Shangri La Botanical Gardens and Nature Center is a project of the Nelda C. and H.J. Stark Foundation in Orange, Texas. Its mission of “mentoring children of all ages to be kind to their world” promotes the growth and appreciation of both arts and nature in Southeast Texas. H.J. Lutcher, who built the original Shangri-La in Orange more than 60 years ago, said, “I’m working with nature, trying to paint this scene with the most beautiful colors nature will give me.”
An ice storm forced Stark to close his Shangri-La in 1958, and now the Stark Foundation has rebuilt it as Shangri La Botanical Gardens and Nature Center. Nine garden rooms along with four sculpture rooms will allow visitors the opportunity to see more than 300 species of plants, and the world-class Nature Center includes a Nature Discovery Center, a laboratory, and three outdoor classrooms located deep in the cypress swamp. Also located in Shangri La is an Orientation Center with an Exhibit Hall, Discovery Theater, Children’s Garden, Exhibition Greenhouses, Café, and Garden Store. The combination of gardens and nature at Shangri La presents a serene oasis for retreat and renewal, as well as the opportunity to explore, discover and learn.
Website: http://www.shangrilagardens.org/
Phone:409-670-9113
As someone once observed, “The past isn’t dead. It isn’t even past.” That’s certainly true of the Texas State Railroad--a shortline service that, established in 1881 and fully restored in 1976, is still shuttling passengers between Palestine, in Anderson County, and Rusk, in Cherokee County. Even before boarding the vintage steam-engine trains that ply the route, visitors are transported back to the 19th century by the Victorian-style depots at either end of the line. The stations are surrounded by beautifully landscaped parks that provide camping facilities, among other amenities. The 50-mile round trip takes four and a half hours.
The town of Edom--in Van Zandt County just a few miles west of the city Tyler--is miniscule. Though Edom was founded in 1849, its population has never topped 300. But size isn’t everything. Beginning in the 1960s, artisans attracted to the hamlet’s comfortably rustic ways and laid-back atmosphere began settling here. Now, Edom’s main drag--a stretch of FM 279--is loaded with shops purveying one-of-a-kind wares by local potters, jewelry makers, glassmakers, and more. Why, there’s even a gourmet food shop. And every October, Edom welcomes scores of artists and craftspeople from all over Texas and beyond to the Edom Festival of the Arts.
The waterways of Big Thicket National Preserve draw boating enthusiasts from all over Texas, the country, and the world. Big Thicket has two official canoeing trails, but these are just a fraction of the canoeing, kayaking, and other boating experiences the preserve affords, which also include wild-river experiences along the Neches River and the primal pleasures of paddling through cypress and tupelo swamps in Pine Island Bayou. Boating is permitted from April through October. Read more>
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Email: pineywoods@conservationfund.org
