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Yonderings: Trails and Memories of the Big Bend
It was a time before Terlingua Ranch and chili cook-offs, and you could drive a hundred miles without seeing another vehicle or another person. The year was 1961, and the tides of humanity which ebbed and flowed into the lower reaches of the Big Bend were at their historical nadir. It was a vast, empty land spotted by isolated ranch headquarters, a national park with few visitors, and the many ruins of a past shrouded in legend, lore, and improbable truths. There was no television, no daytime radio, few telephones, and very few people.
Ben H. English came to the Big Bend at the age of two, the fifth of six generations of his family to call this enigmatic region home. With his family headquartered at the old Lajitas Trading Post, he worked and lived on ranches and places now little more than forgotten dots on yellowing maps. He attended the one-room schoolhouse at Terlingua, prowled the banks of the Rio Grande, and crisscrossed the surrounding areas time and again on horseback and by foot.
Some fifty years later he writes about those many decades ago, as well as the history and legends of this singular land he knows so well. Ben separates fact from fiction and brings the reader into a world that few these days can ever imagine, much less experience. He also writes about the lower Big Bend as it is found now, and what one can still rediscover just over the next rise.
Ben H. English came to the Big Bend at the age of two, the fifth of six generations of his family to call this enigmatic region home. With his family headquartered at the old Lajitas Trading Post, he worked and lived on ranches and places now little more than forgotten dots on yellowing maps. He attended the one-room schoolhouse at Terlingua, prowled the banks of the Rio Grande, and crisscrossed the surrounding areas time and again on horseback and by foot.
Some fifty years later he writes about those many decades ago, as well as the history and legends of this singular land he knows so well. Ben separates fact from fiction and brings the reader into a world that few these days can ever imagine, much less experience. He also writes about the lower Big Bend as it is found now, and what one can still rediscover just over the next rise.
223 pages, Paperback
Published November 17, 2017
12 people are currently reading
34 people want to read
About the author
Ben H. English
7 books6 followersBen H. English is an eighth-generation Texan who grew up in the Big Bend. At seventeen he joined the Marines, ultimately becoming a chief scout-sniper as well as an infantry platoon sergeant. Later he worked as a counterintelligence specialist and traveled to over thirty countries on four continents.
At Angelo State University he graduated Magna Cum Laude along with other honors. Afterwards Ben had a career in the Texas Highway Patrol, holding several instructor billets involving firearms, driving, patrol procedures and defensive tactics.
After retirement and a few years of teaching high school, he decided to try his hand at writing. His first effort, ‘Yonderings,’ was accepted immediately by a university press and garnered several awards. His second, ‘Destiny’s Way,’ led to a long term, multi-book contract.
This was followed by ‘Out There: Essays on the Lower Big Bend’ and his second historical fiction work, ‘The Uvalde Raider.’
Ben’s fifth effort, ‘Black and White: Tales of the Texas Highway Patrol,’ was released in June and stayed on the Amazon Number One Release list for six weeks straight. This book has already been mentioned for more literary awards, and many claim it is the best book they have read in years.
The great western novelist Louis L’Amour once advised to ‘write what you know.’ When Ben started writing six years ago, he took that experienced advice to heart.
His intimate knowledge of what he writes about lends credence and authenticity to his work. Ben knows how it feels to get hit and hit back, or being thirsty, cold, wet, hungry, alone or exhausted beyond imagination. Finally he knows of not only being the hunter, but also the hunted.
Ben and his wife have two sons who both graduated from Annapolis, and served their country with distinction. He still likes nothing better than grabbing a pack and some canteens, and heading out to where few others will ever venture.
Just as he has done throughout most of his life…
At Angelo State University he graduated Magna Cum Laude along with other honors. Afterwards Ben had a career in the Texas Highway Patrol, holding several instructor billets involving firearms, driving, patrol procedures and defensive tactics.
After retirement and a few years of teaching high school, he decided to try his hand at writing. His first effort, ‘Yonderings,’ was accepted immediately by a university press and garnered several awards. His second, ‘Destiny’s Way,’ led to a long term, multi-book contract.
This was followed by ‘Out There: Essays on the Lower Big Bend’ and his second historical fiction work, ‘The Uvalde Raider.’
