Texas Highways, Volume 59, Number 1, January 2012 Page: Inside Front Cover
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Up Front
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aCrossing the border on the Los Ebanos terry,14 mles west of Mission. This ferry is still operated by human power,
with muscles alone pulling as many as three vehicles and a dozen individual riders across the Rio Grande.
Border Travel?
H AV . N E E- thought of the Los Ebanos ferry in symbolic terms, but when the human-
powered barge that crosses the Rio Grande appeared in The New York Times not long ago,
I began to give it some thought. That article described the ferry, long a tourist attraction,
as the easiest way to make the international trip. For decades, visitors have lined up to cross
between Los Ebanos, on the U.S. side, and Gustavo Diaz Ordaz, on Mexico's side.
Although I haven't made this crossing myself in several years, it's one about which I have
fond memories. It harkens back to a simpler time, not only in terms of technology, but also
in terms of human relationships. One could say the ferry represents a model of international
cooperation. It's a practical solution to a simple challenge.
Borderland stories present another kind of challenge for Texas Highways. When does
adventure become danger? We don't know, and will never know the answer to that question.
But it is bothersome when a school group cancels its expedition to the Shumla School near
Comstock (www.shumla.org), because of fears about the proximity to the border. Why do I give
this problem a second thought? Because the rock art of the lower Pecos area ranks as some of
the most impressive in the world, and the Shumla programs are unique. I know from my own
experience that a boat ride or a hike to a shelter to see ancient paintings and learn more about
the lifeways of the original natives of the Desert Southwest is not only memorable, it's life-
changing. And it's something you can't understand from watching a video. You've got to be there.
On a recent stay in Terlingua, I learned about a Canadian fellow who spent a couple of
nights at Upstairs at the Mansion, an eccentric hotel in that eccentric town. He almost didn't
come, because his friends back home insisted he was insane to visit the Big Bend because it
sits on the border. He persisted, made the trip, and raved about the desert experience.
There are more opinions and anecdotes. We'll gather them under the heading Border
Travel? at www.texashighways.com.
So maybe the Los Ebanos ferry serves as an appropriate symbol-a symbol for the ability
that we humans have to collaboratively overcome challenges.
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Charles J. Lohrmann, Editor-in-ChiefTV 4-- TA
%Texas Highways
Governor of Texas
Rick Perry
Texas Transportation Commission
Ted Houghton, Jr. Chair
Ned S. Holmes Commissioner
Fred Underwood Commissioner
William Meadows Commissioner
Jeff Austin Ill Commissioner
Phil Wilson Executive Director
Published monthly by the
Travel Information Division
Interim Division Director Jerral Wyer
Publisher and Editor-in-Chief
Charles J. Lohrmann
Interim Editor Jill Lawless
Senior Editors:
Nola McKey, Lori Moffatt
Photography Editor J. Griffis Smith
Web Editor Lois M. Rodriguez
Art Director Jane Wu
Associate Art Directors:
Kirsti Harms, Jane Sharpe
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Photography Intern Jake Meharg
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Subscriptions to Texas Highways are $19.95
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(Call 386/597-4297 outside the U.S.) Copies
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Texas Highways (ISSN 0040-4349) is published monthly by
the Texas Department of Transportation, 150 East Riverside
Drive, Austin, Texas 78104; phose 512/486-5858, fax 512/
486-5819. The official travel magazine sf Texas encourages
travel within the state and tells the Texas story to readers
around the world. www.texashighways.com
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Texas. Department of Transportation. Texas Highways, Volume 59, Number 1, January 2012, periodical, January 2012; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth639584/m1/2/: accessed April 26, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.