Big Sky National Monument - Stonewall, TX

Lyndon Johnson is not a president often associated with the Antiquities Act. In his term, he enlarged four existing national monuments and established another two, most of which he did only at the behest of others. The exception to this is Big Sky National Monument. Set close to his ranch in Stonewall,Texas, Lyndon used to load VIPs into the back of his Lincoln Continental and go careening across the open prairies that would one day become the monument. He’s quoted saying that he loved seeing the faces of those unfamiliar with the Texas sky, crushed under the weight of it. And admittedly, there is something magical about the skies over the Lone Star State, something countless have commented upon. It’s in every song and story the state has to offer, the wide panorama of open sky that ensures storms can never sneak up on you, that teaches you from an early age how small you are in the world. It’s only fitting that a state obsessed with size would be blanketed by an equally big sky. Previ

The Flooded Vatican Library - South Padre Island, TX

The Catholic Church first set its hooks in Texas with the conquistadores, spreading the harsh hand of the Old Testament God upon the country and continent beyond. You could argue that these first moments marked the lofty peak of influence that the Church held in the Lone Star State, something that has only waned in the years since.

The Church has tried nearly everything to curtail their downward spiral, but most relevant to the Texas tourist might be the library they built on South Padre Island.

The library was part of a series constructed to create new, concentrated institutes of Christian thought and knowledge, meant to attract increasingly intellectual youth and older conservatives. The Church filled the library with lesser medieval manuscripts, countless facsimiles, and a number of reliquaries including the mummified colon of St. Lawrence. 

However hopeful the intent was, the library proved to be a failure almost immediately, failing to attract the planned masses and hemorrhaging money with the lingering costs of its construction and upkeep. This failure only grew when, a year after opening, the library sank into the sandy soils of the Gulf. Library staff saved most of the collection, but chose not to save the structure, abandoning it and allowing it to be slowly reclaimed by the Gulf.

Practicalities:

It is technically illegal to trespass in the library, but this does not stop countless adventurers from doing just that. During low tide, the library can be reached by foot, and easily accessed by boat at high tide. Be sure to bring a flashlight and clothes you don’t mind getting dirty/wet.


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