Ben’s fifth effort, ‘Black and White: Tales of the Texas Highway Patrol,’ was released in June and stayed on the Amazon Number One Release list for six weeks straight. This book has already been mentioned for more literary awards, and many claim it is the best book they have read in years.
The great western novelist Louis L’Amour once advised to ‘write what you know.’ When Ben started writing six years ago, he took that experienced advice to heart.
His intimate knowledge of what he writes about lends credence and authenticity to his work. Ben knows how it feels to get hit and hit back, or being thirsty, cold, wet, hungry, alone or exhausted beyond imagination. Finally he knows of not only being the hunter, but also the hunted.
Ben and his wife have two sons who both graduated from Annapolis, and served their country with distinction. He still likes nothing better than grabbing a pack and some canteens, and heading out to where few others will ever venture.
Just as he has done throughout most of his life…
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December 19, 2017Texas is like no other state, and this book proves it. As a child of the Llano Estacado, whose family drove through the Caprock to go just about anywhere else in the state, I've long been fascinated with the mysteries all the mesas, gullies, red dirt and mesquite brush held. I've taken animal traces in the "wilds" of the state (in my own mind at least), and hiked around Palo Duro Canyon. But mostly I've driven past it and dreamed of what it held. I also haven't spent much time in the Big Bend, so I was really looking forward to reading this book about the author's experiences in that part of Texas. Yonderings does not disappoint.
English begins with a few memories of growing up in the area and soaking up his grandparent's wisdom, particularly that of his grandmother. For the first expedition he describes, he gives a somewhat "easy" family camping trip. The next trip is a much more harrowing experience, which one might expect of a man back packing the area with one of his grown military sons and his friends. I'm glad he threw that one in early, as it was a sobering reminder of some of the punishing aspects of the Big Bend country. Then, as each chapter unfolds, the reader feels more and more connected with the area and all of its hidden treasures and threats, as well as with the author and his family and friends.
English is a good writer and doesn't waste a word, so I was pleasantly surprised at how fast his stories read. I also loved how he told of some of the history of the areas and explained about some of the Spanish names still used in the Bend/Texas. I highly recommend this book for anyone with an adventurous nature, and for those who just dream of learning more about this beautiful, wild, surprising State we live in.
Thank you, Mr. English, for a review copy of the book so that I could give an honest review of it.
Wonderful book- Texan telling all about his home turf, the big bend. Starting 12-12-17 See my review here: https://sydsavvy.blogspot.com/2017/12...
English begins with a few memories of growing up in the area and soaking up his grandparent's wisdom, particularly that of his grandmother. For the first expedition he describes, he gives a somewhat "easy" family camping trip. The next trip is a much more harrowing experience, which one might expect of a man back packing the area with one of his grown military sons and his friends. I'm glad he threw that one in early, as it was a sobering reminder of some of the punishing aspects of the Big Bend country. Then, as each chapter unfolds, the reader feels more and more connected with the area and all of its hidden treasures and threats, as well as with the author and his family and friends.
English is a good writer and doesn't waste a word, so I was pleasantly surprised at how fast his stories read. I also loved how he told of some of the history of the areas and explained about some of the Spanish names still used in the Bend/Texas. I highly recommend this book for anyone with an adventurous nature, and for those who just dream of learning more about this beautiful, wild, surprising State we live in.
Thank you, Mr. English, for a review copy of the book so that I could give an honest review of it.
Wonderful book- Texan telling all about his home turf, the big bend. Starting 12-12-17 See my review here: https://sydsavvy.blogspot.com/2017/12...
December 14, 2017
“Born of a family with the innate urge to go and see beyond what the eye could first perceive, for me the die was castat conception and it came as natural as breathing.”
Early on in Yonderings: Trails and Memories of the Big Bend, author Ben English establishes that his love of the Big Bend runs deep within his bloodlines. As readers follow English as he meanders through that country, it’s clear that the Big Bend is also housed deep within his soul.
In parts hiking guide and history book, and fully memoir, Yonderings takes readers on a series of journeys with the author as he travels, mostly on foot, on the trails and off the beaten track of the Big Bend country of Texas. As English says, “No matter what you may have in mind for extravagant scenery, there is likely a little bit of it to be found someplace within the Big Bend.” Though I’m not sure he’d be pleased to have more tourists invading his sacred spaces, the result of English’s publication may very well be readers coming in droves to see the sights so spectacularly described.
