changes as they occur.
Click here to download the tour policy and liability release document in PDF format. This must be filled out and returned at least fifteen days prior to tour embarkation. The PDF form can be downloaded, filled out in any recent PDF reader software (we suggest Adobe Acrobat Reader DC) by typing your name(s) and date at the bottom, then you can save and return it to the email address shown on the form. Alternately, you may print the PDF out, sign it conventionally and mail it to the address on the form.
Payment And Registration
Due to the pandemic and security concerns, we are currently exclusively using PayPal to accept payments for both the deposit and remainder of the tour price. No PayPal account is required – you may pay using Visa, MasterCard, Discover or American Express without a PayPal account. If you have a PayPal account, you can also pay using your PayPal balance, direct debit from your bank account or an electronically-processed check. We will not record or retain your payment information; PayPal manages the security of the payment process. We are no longer accepting paper checks under any circumstances but if you do not wish to pay online, you may contact us to make other arrangements.
The price of the tour is $2299 per person double occupancy or $2723 per person single occupancy, starting with departure from Midland-Odessa Airport – transport to the airport departure point or from the airport after the tour is completed is not included. Gratuities for coach driver, hotel luggage assistance, restaurants and speakers are included in this price. A deposit of $300 per person is needed to reserve a space.
To register and pay now, follow these steps:
- Click the PayPal “Pay Now” button immediately below.
- Proceed through the PayPal deposit checkout process. You can pay for multiple persons’ deposits at one time if desired.
- Once you have completed PayPal checkout, you will be taken to an online form to register for the tour – so please don’t just close out of the window when you finish checkout! Complete the form, hit submit and you’re done with the deposit and registration.
If you have problems with this process, please contact us.
PayPal – Deposit Checkout And Tour Registration: