- ANNOUNCER: The Texas Parks and Wildlife Television Series is supported in part by Texas Parks and Wildlife Foundation -- conserving the wild things and wild places of Texas, thanks to members across the state.

Additional funding provided by the Toyota Tundra.

Your local Toyota dealers are proud to support outdoor recreation and conservation in Texas.

Adventure: it's what we share.

- NARRATOR: Coming up on Texas Parks and Wildlife... - It is a magnificent tree.

Again you get to this part of the trail and you can't help really but to just stop in awe.

- It's a pretty interesting river that gives you a lot of the city, but yet it gives you an opportunity to experience kind of a natural world!

- Tim is the key to the ICAN program, the ICAN initiative.

And he's in!

[theme music] ♪ ♪ - NARRATOR: Texas Parks and Wildlife, a television series for all outdoors.

[crow cawing] - NARRATOR: Former Texas Governor, James Hogg's dying wish was for a tree.

Before he passed away in 1906, he told his loved ones that he wanted a pecan tree to be planted at the head of his grave.

He wanted the nuts to be given to the people of Texas with the dream of making the state a land of trees.

[shovels thudding] Honoring Hogg's request, the State Horticultural Society planted two pecan trees at the head of his grave.

In time, their nuts were distributed across the state.

In 1919, the pecan tree became so popular that it was named the State Tree of Texas.

- INTERPRETER: 250 to 300 years old, that's how old this tree is.

- NARRATOR: Trees connect us in many ways, we gather under them seeking their shade on a hot day.

We admire them for their beauty.

We see them as a link to the past and hope for the future.

Every tree tells a story and some of them have great stories to tell.

Our Texas state parks contain many remarkable trees.

Three of them have risen to such a level of historical importance that they have been officially registered among the Famous Trees of Texas.

These are their stories.

[guitar music] In South Texas, there's a very special kind of tree that isn't commonly found much farther north than the town of Goliad.

[guitar music] - It's called an anacua, it's A-N-A-C-U-A, sometimes, A-N-A-Q-U-A, its nickname is the sandpaper tree and it gets that nickname because the leaves are very rough like sandpaper.

It's very likely that they were using these leaves as sandpaper back when the mission was active.

Imagine using leaves to do all this work.

- NARRATOR: The Spanish began colonizing South Texas in the late 1600s and they built missions to convert natives to Christianity and to deter the French.

In 1749, they settled Mission Espiritu Santo in what is now Goliad.

- The Spanish built quite a few missions and presidios.

Their main goal for these missions and presidios was to keep the land in Spain's name, don't let it fall to anybody else.

- NARRATOR: The mission shut down in 1830 after Mexico gained independence from Spain.

But as the abandoned buildings fell into disrepair, an anacua tree sprouted from the ruins.

[gentle wind] A century later, the land was now part of the United States, which was in the midst of the Great Depression.

The Civilian Conservation Corps had recently been created to provide young, unemployed men with jobs.

One CCC unit was dispatched to Goliad to rebuild the missions for a new state park.

- EMILY: What we see today, most of that was built by the Civilian Conservation Corps.

- NARRATOR: The CCC planned to rebuild the mission, but something had to be done about the Goliad anacua that was now a large, mature tree growing out of the ruins.

- EMILY: Rather than cutting it down, it did have to move, it was in the way of their work, so they needed to move it one way or another.

- NARRATOR: Architect, Raiford Stripling, who was leading the CCC effort to rebuild the mission, later commented, "I couldn't stand to cut that tree."

He decided to save it.

- So they dug an 18-foot diameter root ball and dragged that tree from its original location to where it is today.

That's a massive undertaking to move a mature tree like that.

They undertook those massive efforts just to save the tree's life.

[lively jazz music] It lived, so that was incredible in itself and now it's kind of like a centerpiece to the mission.

It's history, it's recognition as something beautiful that we wanted to save.

We're super grateful to the CCC that they did take the huge extra mile of saving this tree.

[soft orchestral music] [upbeat music] - NARRATOR: Rising to 103 feet, Old Baldy stands as a stately beauty along Austin's Onion Creek in McKinney Falls State Park.

This bald cypress tree serves as a home for birds and bees and an object of fascination for all who see it.

- So Old Baldy is this awesome giant behind me.

This tree is actually about 550 years old, the oldest tree we have in the park, actually one of the oldest trees in the state of Texas.

