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CDRI Desert NewsFlash
October 2026
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Photo taken from the CDRI Visitor Center, looking toward Blue Mountain, by Will Southerland.
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Adopt-a-Highway Cleanup
Thursday, October 8
Please join us on October 8 at 9:00 a.m. for an Adopt-a-Highway cleanup. We’ll provide trash grabbers, trash bags, safety vests, water, and snacks. It’s a fun way to give back to the community and a great excuse to walk along the roadside and enjoy the beautiful landscape. And if that’s not enough, it is a fun way to get in your volunteer hours and meet new people with similar interests.
Please email lgordon@cdri.org with your questions and whether you can join us. Thank you!
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New books are now available at the CDRI
Gift Shop!
Water in the Desert: A Pilgrimage, by Gary Nabhan, has just been released. In this book, Gary shares the story of his extraordinary life and, in the process, shares a vision for cultural renewal.
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We’re excited to have signed editions of Marfa Garden: A Field Guide to Plants of the Chihuahuan Desert back in stock. The field guides are signed by two of the book's authors, Jim Martinez and Jim Fissel. The book features hundreds of photos showing flowering plants in their year-round cycles, including budding, complex foliage, unfolding blooms, seedpods, and winter texture and color. For each plant, the book includes introductory essays, common and scientific names, historical information, garden uses, and USDA classification, plus space for gardening notes.
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Gardens of Texas, Visions of Resilience from the Lone Star State, by Pam Penick, features 27 remarkable gardens across Texas, including homes in Marfa, Alpine, and Fort Davis. Each featured garden includes in-depth conversations with the “garden makers” about how they have turned challenges into opportunities, as well as extraordinary sites.
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A traveler’s guide to TEXAS GARDENS, by Amy Culbertson and Susan Urshel, is a small and wonderful little book you’ll want to have in the car with you as you travel across Texas. The back cover describes it best: “From the misty bayous of Shangri La in Southeast Texas to the rugged beauty of the Chihuahuan Desert Botanical Gardens, 700 miles to the west, Texas reveals itself through its gardens.”
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Our children’s book selection is filled with books that will become your child’s or grandchild’s favorite “read to me” book.
For older children, we have A Wolf Called Wander, by Roseanne Parry, based on the true story of a wolf named OR-7 who traveled a remarkable 1,000 miles across the Pacific Northwest.
There is also Frights to Tell at Night: Creepy Campfire Stories, by Anastasia Garcia. The scary stories are just scary enough to capture the bravest, most adventurous child’s attention. And then, after they close the book and turn off the lights to settle in for the night, there’s that ornately “creepy” cover glowing in the dark!
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Fall is a great time to discover plants
With our recent and ongoing rains and changing seasons, the Botanical Gardens’ plants are responding and may be at their prettiest of the season. We've included a few photos of a recent stroll through the gardens.
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Above: The Cenizos, Leucophyllum frutescens, are in bloom.
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Above left: Apache plume, Fallugia paradoxa. Above right: Evergreen sumac, Rhus virens.
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Above: Mexican pistachio, Pistacia mexicana.
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Above: Four-wing Saltbush, Atriplex canescens.
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Visiting Groups
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The Sul Ross State University Hiking Club
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Texas Master Naturalists, Tierra Grande Chapter
New Class 2026
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| From the CDRI team,
we wish you happy trails
and hope they always lead you
back to CDRI!
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Chihuahuan Desert Research Institute, P.O. Box 905, Fort Davis, TX 79734
432.364.2499
www.cdri.org
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