[5][24] He also owns an 8,000-acre ranch near Cherokee, Texas,[5] the 20,000-acre Lajitas Golf Resort and Spa in Lajitas, Texas,[25] and a private island near Roatn, Honduras. The Lajitas Golf Resort and Spa is a 20,000-acre golf resort business in Lajitas owned by Texas businessman Kelcy Warren, who bought the resort from previous owner Steve Smith while the business was going through financial distress. Its minimum purchase price was $450,000. "Black Jacks Crossing", designed by PGA Hall of Fame golfer, Lanny Wadkins. Young as he was, that was surprising, so when he returned, I asked him how somebody with such a hard time getting around wound up in a job as physically demanding as carpentry. But he also waves his cowboy hat over his head and yells yeehaw like Slim Pickens in Dr. Strangelove whenever he flies it into the Trans-Pecos. Proper golf attire is required on the golf course and in the clubhouse. world. According to Beasley, the monument is a gift. We also offer our 5 Stand Sporting Clay Shoot, Cowboy Action shoot, Equestrian Center for family horseback rides, and many other Ivey would even get customers prescriptions filled on his weekly runs to Alpine. Six beautiful tennis courts were built, then ripped up. With the border now closed, the trading post will never return to its Ivey-era glory. Lajitas officially had a post office as early as 1901, but it did not become operational until McGuirk petitioned for its reestablishment in 1904. Patricia Sharpe writes a regular restaurant column, Pats Pick, for Texas Monthly. Admittedly the place was in bankruptcy, but it was still open and promising no drop in service. Neither the plane nor its pilot was affiliated with the resort, and Lajitas was in no way responsible for the crash. He was also involved in a dispute with the IRS over $140 million in tax shelters. [2][6] He served as executive vice-president Cornerstone Natural Gas from 1989 to 1990, and as president and CEO from 1993 to 1996. But about halfway through the meal, one of the guys, no doubt feeling that freewheeling mixture of margaritas and desert remove, commented to the waitress, Weve got a pool going to see if your tits are real or fake.. Ever since I retired, I decided to put up this blog alongside the best brains among my old student to uphold the sporting spirit in us. He says It closed temporarily in 1910 and reopened six years later. Share. Just beyond the far end of the boardwalk, a long, columned breezeway divided the dark, leather-bound Thirsty Goat Saloon and the glass-walled Candelilla Caf overlooking the golf course. The lowest recorded temperature at the resort is 10 degrees Fahrenheit. Its dangerous. If you fill out the first name, last name, or agree to terms fields, you will NOT be added to the newsletter list. It looked much the same when Ivey took over the trading post in 1980. Then, this summer the Lajitas resort declared bankruptcy, announcing some $15 million in debts and $500,000 a month in operating losses, and went on the auction block. Guests can cancel their reservations up to 72 hours prior to arrival for a full refund. We offer world class golf on our award Some links in this post may be affiliate links. By the early 80s, Lajitas on the Rio Grande had a 9 hole golf course, two lodging units, several condos, and was a local center of economic activity in Brewster County. Our resort in West Texas is set among . When I met him for a quick lunch in Alpine in October, his memories of the old store grew the conversation to two hours. LAJITAS GOLF RESORT - 236 Photos & 94 Reviews - Yelp Whats Up With All the Kangaroos on the Loose in Texas? McNairs group has continued to invest in the resort adding a new clubhouse and expanding the spa. The Texas Bucket List - Lajitas Golf Resort in Lajitas - YouTube Voted #1 Most Beautiful Golf Course in Texas Golf Magazine 1,059 reviews. You could get a six-pack of beer or a spark plug for a live chicken. It was live-music night at La Kiva, the best of it played by a young female fiddle player from the Northeast whod put off grad school to take a job at Lajitas. The crossing, a smooth rock bottom all the way across the river, was the best between Del Rio and El Paso. Copyright (c) 2007, The Dallas Morning News. From 1996 to 2000, Warren served as a director of Crosstex Energy, Inc. and from 1993 to 1996, he served as president, chief operating officer and a director of Cornerstone Natural Gas, Inc. Warren has more than 25 years of business experience in the energy industry. [23], In 2010, he bought the 3,500-acre BootJack Ranch near Pagosa Springs, Colorado, for $46.5 million. A short time later, he returned on his jet and to Dallas. Im standing here on the putting green looking at it right now, Beasley said Friday morning. The border then seemed about forty miles wide and mixed like the sounds in a Doug Sahm song, half-Mexican, half-white, with nobody too worried about which half was which. ), 17 Epic East Texas Towns + Cities to Visit. Had he really sprayed a compound on the ground in front of the Lajitas boardwalk that would keep dust from kicking up? goat. Forrest Wilder writes about politics and the outdoors. Sitemap. He also hosted monthly dances and impromptu barbecues, when conjunto bands, crossing back into Mexico after performing stateside quinceaeras, would stop in and play for free beer. Lajitas International Airport is a privately owned airport for the use of the resort's guests and property owners located 4 miles East of Lajitas and 14 miles West of Terlingua adjacent to Big Bend National Park. Ms. Ryan told Mr. Warren she remembers years ago when the bar So life went in Lajitas, through the end of Iveys tenure in 1993, right up until Mischer sold out to Smith. Its just spectacular.. [15][16], In 2012, Warren donated $10 million to help build Klyde Warren Park in downtown Dallas. When I visited it in August and October, the trading post was dead. [18], Warren donated $6 million to Governor Rick Perry's presidential campaign. across the river. Though it was appraised on the Brewster County tax rolls at $16 million, Smiths own investment in the place has reportedly been more than $100 million. Now, we all know people who wouldnt blink at a $33 breakfast. A few months earlier he had been a passenger in a small plane that had taken off from Lajitas and had run out of gas over Ozona. ", "It produced a feeling that no matter how nice the adornment, Lajitas Golf Resort - The Ultimate Big Bend Experience But the desert has always had a way of withering material ambition. natural gas transportation company Energy Transfer Partners. But he insisted that his intention was little substantive change. Tucked away in Southwest Texas between Big Bend National Park and Big Bend State Park lies the exquisite 27,000 acre Lajitas Golf Resort and Spa. 5 Texas-Sized Golf Trips Worth Dreaming Over | Houstonia Magazine The general rides near the Texas-Mexico border. Fly Direct to Lajitas from Dallas or Houston. And the recollection of that night is one of the reasons there will be no pour-out on the porch for the death of Smiths vision. The name comes from the bars design, a dug-out cave/mineshaft, and it has always had a more permissive atmosphere than the rest of the area. Here, youll find everything from the award-winning golf course to the unassuming general store, from several restaurants to heaps of excursions, that make up many of the best things to do in Lajitas, Texas. The runway airport has full 100LL and Jet A fuel, complimentary tiedowns down services and offers transportation to the resort. If youve visited the popular Terlingua Ghost Town, youve no doubt heard about the mercury mining boom that led to the towns explosion in population in the early 20th century. She paints mandalas on old hubcaps to make a little Still, when the sun sets each night, when the dry desert air turns gold and the clouds go from white to purple to orange to gone and a desert rat can put himself to sleep by counting stars, that hard life is worth it. The resort couldn't turn a And there was one other significant problem. The Lajitas Museum, which contained artifacts from the Big Bend area, was located just east of Lajitas. One part Texas frontier town, and one part golf resort, Lajitas is 100% pleasure. However given [], 2023All Sports FAQAll rights reserved, Powered byWPDesigned with the Customizr theme. Lajitas Golf Resort 1,061 reviews #1 of 1 resort in Lajitas Review Save Share 21701 FM 170, Lajitas, Big Bend National Park, TX 79852-5015 1 (877) 525-4827 Visit hotel website E-mail hotel Check In / / Check Out / / Guests Contact accommodation for availability. Bridlie Hospitality, to operate the resort. LAJITAS GOLF RESORT - Prices & Reviews (Big Bend National Park) The first white settlers came to the area in the mid-1800s. For the 23 years prior to that, Lajitas had been the property of Houston business giant Walter Mischer, whod turned it into a modest resort with an Old West boardwalk, a nine-hole golf course, ninety cheap hotel rooms, and an RV park for winter Texans, all of it anchored by a 65-year-old ramshackle adobe trading post so vital to the regions commerce and society that some called it the Courthouse of South County. [7] The construction of the park cost about $90 million. was Mr. Warren's first It can be quite a jolt. [2][6], In 2007, he bought the bankrupt Lajitas Resorts in Lajitas, Texas, as a real estate investment. He has one son, Klyde Warren. Lajitas Golf Resort, Terlingua - Updated 2023 Prices - Booking.com As part of the contract, his son cleans up trash from the park once a month. Then, this summer, after resort revenues failed to live up to the terms of the loan, the lender posted the property for foreclosure, and Lajitas filed for Chapter 11 protection. It is a wildly beautiful natural region, with a complex and fascinating history. Remote Lajitas Golf Resort -- which sits very near the Mexican border, some 470 miles west of San Antonio -- is the kind of place where the tee sheet never gets too stacked. contracted with Edwin Leslie, president and CEO of Houston-based Projects were undertaken with designs drawn over lunch on place mats. The course was designed by Lanny Wadkins. Due to the closing of the Terlingua quicksilver mines, the number of residents in Lajitas had dwindled to four. Front Desk: (432) 424-5000 Pamplin and his partners invested $25 million to expand the resort adding a new hotel and increasing the number of golf holes from 9 to 18. Review. ), 7+ Great Girls Trips in Texas (Weekend Getaway Ideas! Bill grew up in that Lajitas, in the late fifties and sixties, attending school in Alpine but spending his weekends, holidays, and summers down by the river. Sure enough, the hotel struggled to maintain even 50 percent occupancy, and a mere five private homes went up in his subdivisions. McGuirk, who also helped manage the mining company in Terlingua and funded the construction of a church. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. In nearly every article on Lajitas that ran in the early Smith years, he gave some variant of a quote he gave to me. nine-hole golf course, in addition to the thousands of acres of His whole model was based on the idea that he could somehow tame the desert, refashion it to suit his plan, and it was just a matter of time before his vision became known as Smiths Folly. Copyright 2016 (c) | VisitBigBend.com | All Rights Reserved | Brought to you by the Brewster County Tourism Council |. Dallas Robert E. Lee Statue Has Landed at Black Jacks Crossing Near Terlingua. Location & Hours 21701 Fm 170 Lajitas, TX 79852 Get directions Edit business info Amenities and More By Appointment Only Accepts Credit Cards Good For Kids Private Lot Parking 2 More Attributes About the Business Escape to Lajitas Golf Resort, no place like it in the world! You leave someplace nice, fly fifty minutes, and expect to arrive someplace nice. Sticking to their goal to truly have everything, they even have an airport (the wifi on the resort, however, is questionable at best). Suite 2100 And when I tried to pull open my window, the knob should not have come off in my hand. And everyone carried guns back then, but they knew to check them with me at the door or Id lose my beer license. Ivey shakes his head as he realizes that this wasnt that long ago. Every day at five oclock sharp, when the whistle blew at Lajitas, the porch at the trading post became the spot for Big Bend happy hour. Mr. Warren, a Levis-jeans-and-cowboy-boot-wearing Texan from [6], Lajitas is located on the eastern end of the Big Bend Ranch State Park. Aug 2018 - Present4 years 8 months. The store itself was stacked deep with every conceivable necessity, from bulk beans and flour to appliances, auto parts, clothes, and ranch supplies. 6 IMPORTANT TIPS FOR VISITING THE BIG BEND. Dallas businessman Kelcy Warren believes he can. Its a small section of the population that gets it out here, she said. The name Lajitas is Spanish for little flat rocks and refers to the Boquillas limestone of the area. travelers to these 25,000 acres of Chihuahuan desert on the fringes of The round-trip drive to Alpine for big groceries is 190 miles. question. But the other reason for the difficulty in determining someones age out there cuts the other way. , we came back to resort and spent time lounging in the pool. ), 5 Cool Towns Near Big Bend National Park (+ Where to Stay! View all View all photos (863) When the mines in nearby Terlingua closed in the 1940s, though, Lajitas also became a ghost town, with an estimated population of 4. Warren said Thursday looking about. lavished $100 million to turn the property into an exclusive refuge for [22] In 2012, press reports indicated he owned an estate on an island off the coast of Honduras. She also had no way of knowing about the rest of the nights events. When I met him nearly two years later, he was thinking differently. LAJITAS GOLF RESORT - 236 Photos & 94 Reviews - Yelp The place seemed to be about three stars shy of the target, fine for the desert but not for the price. "First let me shake your hand for asking that," Ms. Ryan said, There was a reason Big Bend hadnt already been overrun by the wealthy: the Chihuahuan Desert. Local Lajitas, TX STD Testing Centers and CBC, Lipid, Hepatitis, Liver, Hemoglobin A1C, Hormone, Same Day Service, No Doctors Visit/No Insurance Required, All Wellness/Health Testing. There are similar hotels available. In 1977 Ivey sold part of the Lajitas area to Houston entrepreneur Walter M. Mischer, of Mischer Corporation; Mischer had begun development and restoration of the community in 1977, under the name of the corporations subsidiary, Arrow Development Company. Yelp users havent asked any questions yet about Lajitas Golf Resort. Instead, he paid dearly to learn an age-old lesson: The desert always wins. The three-hundred-yard walk to dinner that night was unlit and took me through a construction pit, and the meal for me and my friend at the gourmet Ocotillo was decent but blandthe venison chop, snapper filet, and rattlesnake cake all tasted like their sauce. Tel: 1-877-LAJITAS Carmichael, California, United States. If you click through a link on Lone Star Travel Guide, we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. and were blown away by the immense beauty of the course. He also donated $103,000 to President Donald Trump's 2016 campaign. Lajitas resort avoids foreclosure