Then the traveler progresses
south through the Glass
Mountains and the Marathon
Basin down to and through the
national park and all its major
roads and to points along the
Rio Grande; back up Hwy. 118
to Alpine and north to Mitre
Peak; thence back to Alpine
and west to Marfa; and finally
looping back to Fort Stockton
along Hwy. 67 east of Alpine.
The grand tour was complete,
with all stops along the way
accurately noted and all fea-
tures described and pho-
tographed.
The book, and all others
that were to follow, included a
geologic time scale, numerous
color photographs, a glossary
of technical terms, a reading
list and excellent maps illustrat-
ing some of the more complex
geologic features.
Bill was a pragmatist. He
understood that one of the
major outlets for his book
would be the national park.
Mike Boren, director of the Big
Bend Natural History Associa -
tion, which handles book sales,
knew Bill and his work and
liked them both.
Big Bend Vistas: A Geological
Exploration of the Big Bend was an
immediate success in area
bookstores. With favorable
reviews, MacLeod was en -
gaged to speak at bookstores,
clubs and other venues. The
book filled a gaping void: all
this dramatic terrain and no
accessible guidebook to help
the curious to understand.
That was over.
Bill was already planning his
next book, Davis Mountains
Vistas: A Geological Explora tion of
the Davis Mountains (Jan. 2006).
It was a book much like his first,
in the standard 6-by-9-inch for-
mat, with photos, maps, a glos-
sary and reading list, written in
language for the general reader.
It, too, was successful.
But MacLeod was not satis-
fied. He began to think a larger
format with bigger photo-
graphs and fewer words might
communicate his subject more
effectively. Just 18 months after
the Davis Mountains book was
published, he produced
(through his Texas Geological
Press imprint) Palo Duro Vistas: A
Photo courtesy Martha MacLeod
Martha MacLeod will continue
to make Bill’s books available.
Journey Through Palo Duro Canyon
(July 2007).
Palo Duro Vistas came out in a
wider and slightly longer size that
allowed for large, full-page pho-
tographs. He cut the amount of
text in relation to the visuals, and
the maps changed from black
and white to color. “Bill was con-
stantly evolving, upgrading,
improving and adapting in order
to reach his audience better,”
Blaine Hall said.
River Road Vistas: A Journey
along the River Road (May, 2008)
appeared just 10 months later.
This guide covers a 230-mile
scenic loop from Alpine south
to Study Butte, turning west on
FM 170 through Terlingua and
Lajitas. It includes the 30-mile
stretch between Lajitas and
Presidio, considered the most
spectacular scenic drive in
Texas. The drive continues
north from Presidio to Marfa
and ends in Alpine. It requires
a full day if you make the
appropriate stops and read the
text.
Astonishingly, MacLeod
was not finished. The books
just kept coming, closer and
closer together. He took Big
Bend Vistas and revised it, put-
ting it into the new, larger for-
mat, cutting the text, expand-
ing the art and changing the
subtitle to “Journeys through
Big Bend National Park.” It
came out in November 2008,
just six months after River Road
Vistas. This time the book
focused exclusively on the park
area. MacLeod added a won-
derful introductory section on
dinosaurs, complete with pho-
tos of the big beasts.
Three months later, Bill
published a thoroughly revised
edition of Davis Mountains Vistas
(February 2009), this one subti-
tled “Journeys through the
Mountains.”
Upon his death, Bill had vir-
tually completed work on a
book he planned to entitle
Marathon Basin Vistas, the
remarkable geology of that
area having been removed
from the Big Bend Vistas second
edition. He also planned a
book on Enchanted Rock and
Texas Hill Country geology.
In producing the books,
MacLeod went everywhere in
the Big Bend, taking pictures of
practically every noteworthy
hill, mountain, mesa, fault,
thrust, horst, graben, dike,
dome and other important
geological feature, especially
those visible from a well-trav-
eled highway or road. Over the
years, he amassed a photo-
graphic collection of Big Bend
geology that may well be
unparalleled.
Not only do the photos fill
his books, but they appear on
postcards, in wall calendars, on
DVDs and in beautiful small,
matted prints neatly wrapped
in crystal-clear plastic. Martha
MacLeod is seeing to it that all
of Bill’s work continues to be
available.
The books will long be
remembered and appreciated.
He translated the complexities
of earth science into accessible
language for the layperson, yet
he never compromised accura-
cy. “I wrote (these books) for
people who want to know why
the Big Bend looks the way it
does,” he often said. He was
writing for the tourist, the geol-
ogy buff and the resident or
visitor who wanted to know
more about the stunning
mountains and colorful rocks.
A geology colleague, Dr.
Julius Dasch, said “he had the
rare gift of being able to trans-
late the complex information
into an intermediate level that
non-geologists can compre-
hend and appreciate. Bill has
contributed a significant legacy
to the region he loved.”
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■
Bonnie Dale Bratton
Attorney at Law
Alpine, Texas
Family Law, Business Litigation
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432.837.9201
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Cenizo
First Quarter 2011
9