And, oh, the descriptions! English has a way with words that puts the reader in the scenery and sets a tone of wonderment. Whether it’s the breathtaking, sweeping views which are “a work of art filling the mortal soul with contemplation and awe,” or the abandoned and long forgotten homesteads where the author passes by quietly, “observant to an open graveyard of someone else’s dreams,” readers will feel immersed in the landscape. There is a sense of slipping back in time as the author considers the forces of nature that created the Big Bend as well as the human history of the place. He is at times melancholy, but he is always thoughtful and considerate in his recollections and ruminations.
One characteristic that impresses me to no end is English’s self-control. He would know that just around the bend/down the slope/up the mountainside/across the ravine likely lay a feast for the eyes and mind: possibly the century-old detritus of man, possibly the eons-old creations of nature. Rather than pressing forward, he’d check his watch, his trusty topographical maps, and his surroundings and turn around and head back from where he came, leaving the undiscovered, undiscovered. English knows and respects the limitations of man – and that’s what’s kept him alive, though he will readily admit (and elaborates upon) how even the most experienced can make rookie mistakes with near deadly consequences.
It is in English’s elaborations that the book shines. His unique and sage perspectives allow the reader to view the world from a new angle. Having made several trips to Big Bend, I enjoyed gleaning new information about familiar sites. I laughed and nodded having had similar experiences with road closures and blocked passages, all of which led me to discover new and amazing things. Though my husband and I weren’t like the driver of the van English describes in one story, on one of our trips, we did have a Dodge Grand Caravan that we took places it shouldn’t have probably been in Big Bend. Our motto, after all, was “Mini-van, Mega-fun.”
Of note: English's writing is beautiful – even mesmerizing at times – and it calms and quiets the spirit. And hallelujah! The book is cleanly edited. Included in the book are numerous photos, all either taken by the author or from his own collection. Though I wish they were in color (I completely understand why they aren’t), even in black and white, they are dramatic and many still convey the sheer awesomeness of the Big Bend and give perspective of how small we are in the grand scheme of things – physically and otherwise. They make a fine addition to the book and perfectly complement the text. The only elements missing, especially if one intends to find any of the trails or places discussed in Yonderings, are maps. Of course, this may have been an intentional exclusion since the author loves NOT seeing people on his hikes. Nonetheless, even to the armchair explorer, and overview of what is where would be fabulous.
Perhaps it’s my own (limited) firsthand knowledge of the Big Bend that took this reading experience to the next level and created a real yearning within me to return there. (Ahhh, to see Santa Elena Canyon up close again. It’s been ten years.) But I am certain that after reading Yonderings, even those who have never been there will find themselves itching to make plans – and wondering if Mr. English would consider being their guide. *HINT* In the meantime, in several places, English references numerous other novels in the works. HOORAY! I am most thankful that he’s been meticulous in recording his journeys and the history of a place that nature is recapturing, and I eagerly await future publications.
Thank you to Lone Star Book Blog Tours, TCU Press, and the author for giving me a treasured print copy in exchange for my honest opinion – the only kind I give. This full review and more features on Hall Ways Blog: https://kristinehallways.blogspot.com...
December 10, 2017
"The untold numbers of forgotten souls who had lived and died within our purview had left no more visible mark upon the land than melted snow at the close of a warm spring day.”
First let me say, finally, there is a nonfiction book that has photos that go with the chapters they represent. It makes it so much easier on reading a book to see the photos in relation to the text. Second, I truly wish they’d been in color so I could’ve seen the beauty that the author was seeing as he snapped that image.
Yonderings is a memoir based book that takes readers along the hiking journeys of author Ben English through Big Bend National Park region located in Texas, but its so much more than just his hiking memories. He shares the history of the area from Terlingua to the mining operations for uranium, magnesium, cinnabar ore to candelilla wax. He also delves into the recounting of historical murders in the region. I’ve been to Big Bend only once in my life to the Santa Elena Canyon. After reading English’s book I now want to visit the park again and especially to hike what is considered the most beautiful spot in Texas – the Chisos Basin South Rim trail. I always thought it was McKittrick Canyon in the Guadalupe Mountains.