with bankruptcy court filing. Chip Gaines Bought Larry McMurtrys Historic Texas Bookstore. There was, in fact, a large contingent of resort employees in La Kiva that night, all of them transplants from around the United States but for one young woman who had grown up in the area. [2][3] He serves on the advisory board of his alma mater, the University of Texas at Arlington. And Mischer wanted the place to be fun. Though a biblical rainstorm and lightning display in the night knocked out the resorts electricity for twelve hoursa common desert occurrence that, among other things, might incapacitate an alarm clock and cause one to miss an early tee timehe was still able to get on the course because no one else was playing that day. Though the Lajitas Resort dominates much of Lajitas today, you can still find many remnants of the original town of Lajitas aroundoften restored by the resort. Lajitas is zoned to schools in the Terlingua Common School District. beer-guzzling goats and the legend of Pancho Villa could lure the Saying Goodbye to Fairfield Lake State Park, Miniature Cattle Have Ambled Into Our Hearts and Onto Our Modest Acreages. The high bid at days end was $13.5 million, but the bidder, who wished to remain anonymous, hadnt offered enough money to pay all the creditors, and no deal was reached. For more flight He also funded the construction of a church and a school. For those traditionally drawn to the place, whether they were rich or poor, comfort wasnt the major consideration. I only had two rules: no fighting and no spitting, at least not in the store. The Big Bend area is in Central Standard Time. Warren's gift was the largest, giving him naming rights. A major hotel chain. Hundreds of trees, including pears and plums that had no business being in the desert, were ordered before there was a plan to plant them and then planted before there was a way to water them. They talked about reopening the border crossing, reaching out On Friday, Mr. Warren sealed a $13.5 million deal to buy the Business is apparently booming at its new home, a course that has been perennially named among the top five or so in the state. "misery ground into the walls. And a federal judge approved the sale of Lajitas earlier this In The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada, Pete and a coyote sit overlooking the Rio Grande near Lajitas. Lajitas Golf Resort and Spa 100 Main St, Terlingua, TX 79852 Hotel Amenities Property Details Built in 2003 101 rooms in 26 buildings Designated smoking areas Hotel Services Concierge and tour/ticket information 24-hour business center 6000 square feet of conference space Convenience store and gift shop Luggage storage Laundry facilities There were weeks of discussion leading up to the 13-1 Council vote on September 5, 2017, ending with it being taken down and stored. See 1,059 traveler reviews, 860 candid photos, and great deals for Lajitas Golf Resort, ranked #1 of 1 hotel in Lajitas and rated 4 of 5 at Tripadvisor. The crowds would grow to three hundred people and still be going when Ivey showed up for work the next morning, when he would finally shoo folks away. [17], The Kelcy Warren Foundation supports the Caddo Lake Institution, an organization with the mission of protecting the ecological, cultural and economic integrity of Caddo Lake and its associated wetlands and watershed. It was closed temporarily in 1910, reopened in 1916, and closed permanently in 1939. The accommodations themselves truly run the gamut, making use of the original town of Lajitas wherever possible. It's a place where many have long come to get away from material excess She was all smiles when I met her, one more witness to the greatness of Lajitas. The outing had been arranged in part to show me the way the new folks in Lajitas were being accepted in the community. West Texans Are Learning What It Means to Live in Bear Country. It was mounted on a pediment in the middle of the golf courses putting green on Thursday, according to Scott Beasley, who manages the course for Dallas-based WSB Resorts and Clubs. In mid-October, Lajitas was back up for sale. His ambition grew ever more glorious by the day: eight hundred residential lots of two acres or less, some selling for as much as $1 million, undeveloped; two championship golf courses, not desert-style, with grass growing only on greens and tees, but with a lush wall-to-wall carpet that would need a million gallons of water a day to stay green in summer months; an RV park with $100,000 slips for $500,000 motor homes; a 36,000-square-foot spa; four fancy restaurants; an amphitheater seating three thousand; an equestrian center; a hunting club. In 1999 Williams sold the resort to a group of investors led by Dickie Pamplin. fried steak instead of $50 steaks. One of the biggest selling points of Lajitas Golf Resort for many, though, is its location right next door to Big Bend Ranch State Park. [2][3][4] He also serves as member of the management council of ETP Enogex Partners LLC, co-CEO of ETC OLP, co-CEO and co-chairman of La Grange Energy and of US Propane LLC.
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