- NARRATOR: Bald cypress trees are a member of the redwood family and like their West Coast cousins, they can get pretty big.

- LAUREN: Its widest point around its base is actually about 16 feet, so if you could imagine going to hug Old Baldy, that would be a pretty big hug.

And watch your heads as we're coming in.

- NARRATOR: Old Baldy grows near the park's rock shelter overhang, where evidence of human habitation goes back 8,000 years.

From the late 1600s to the early 1800s, a portion of El Camino Real de los Tejas ran through this area.

Travelers of these trails and trade routes could find shade and shelter under the towering bald cypress trees that grew along Onion Creek.

- In the year 1716, there was actually a Franciscan priest, that was traveling through this area and we have written record that he actually did make a note of Old Baldy in his diary.

It's pretty wild to think about that was over 300 years ago now.

- NARRATOR: Today, a trail and footbridge lead visitors to Old Baldy.

- LAUREN: You guys can see Old Baldy here in front of us.

Old Baldy has seen a lot of changes.

This tree has actually seen more visitors since the park opened about 50 years ago than it had in its entire life before then.

We are within city limits of Austin, Texas, which is a very quickly growing city, so it's really great to know that Old Baldy is protected in our park here.

[birds chirping] It is a magnificent tree.

Again, you get to this part of the trail and you can't help really but to just stop and look up in awe and just take a few moments to appreciate Old Baldy.

[soft music] [wind blowing] - NARRATOR: The Texas Gulf Coast is beautiful, but it can also be deadly.

[thunder rumbling] [soft piano music] When Hurricane Harvey made landfall in Rockport in August 2017, Texans lost their homes and some even lost their lives.

After the storm hit, many worried about one long-time resident of Goose Island State Park.

[soft music] Over the centuries, a very special live oak has spread its crown over a patch of coastal prairie.

- People come into town to visit Rockport, they're here for the beaches mostly, but they'll start asking around like, "Hey, what else is there to do in Rockport?"

You're probably going to hear about the Big Tree, "Go see the Big Tree."

[soft dramatic music] It's a live oak tree, Quercus Virginiana.

Just looking at it, you kind of are in awe.

- NARRATOR: The tree stands 44-feet tall with an 89-foot crown spread.

The circumference of the trunk is 35 feet.

It's one of the biggest live oaks in the state and nation.

- To come here and see it in person is just completely different than seeing a picture of it.

You think, "Oh yeah, it's just a tree."

But it's not.

People in Rockport know this tree and love it.

- NARRATOR: Its gnarled branches are supported by braces and cables.

A lightning rod protects it during thunderstorms.

Over the centuries, it has survived destructive hurricanes, fires, war and ever-spreading coastal settlement.

It has seen the coming and going of Native Americans, European explorers and Texas settlers.

- I think people can learn from it.

In 2017, we had Hurricane Harvey hit Rockport and that really was a huge hit to the economy, to the town itself and I think if they come here and see that the Big Tree survived that, it just kind of reinforces that thought in them, "Like okay, I can do this."

- Quite honestly, when I was younger, it was just an old tree, but through some of our experiences here in Lamar and becoming part of the community, it's kind of burned in my heart now.

Harvey was a Cat 4, it was just catastrophic to our oak tree population.

The roads were just covered with debris and the question on everybody's mind is, "Is the Big Tree still standing?"

I still remember the radio call across the fire net, "Big Tree still standing, Big Tree still standing."

[laughing] - It was quite desolate looking, but it was here.

- Yes.

- My husband and I started dating in 1961.

This is one of the first places we came to, so every time we get to Rockport, we come to see the Big Tree to see how the girl is doing.

I say she's a girl.

[laughing] When you're first dating, there's lots of things that you think about and so this is one of the first things that we actually went to see together.

You didn't know you were coming to see all this, did you?

- KENNETH: What do you remember about it?

When did you first see it?

- Probably in the late 1960s.

- It's a certificate of authenticity of the Big Tree.

When they put these out, it was kind of a donation to fund the restoration and upkeep of the Big Tree.

Every summer, we'd come down here to stay at Goose Island State Park, because my dad loved to fish and we spent a lot of time down here over the years.

Back before this fence was here, I remember climbing up in the Big Tree.

I just felt real enamored with this tree for how old it is, how long it's been around.

It's really something.

[chuckles] It still looks the same as it did 50-something years ago, but it's still growing.

- Hi!

Yeah.

- SARA: The Big Tree is definitely something you have to see if you're in the Rockport area, if you're coming through Lamar, if you see Goose Island, definitely come to the Big Tree.

It's great to see.

[guitar music] - NARRATOR: Here in Texas, our legendary trees stand tall.

They help us remember our roots.

They can grace us with their natural beauty and fill us with awe.

They inspire us to tap into our own resilience and strength when facing life's storms.

Trees are our common heritage.

They bring us together and they are something to cherish, honor and protect.

Every tree in Texas has a story, so next time you pass one by, stop and spend some time with it.

One day, it too may be one of our Famous Trees of Texas.

[lively music] - MIKE GRAMLEY: Everyone's very familiar with the River Walk in town, and that's very nice, has restaurants, and hotels, very good for tourism.

But this is also another section of the river, it's the very same river, but a much much different setting, a much more natural setting.

- LEON MCNEIL: We couldn't have asked for a better day to be on the river.

Sun's not shining, a little overcast, not as hot, wonderful.

- The Mission Reach Trail includes eight miles of paddling trails as well as 15 miles of hiking and biking trails.

[lively music] - It's a pretty interesting river that gives you a lot of the city, but yet it gives you an opportunity to experience kind of a natural world.

Because the grass and the vegetation has grown up around the river, it gives you the impression that you're not actually in the city, but you're right in the middle of the city.

Whoo!

We're gonna keep moving on down guys, we're gonna keep moving.

[water rushing] [screaming] - Whoo!

- Let's try to make it.

This is the first time I've been in a kayak.

Oh, we're gonna make it, we're gonna make it.

Yes, this is the first time I've kayaked.

Whoa!

Yeah, I'm always down to do new things.

It's pretty fun.

That was cool.

- Come on.

I have not paddled this, this is my first time on this river.

Whoo!

Yeah!

[screaming] It's really fun actually, the chutes that were going down.

[kayak thuds] [screams] You get stuck every now and then.

Make sure not to try to hit the side.

Oh!

There we go, we moving again.

And then when you get down, it's like whoo, we made it.

[rushing water] - It's pretty fun, like, riding on the water, and going down the chutes.

The chutes we're the best part I thought.

We did it, whoo!

Yeah, it was just a really great experience, just going down the river.

[birds chirping] - LEE CHARLES: I couldn't even tell that I was in the city because I see houses on the side and things like that, but it was completely silent.

You could hear the birds chirping, the ducks quacking, and everything like that.

[water trickling] - PADDLER: Yeah, buddy.

- Because I live in the city, and I just always see how chaotic it is, and everything is just so loud and noisy.

[frogs croaking] And it's just good to connect with nature and just be peaceful and just relax, and take everything in.

[bird squealing] - LEE CHARLES: Whoo!

Whoo!

Oh, that was good, boy.

That was the best one yet.

- LEON: It's vitally important.

If we are ever gonna capture and rekindle our youth with the natural world, we've got to be able to make it accessible.

- ERICA: Oh my God!

- LEON: It's a pure environment, and that's what we're trying to get the kids to hopefully reconnect with.

- LEE CHARLES: It's just floating.

It just takes you to a different place.

[engine humming] [guitar music] - CHRIS KEY: We like cows.

We really do.

♪ ♪ We brought a few bags of cubes out just to kind of bring them up and get a count on them and make sure everybody's healthy.

- BRIAN SIMMONS: Give them a little treat just tryin' to keep them gentle.

Make them a little bit easier to move when it comes time to rotate pastures.

- CHRIS: Is it okay to say we like to eat them?

They're tasty.

[laughter] - BRIAN: They are tasty.

[moo] Both Chris and I are longtime residents of Waxahachie or Ellis County.

We like being good stewards of the place.

It's something that we've been drawn to since day one.

- I grew up hunting, fishing, outside, outdoors and have always dreamed of having a place like this and it's like a dream come true.

[eagle calls] - BRIAN: I enjoy the outside, so anytime I get a chance to come out and do anything... - CHRIS: A lot of this is fun for us.

It's a hobby.

[turkey calls] - TAYLOR GARRISON: So what really excites me about working with Chris and Brian and the other owners on this ranch is this the sheer diversity of plant life.

They really manage for diversity.

They run cattle the right way.

They use fire to create food and set back woody brush.

[juniper crunching] - CHRIS: We do a lot of mechanical brush control -- grubbing, mulching -- to create a little bit of a mosaic to encourage more diversity.