While conducting a plant survey for NRCS from Big Bend area all the way to the Texas Panhandle, one of our crewmembers who was surveying in Brewster County took it upon himself to walk away from the group working in that county. He was lost for four days in that region, finally being rescued by national park personnel. I can relate to why English concentrated so much on using topographical maps while hiking that region, as well as overstating in a gentle reminding way that you don’t go off a known path unless you know the area. It was during this time of this lost guy that I heard about Emory Peak. English provides the history of the man that peak was named after, William Hemsley Emory.
There were a couple of things I’d like to point out. English apologized to his readers using the language of the day. If it was the indeed the vernacular for a historical period then don’t apologize. Maps! As someone who loves hiking – it would’ve been great to see small maps of the trails English took in the Big Bend region as he was recounting his steps during his hikes. The cover image does not do justice to the places he takes his readers.
Love the references for the Darwinism awards, especially the incident dealing with the Toyota that got stuck. I was laughing while reading that passage and imagining I was sitting on the hill with the author and that pastor witnessing the stupidity of that particular driver. I can actually see that scene in a movie someday.
Lastly, I’d like to thank the author for introducing me to greasewood. English referenced this plant several times and I did not know what he was talking about. So the biologist in me learned that this plant is a deciduous shrub that grows to about three meters tall. It has spiny branches, much like mesquite, with succulent leaves, as well as unisexual flowers. Historically, the yellow wood of this shrub was used to create the shafts of arrows, because of its hardness.
English combines the best of worlds in his book – hiking and history. If you love hiking and being outdoors then this book will take you a journey to parts of the Big Bend region less traveled. If you like history, then you might learn the unknown history of this Texas region, like I did.
First let me say, finally, there is a nonfiction book that has photos that go with the chapters they represent. It makes it so much easier on reading a book to see the photos in relation to the text. Second, I truly wish they’d been in color so I could’ve seen the beauty that the author was seeing as he snapped that image.
Yonderings is a memoir based book that takes readers along the hiking journeys of author Ben English through Big Bend National Park region located in Texas, but its so much more than just his hiking memories. He shares the history of the area from Terlingua to the mining operations for uranium, magnesium, cinnabar ore to candelilla wax. He also delves into the recounting of historical murders in the region. I’ve been to Big Bend only once in my life to the Santa Elena Canyon. After reading English’s book I now want to visit the park again and especially to hike what is considered the most beautiful spot in Texas – the Chisos Basin South Rim trail. I always thought it was McKittrick Canyon in the Guadalupe Mountains.
While conducting a plant survey for NRCS from Big Bend area all the way to the Texas Panhandle, one of our crewmembers who was surveying in Brewster County took it upon himself to walk away from the group working in that county. He was lost for four days in that region, finally being rescued by national park personnel. I can relate to why English concentrated so much on using topographical maps while hiking that region, as well as overstating in a gentle reminding way that you don’t go off a known path unless you know the area. It was during this time of this lost guy that I heard about Emory Peak. English provides the history of the man that peak was named after, William Hemsley Emory.
There were a couple of things I’d like to point out. English apologized to his readers using the language of the day. If it was the indeed the vernacular for a historical period then don’t apologize. Maps! As someone who loves hiking – it would’ve been great to see small maps of the trails English took in the Big Bend region as he was recounting his steps during his hikes. The cover image does not do justice to the places he takes his readers.
Love the references for the Darwinism awards, especially the incident dealing with the Toyota that got stuck. I was laughing while reading that passage and imagining I was sitting on the hill with the author and that pastor witnessing the stupidity of that particular driver. I can actually see that scene in a movie someday.
Lastly, I’d like to thank the author for introducing me to greasewood. English referenced this plant several times and I did not know what he was talking about. So the biologist in me learned that this plant is a deciduous shrub that grows to about three meters tall. It has spiny branches, much like mesquite, with succulent leaves, as well as unisexual flowers. Historically, the yellow wood of this shrub was used to create the shafts of arrows, because of its hardness.
English combines the best of worlds in his book – hiking and history. If you love hiking and being outdoors then this book will take you a journey to parts of the Big Bend region less traveled. If you like history, then you might learn the unknown history of this Texas region, like I did.
