Alpine TX: Heart of the Big Bend Podcast
Visit Alpine, Texas started the “Heart of the Big Bend” podcast in late April 2021. Episodes are released every other Friday. The 25 episodes produced as of mid-March 2022 include interviews and discussions on a wide range of topics of interest to visitors to the Big Bend region, including:
- Big Bend National Park Basics, Part 1 – a history and overview of the national park
- Visiting Big Bend National Park, Part 2 – nuts and bolts of visiting the park today
- Night Skies in Alpine and the Big Bend – McDonald Observatory and the Greater Big Bend Dark Skies Reserve
- Alpine’s Downtown Murals – an ever-growing collection of eclectic artworks has blossomed in recent years
- Books in the Big Bend – an interview with J.J. Rusz, whose mystery novels are placed in the Big Bend region with meticulous local details, joined by Alpine’s independent bookstore, Front Street Books
- An important set of episodes offers interviews on visiting our neighboring communities: Marfa, Fort Davis and Marathon. We view the Big Bend region as one big destination with Alpine as a member of that community, so we look for opportunities for cooperation wherever we can find them and share the platforms that we develop to spread the word about our sister communities.
The show is a partnership with Alpine’s only commercial radio company that runs KVLF (1240 AM) and KALP (92.7 FM). The radio station produces the audio for each episode and broadcasts the show locally on the same day as it is released to the podcast feed.
While the podcast feed targets the potential visitor to our area, the local broadcast gives Visit Alpine a channel to raise awareness of its activities to local residents as well as to share tips on exploring our mutual home and enjoying it to the fullest.