We're kind of instant gratification guys.

If you spray it, you have to wait for it to die versus if you run into it and pull it up, it's going right now.

- TAYLOR: They've used fire specifically to control an exotic grass, old world bluestem.

- CHRIS: Fire is good.

A lot of the stuff that we're doing here with, a lot of KR bluestem dominant pastures.

We've figured out the hot summer fires during the growing season really set that back.

And you can take something that's a total monoculture and turn it into something that's got 200 different species of plants in it.

[footsteps] - TAYLOR: We're on the western edge of the blackland prairie, kind of that transition to, really, the Edwards Plateau.

We've got limestone outcrops that are kind of natural erosion from years of wind and rain.

Crazy how stuff grows right out of the rock.

These outcrops, they encourage evolution and plants to adapt to those rocky, harsh conditions.

You've got some really unique plants that only are found in those outcrops and there's several of those on this property that are worth preserving.

[upbeat music] - BRIAN: Growing up in the area, we just feel it's our responsibility as landowners to take care of what is really not ours.

We may be the owners of the place, but it's bigger than just us.

- CHRIS: We feel fortunate to have an opportunity to have this place and want to make it as good as we can.

[gentle wind blowing] [upbeat music] - NARRATOR: South Padre Island is known to attract vacationers looking for a relaxing getaway... but two friends are bringing a new meaning to this resort town.

♪ ♪ [waves lapping] - You know, my day's faced with a new obstacle most every day.

I wake up, you gotta pack, you gotta get ready, you gotta get the stuff that you need for the bathroom to change just in case.

I can go on and on and on about my obstacles.

I don't even think about that.

I just move on.

I've got an obstacle.

I'm gonna climb stairs, I just climb the stairs.

Wanna go swimmin', I just go swimmin'.

Am I efficient?

[chuckles] Absolutely not, but I can do it.

[upbeat music] - Tim just has the perfect perspective on life.

I thought, okay, he's the guy that I want to be a captain.

- TIM: It's nice and hot today.

There's no breeze.

- SHANE: He's far more important on this boat when we go out than I am.

Tim captains the boat and he runs the boat.

- TIM: Here we go boys, we're on the road.

This gentleman walks up to me, and we talked a little bit.

He's like, "Man, that's cool.

I can't believe we live here together and haven't met each other," and he walks away.

And next thing I know here he comes running back at me and he hands me his card.

He goes, "I need you."

- SHANE: I had this vision all wrapped up in my head and couldn't really pull everything together, and I met Tim and he was just so vibrant.

Tim is the key to the ICAN program, the "ICAN" initiative.

- TIM: Hang on for a ride.

The ICAN is a 25-foot tritoon equipped for handicapped individuals.

Scooters, wheelchairs, anything you have, hospital beds.

We can take fishing, them and their family, and that's what it's all about.

- BOATER: See what the jetties look like.

- SHANE: I found an old tritoon, all used equipment, and we built it from the ground up, and I had two gentlemen who were retired engineers that live here on the island with us.

They love to build stuff and they're way smarter than I am.

I just had the vision.

What's really interesting about our boat is our boat has a lift on it.

- BOATER: And he's goin' down.

- SHANE: The lift is to take people and put them from the deck of the boat down in the water.

Paraplegics, they want to be as independent as possible.

They're all the time, you know, asking folks to help them, and they don't want you to help them.

They wanna be independent.

- NARRATOR: Just a few months after completing the ICAN Boat, South Padre Island was proclaimed as the special needs sport fishing capital of Texas.

- SHANE: Very exciting to be a part of.

It's very humbling to start something that is so powerful and impactful.

- What fishing's future does, what they could do for the community is amazing.

I could not ask for a better stitch for me.

Here I am livin' the dream.

[splash] - BOATER: And he's in!

- TIM: And, you know, five years ago, I was in a nursing home.

[swimmer laughing] Who woulda thought?

So never give up, you know.

You never know what's around the corner.

[wind blowing] [birds chirping] [birds chirping] [birds chirping] [water flowing] [water flowing] [water flowing] [birds chirping] [birds chirping] [birds chirping] [birds chirping] This series is supported in part by Texas Parks and Wildlife Foundation -- conserving the wild things and wild places of Texas, thanks to members across the state.

Additional funding provided by the Toyota Tundra.

Your local Toyota dealers are proud to support outdoor recreation and conservation in Texas.

Adventure: it's what we share.