July 21, 2022
I thoroughly enjoyed reading the essays in Yonderings: Trails and Memories of the Big Bend by Ben H. English. The author’s clear writing, vivid descriptions, and historical perspective of early inhabitants and settlers put this reader there—trekking along with English as he navigated over rugged foot trails that spanned arroyos, circumvented buttes, or led into the mountains. Several journeys extended to multi-nights spent in the wild, some alone, others with family. I liked the references to his ancestry that farmed and ranched in the area when he was a kid, his love for his grandparents who long ago ran the Lajitas Trading Post, and his subsequent returns to his favorite haunts. English’s love of the land includes depictions of much of the flora in Big Bend from oak and pine trees to juniper, mesquite, and desert cacti.
I agree with his occasional barbs thrown at the harried traveler who makes little effort to get to know the land. There are some repeated descriptions and anecdotes among the essays, but mostly these are understandable because the frame of reference covers a different time and perspective. His respect for the men and women who eked out a living farming or mining—including those who tried and failed—before this became a national park comes through loud and clear, as does his fascination with the sunsets, sunrises, and stars.
I’ve just ordered English’s Black and White: Tales of the Texas Highway Patrol, of which he was one.
I agree with his occasional barbs thrown at the harried traveler who makes little effort to get to know the land. There are some repeated descriptions and anecdotes among the essays, but mostly these are understandable because the frame of reference covers a different time and perspective. His respect for the men and women who eked out a living farming or mining—including those who tried and failed—before this became a national park comes through loud and clear, as does his fascination with the sunsets, sunrises, and stars.
I’ve just ordered English’s Black and White: Tales of the Texas Highway Patrol, of which he was one.
July 31, 2022
Even seasoned ‘Big Benders’ are likely to come upon fresh stories or settings in this collection. The stories I appreciated the most were the ones set around Alto Relex (far east), Terlingua Abajo, and Fresno and Contrabando Canyons in the west. I’ve been visiting Big Bend since 1989, have read much of the literature available about the region, yet this volume has added deeper layers of historical, geological, and natural understandings for me. Ben English also reminds readers that it is important for us to ‘get away’ when we can, and then take time to think and write about our experiences and our place in the world - for the present, for posterity - because most of the people who came before us were unable to do so. These stories are inspiring; I’ll be rambling and peeking around Alto Relex this winter, and am looking forward to more collections from this author.
December 9, 2022
The good old days at Lajitas
My wife was born and raised at Alpine. We were married at Fajitas in 1974, before the golf courses and hotels came along. The only thing out there at the time was the Fajitas Trading Post . I remember a beer drinking goat named Clay Henry who lived at the trading post. My wife's family often stayed at a rock house owned by Rex Ivey. After the wedding we took a horseback ride up to the Window. One could see forever from that vantage point. It looked like a moonscape. In more recent trips to the Big Bend it is sad to see how it has been commercialized. Really thankful we experienced it before the progress.
My wife was born and raised at Alpine. We were married at Fajitas in 1974, before the golf courses and hotels came along. The only thing out there at the time was the Fajitas Trading Post . I remember a beer drinking goat named Clay Henry who lived at the trading post. My wife's family often stayed at a rock house owned by Rex Ivey. After the wedding we took a horseback ride up to the Window. One could see forever from that vantage point. It looked like a moonscape. In more recent trips to the Big Bend it is sad to see how it has been commercialized. Really thankful we experienced it before the progress.
March 11, 2020
You know it’s a good book when you cry at the end. Ben is eloquent and detailed (without being overbearing) that I could physically see myself on those trails with him. His fondness of his grandparents was relatable and left me feeling inspired to write down my own grandparents memories. This is the only book I own by Ben, but I do plan to pick up the other. I hope Ben will continue to share his deep and vast knowledge of the Big Bend and West Texas. He certainly has a loyal fan in me.
June 21, 2020
An excellent depiction of the Big Bend area from someone who actually lives here. I could follow him and his fellow hikers on the trails I’ve been on and wish that I could hike some of the others. I enjoyed the history that he brought to the book. Learned a lot of new facts! Five Stars!
October 19, 2023
I enjoyed the stories, the closeup descriptions of the landscape, the opportunity for an armchair adventure I couldn’t do in person. With no experience or knowledge of the region, it was rewarding.
I wished for more poetry in the writing.
I wished for more poetry in the writing.
April 13, 2019
An ode to a desolate, beautiful, rugged place.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews