128 - The Reef in the Desert: The Secrets of the Guadalupe Mountains

Let me know what you thought of this podcast! Send a text. A teenage girl in Georgia created a white silk flag with a single blue star and sent it hundreds of miles away to the Texas Revolution. Follow the remarkable journey of Joanna Troutman’s lost Lone Star flag from Georgia to Velasco and Goliad, where it became connected to James Fannin, the Georgia Battalion, and one of the most tragic chapters of the Texas Revolution.Sources UsedTexas State Historical AssociationJoanna Troutman — Handbook of TexasFlags of the Texas Revolution — Handbook of TexasGeorgia Battalion — Handbook of TexasGoliad Massacre — Handbook of TexasSupport the show🎧😊Podcast Listening Response Activities🎉 Y’all, it’s freebie time! Snag your Texas Flag Reading Packet—perfect for grades 4–7! Plus, join the email list for more Texas-sized learning fun each week. 👉 SEND MY FREEBIE!Email [email protected] the WebsiteFacebookYouTubeTpT Store

Let me know what you thought of this podcast! Send a text. When Space Shuttle Columbia broke apart over Texas in 2003, thousands of pieces scattered across the eastern part of the state. Follow the clues investigators used to uncover what went wrong—and discover how Texans helped solve one of NASA’s most difficult mysteries.Sources UsedNational Aeronautics and Space Administration. Remembering the Columbia STS-107 Mission. https://www.nasa.gov/remembering-columbia-sts-107/Columbia Accident Investigation Board. Columbia Accident Investigation Board Report, Volume 1. August 2003. https://govinfo.library.unt.edu/caib/news/report/volume1/default.htmlNational Aeronautics and Space Administration. STS-107 Mission Archives and Crew Biographies. https://www.nasa.gov/remembering-columbia-sts-107/National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Columbia Chronology and Investigation Timelines. https://www.nasa.gov/remembering-columbia-sts-107/National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Columbia Accident Investigation Board Foam Impact Testing Resources. https://www.nasa.gov/remembering-columbia-sts-107/National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Space Shuttle History and Return to Flight Resources. https://www.nasa.gov/history/space-shuttle-program/Support the show🎧😊Podcast Listening Response Activities🎉 Y’all, it’s freebie time! Snag your Texas Flag Reading Packet—perfect for grades 4–7! Plus, join the email list for more Texas-sized learning fun each week. 👉 SEND MY FREEBIE!Email [email protected] the WebsiteFacebookYouTubeTpT Store

Let me know what you thought of this podcast! Send a text.  A faded quarantine card warned families to stay inside—but the danger was invisible. Discover how smallpox, cholera, yellow fever, an influenza reshaped Texas communities, from Spanish missions to early vaccination programs and the 1899 Laredo Smallpox Riot. Sources UsedNational Park Service. “San Antonio Missions Spanish Influence in Texas.” Teaching with Historic Places. https://www.nps.gov/articles/san-antonio-missions-spanish-influence-in-texas-teaching-with-historic-places.htmNational Park Service. “Mission San Juan.” San Antonio Missions National Historical Park. https://www.nps.gov/saan/planyourvisit/sanjuan.htmTexas State Historical Association. “Epidemic Diseases.” Handbook of Texas Online. https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/epidemic-diseasesTexas State Historical Association. “Laredo Smallpox Riot.” Handbook of Texas Online. https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/laredo-smallpox-riotTexas State Historical Association. “Public Health.” Handbook of Texas Online. https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/public-healthTexas Medical Association. Mike Cox. “Frontier Medicine Texas Doctors Overcome Disease and Despair.” https://www.texmed.org/Template.aspx?id=2012Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. “History of Smallpox.” https://www.cdc.gov/smallpox/about/history.htmlEl Paso Community College. “Flu Epidemic of 1918 Hit El Paso Hard.” Borderlands. https://epcc.libguides.com/borderlands/19Support the show🎧😊Podcast Listening Response Activities🎉 Y’all, it’s freebie time! Snag your Texas Flag Reading Packet—perfect for grades 4–7! Plus, join the email list for more Texas-sized learning fun each week. 👉 SEND MY FREEBIE!Email [email protected] the WebsiteFacebookYouTubeTpT Store

Let me know what you thought of this podcast! Send a text. People really did mail children—and one Texan helped put a stop to it. In this episode, we uncover why families used Parcel Post as transportation, how rural mail routes changed everyday life, and what this bizarre story teaches us about transportation, communication, and innovation. Sources UsedSmithsonian National Postal Museum. “Very Special Deliveries.” Documents known cases of children traveling through Parcel Post, including May Pierstorff and the early Ohio and Pennsylvania cases. https://postalmuseum.si.edu/very-special-deliveriesSmithsonian National Postal Museum. “1910s.” Timeline documenting May Pierstorff’s February 1914 trip and Postmaster General Albert Burleson’s March 1914 announcement concerning human beings in the mail. https://postalmuseum.si.edu/exhibition/250-years-of-stamps-and-stories-of-the-us-postal-service/1910sSmithsonian National Postal Museum. “Precious Packages—America’s Parcel Post Service.” Information about May’s weight, postage, trip, and her family’s reluctance to pay the train fare. https://postalmuseum.si.edu/exhibition/reaching-rural-america-past-exhibits/precious-packages-americas-parcel-post-serviceUnited States Postal Service. A Kids’ History of the United States Postal Service. Explains the 1913 introduction of Parcel Post, earlier package restrictions, first six months of parcel volume, and growth in mail-order business. https://about.usps.com/publications/pub100k.pdfUnited States Postal Service. “Rural Free Delivery.” Explains how rural delivery connected farms and rural households, influenced road improvement, and expanded business markets. https://about.usps.com/who/profile/history/rural-free-delivery.htmUnited States Postal Service. “Texas: Dates That First Rural Routes Were Established at Post Offices, through 1904.” Documents early Rural Free Delivery service in Texas, including Fate and La Grange in 1899. https://about.usps.com/who/profile/history/pdf/first-rfd-texas.pdfTexas State Historical Association, Handbook of Texas. “Burleson, Albert Sidney.” Biography of the San Marcos-born Texan who served as U.S. Postmaster General from 1913–1921. https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/burleson-albert-sidneyU.S. House of Representatives, History, Art & Archives. “Burleson, Albert Sidney.” Congressional biography documenting Burleson’s Texas background, education, congressional career, and service as Postmaster General. https://history.house.gov/People/Detail/10207Support the show🎧😊Podcast Listening Response Activities🎉 Y’all, it’s freebie time! Snag your Texas Flag Reading Packet—perfect for grades 4–7! Plus, join the email list for more Texas-sized learning fun each week. 👉 SEND MY FREEBIE!Email [email protected] the WebsiteFacebookYouTubeTpT Store

Let me know what you thought of this podcast! Send a text. Travel back millions of years to prehistoric Texas and meet the enormous Alamosaurus of Big Bend National Park. Discover how fossils from this giant sauropod were uncovered, why its name has nothing to do with the Alamo, and how Sul Ross geology students helped continue a dinosaur mystery decades later. Sources Used: Sul Ross State University. “Sul Ross Geology Students Collect Vertebra from Alamosaurus in BBNP.” April 8, 2025. https://www.sulross.edu/sul-ross-geology-students-collect-vertebra-from-alamosaurus-in-bbnp/National Park Service, Big Bend National Park. “Alamosaurus.” https://www.nps.gov/bibe/learn/nature/alamosaurus.htmNational Park Service, Big Bend National Park. “Alamosaurus Airlift” photo gallery and collection. https://www.nps.gov/media/photo/gallery.htm?id=5DECF36E-155D-451F-6707A3766A994BE5National Park Service. “Monster Hunters in Big Bend – a Ghost from the Past.” https://www.nps.gov/articles/000/monster-hunters-in-big-bend-a-ghost-from-the-past.htmSupport the show🎧😊Podcast Listening Response Activities🎉 Y’all, it’s freebie time! Snag your Texas Flag Reading Packet—perfect for grades 4–7! Plus, join the email list for more Texas-sized learning fun each week. 👉 SEND MY FREEBIE!Email [email protected] the WebsiteFacebookYouTubeTpT Store

Let me know what you thought of this podcast! Send a text. Charles Goodnight lived a life that sounds almost too wild to be true. Born just days after Texas declared independence, he had only about six months of formal schooling, but grew up to become one of the most influential cattlemen in Texas history.In this episode of Texas History for Kids, I'll uncover 15 surprising stories from Goodnight’s life, including his frontier scouting days, his connection to the Cynthia Ann Parker story, his encounters with the Comanchero trade, the creation of the Goodnight-Loving Trail, the chuck wagon, Palo Duro Canyon, and his role in helping preserve Southern Plains bison.Along the way, we’ll separate legend from fact and discover why Charles Goodnight’s story reaches far beyond cattle drives and cowboy hats.Perfect for students, families, homeschoolers, and Texas history fans who want to learn the stories hiding just beyond the classroom lesson.Support the show🎧😊Podcast Listening Response Activities🎉 Y’all, it’s freebie time! Snag your Texas Flag Reading Packet—perfect for grades 4–7! Plus, join the email list for more Texas-sized learning fun each week. 👉 SEND MY FREEBIE!Email [email protected] the WebsiteFacebookYouTubeTpT Store

Let me know what you thought of this podcast! Send a text. What was found beneath Waco, Texas at Waco Mammoth National Monument?In this episode of Texas History for Kids, we explore the discovery of the Waco mammoths, learn how these giant animals lived, and uncover the mystery surrounding their deaths.Support the show🎧😊Podcast Listening Response Activities🎉 Y’all, it’s freebie time! Snag your Texas Flag Reading Packet—perfect for grades 4–7! Plus, join the email list for more Texas-sized learning fun each week. 👉 SEND MY FREEBIE!Email [email protected] the WebsiteFacebookYouTubeTpT Store

Let me know what you thought of this podcast! Send a text. Ever wondered what secrets are hiding at the bottom of a massive desert lake? In this episode, we dive deep beneath the surface of the Amistad National Recreation Area. Long before it became a popular spot for boating and fishing, Amistad was full of bone-dry, rugged canyons home to ancient humans, frontier legends, and wild engineering marvels. Join us as we count down 15 mind-blowing facts about this sunken kingdom. Support the show🎧😊Podcast Listening Response Activities🎉 Y’all, it’s freebie time! Snag your Texas Flag Reading Packet—perfect for grades 4–7! Plus, join the email list for more Texas-sized learning fun each week. 👉 SEND MY FREEBIE!Email [email protected] the WebsiteFacebookYouTubeTpT Store

Let me know what you thought of this podcast! Send a text. Today, we are traveling to the rugged peaks of far West Texas to explore a place where giant predators once roamed, ancient people left hidden messages, and the mountains themselves are made of dead animals.We are talking about Guadalupe Mountains National Park. It’s home to Guadalupe Peak, the highest point in the entire state of Texas.Sources Used: National Park Service (NPS): Guadalupe Mountains National Park - Stories & History / The Permian Reef.Texas State Historical Association (TSHA) Handbook of Texas: Guadalupe Mountains / Mescalero Apache History.Bureau of Economic Geology, University of Texas at Austin: The Permian Basin and Capitan Reef Geological Studies.Support the show🎧😊Podcast Listening Response Activities🎉 Y’all, it’s freebie time! Snag your Texas Flag Reading Packet—perfect for grades 4–7! Plus, join the email list for more Texas-sized learning fun each week. 👉 SEND MY FREEBIE!Email [email protected] the WebsiteFacebookYouTubeTpT Store

Let me know what you thought of this podcast! Send a text. Big Bend National Park may look like a quiet desert, but its mountains, river, trails, and ruins hold thousands of years of history. In this episode, we uncover the stories of Indigenous peoples, Mexican settlers, ranchers, miners, soldiers, and Civilian Conservation Corps workers who shaped the land long before it became a national park. Follow the mystery of a rusted pickaxe and discover how Big Bend became one of Texas’s most remarkable protected places. Support the show🎧😊Podcast Listening Response Activities🎉 Y’all, it’s freebie time! Snag your Texas Flag Reading Packet—perfect for grades 4–7! Plus, join the email list for more Texas-sized learning fun each week. 👉 SEND MY FREEBIE!Email [email protected] the WebsiteFacebookYouTubeTpT Store