Country Lifestyles
See North Texas on the Trails Less Traveled
By Jessica Crabtree & Michelle Ellis
Do you like the outdoors? Do you love riding horses? Are you needing to de-stress or find an outlet from chaos of the everyday grind? Combine them all and see the trails and roads less traveled in North Texas from the seat of a saddle while horseback along some of the best trails North Texas has to offer. When it became aware to avid trail riders that trails across the great state were becoming sparse, it propelled a movement in informing, educating and maintaining trails throughout the state. As a result, more avenues for information emerged, clearer more detailed information about specific trails transpired as well as maps and readily available resources for the beginner to the devoted trail riders.
While every rider rides for different reasons, every trail is different. Fortunately, there are enough in the North Texas area to keep all riding the path they so choose. Every trail varies on degree of difficulty, entrance fees, distance, camp site availability, amenities and more.
Michelle Ellis of Denton, Texas, has been trail riding since childhood, but bought her first horse at age 34. As a proponent of trail riding and advocate to keep trails maintained, she is a great source of trail riding info.
Why do people trail ride?
“People trail ride for a variety of reasons, but for the majority it is to escape and relax, getting an opportunity to connect with the nature around you.”
As an experienced trail rider, what do you look for in a good trail?
“Different levels of riders want different things. Some prefer serene and quiet 10-foot wide trails of flat unchallenging grade footing. Some prefer technical trails that challenge the skills and abilities of both mount and rider. Technical trails are made up of changing inclines, obstacles to maneuver through, water to cross and such. Some riders are conditioning for endurance and prefer to have long stretches of sandy footing to really get their mounts in peak fitness.”
Are there some trails that allow for overnight stay?
“Yes, many trails allow overnight stay. Some have primitive camping only while others have pens, restrooms and showers. The information can be found on the websites and Facebook group pages provided.”
Are trails marked with level of difficulty? If so how do you discern your ability?
“Trails are marked by mileage in most cases. Levels of difficulty can be researched in advance on the websites and Facebook group pages provided, with many good people to mentor you along the way. Asking questions on the public forum of Facebook has brought a large community of riders together that might not have ever met though they travel the same trails.”
To read more pick up a copy of the August 2018 NTFR issue. To subscribe call 940-872-5922.
By Martha Crump
That old adage, “What you don’t know won’t hurt you.,” may have some basis in truth when applied to minor situations. However, when what you don’t know is presented in the form of a “Trojan Horse” and is what amounts to an incredible attempt to fleece American property rights, it becomes a different story altogether.
To put this unbelievable tale together, we need to step back to Joe Biden’s 2021 Executive Order which pledged commitment to help restore balance on public lands and waters, to create jobs, and to provide a path to align the management of America’s public lands and waters with our nation’s climate, conservation, and clean energy goals.
To read more, pick up a copy of the April issue of NTFR magazine. To subscribe by mail, call 940-872-5922.
By Lacey Vilhauer
Ingredients:
1 whole lemon, seeded and roughly chopped
2 cups sugar
2 pounds strawberries, hulled
Juice of 1 to 2 lemons
¼ cup water
Directions:
Place the chopped lemon and sugar in a food processor and pulse until combined. Transfer to a large bowl. Puree the strawberries in a food processor and add to the lemon mixture along with juice of one lemon and water. Taste and add more juice as desired.
To read more, pick up a copy of the April issue of NTFR magazine. To subscribe by mail, call 940-872-5922.
By Nicholas Waters
As winter plods along – come Spring and gopher mounds – homeowners and farmers find themselves playing a familiar song – fiddling while Rome is burning.
Let’s make a mountain out of a molehill. Those mounds on your lawn and pasture could be moles, but they’re more than likely gophers; Plains Pocket Gophers to be pragmatic – Geomys bursarius to be scientific.
These rodents dig and chew, and the damage they can do goes beyond the mounds we mow over. Iowa State University cited a study in Nebraska showing a 35 percent loss in irrigated alfalfa fields due to the presence of pocket gophers; the number jumped to 46 percent in decreased production of non-irrigated alfalfa fields.
The internet is replete with academic research from coast-to-coast on how to curtail gopher populations, or at least control them. Kansas State University – then called Kansas State Agricultural College – also published a book [Bulletin 152] in February 1908 focused exclusively on the pocket gopher.
To read more, pick up a copy of the April issue of NTFR magazine. To subscribe by mail, call 940-872-5922.
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