astrophysics in 1966. While at
Rochester he married Bobbe
Morse, and after graduation
they moved to the University of
Toronto, where he obtained an
M.A. in 1968 and a Ph.D. in
astronomy two years later.
During the 1970s Bobbe and
he had two sons, Jeffrey and
Eric. The marriage ended in
1982.
Tom Barnes’ first job was
W.J. McDonald postdoctoral
fellow with the University of
Texas, the research unit of
which, McDonald Observa -
tory, he says he fell in love with
on his first visit. After years as a
researcher, he was invited in
1978 to become assistant to the
director of UT’s astronomy
program, an administrative
job. He successfully learned the
art of leadership in an academ-
ic research institute and moved
steadily upwards. In 2006 he
moved to Arlington, Va. as pro-
gram manager with the
National Science Foundation
but returned to Texas three
years later as superintendent of
McDonald Observatory.
In 1984 Barnes married
Sandra Lee Preston; they were
divorced in 1997. In May 1998
he married Cyndee Conrad.
Today Tom Barnes sees chal-
lenges for McDonald Observa -
tory in funding and new regu-
lations. Funding is increasingly
tight, yet demand for results
remains high. Also, regulations
have acquired a new impor-
tance since 9/11 and are
increasingly time-consuming.
Significantly, the facility is now
called the McDonald campus
of the University of Texas.
With charge of 75 personnel
and nine research telescopes,
75 percent of Barnes’ time is
taken with administrative work,
while the remainder is divided
between variable star research
and liaising with other astrono-
my professionals.
After two years, he sees over-
all progress despite the drop in
tourist revenue due to this
year’s fires in the region.
Another matter which needs
constant attention is light pollu-
tion. We are lucky, he says.
Most of the immediate com-
munity is highly cooperative;
there are also 22 amateur
astronomers in the region. He
extends an invitation to local
residents, who enter free, to
visit more often and to bring
friends who are visiting. With
the darkest skies in the conti-
nental
United
States,
McDonald Observatory war-
rants our attention.
MARCOS PAREDES
Marcos Paredes was born in
1956 near Eagle Pass to
Benigno and Teresa Paredes,
the oldest of 12 children. His
father was a small rancher/
farmer, who later turned to fur-
niture making. High school was
in Marana, Ariz., and he was
comfortable with most subjects.
But he much preferred being in
the country, camping, canoeing
and fishing, a preference which
he has been able to pursue all
his life.
He quit Pima Community
College in Tucson in 1974 after
a year and a half and on
impulse offered to drive a
friend, with whom he had
shared manual work, to the
friend’s home in West Virginia.
From this arbitrary move came
his first job – as a ranger in
Cooper’s Rock State Park, W. Va.
More important was the river
guide job he got with
Appalachian Wild Water out-
fitters in spring 1976, which he
owed to prior canoeing experi-
ence in Texas.
He next worked with two
different outfitters in North
Carolina. Paredes loved the
wild terrain, which permitted a
lot of camping and fishing or
“just having fun.” In the winter,
there were jobs on the ski
slopes. Three seasons passed in
this way. In the 1980s Paredes
moved back to Texas’ Big Bend
and took a job with Texas
Canoe Trails and then with Far
Flung Expeditions.
It was in Mexico with Far
Flung, rafting the wild rivers in
the tropical south, that he met a
young woman, Susan Boyer,
whom he married in 1994 –
“the greatest thing that ever
happened to me,” he says.
They started building a two-
story rock house in Terlingua,
“Rancho Abandonado,” a
project which continues to this
day. Susan works at Big Bend
National Park and also at the
Terlingua post office.
Starting in 1982, Paredes
pioneered trips into the Sierra
del Carmen in Coahuila,
Mexico, just across the Rio
Grande from Big Bend
National Park. These three- to
five-day pack trips used horses
and mules to gain access to the
most remote areas of the
range. He escorted environ-
mentalists, parks personnel and
state officials. He loved the wild
terrain, higher than the Chisos
Mountains in the national
park. He stopped running
these popular trips in 1994
owing to his new position with
Big Bend National Park.
In 1989 he had joined the
staff of Big Bend National
Park, initially as a maintenance
person. The next year he was
transferred to the ranger divi-
sion, as Rio District ranger. His
responsibilities
included
patrolling the river by canoe.
He held this position until his
retirement in 2010 and was
described by Jim Carrico,
superintendent of Big Bend
National Park from 1986 to
1990, as “excellent at his job.”
Ever active, retirement to
Marcos Paredes simply means
another opportunity, this one
under his own direction. He
founded Rio Aviation to pro-
mote air tours around Big
Bend from the Terlingua
airstrip, now called Fulcher
Field, using two Cessnas. If his
past luck holds, this venture
should fly. He also is running
for Brewster County commis-
sioner (precinct 3) in the
upcoming elections, hoping to
add public service to his long
record of generous volunteer
activities on both sides of the
Rio Grande.
Radio for a Wide Range
Serving Far West Texas at 93.5 FM
Become a member at www.marfapublicradio.org or 1-800-903-KRTS
NECTAR
COMPUTERS
Servicing West Texas with comprehensive
and experienced support since 2003
202 N 11th & Ave E, Alpine Texas • www.nectarcomputers.com
432 837 3021 • Support Cell: 432 386 7811 • Mark Hannan, Owner
CITY DRUG STORE
Alpine’s Country Drug Store
Now a HealthMart ® Pharmacy
Dale Dyda, R. PH.
432-837-2252
202 East Avenue E, Alpine
R
X
FREE Delivery to Marfa and Fort Davis
when you fill your prescriptions with us!
And FREE blood pressure screening!
PV D ESIGN AND I NSTALLATION
OFFSET YOUR CARBON FOOTPRINT
OFFSET
FOOTPRINT
30% FEDERAL TAX CREDIT
30% FEDERAL TAX CREDIT
AEP REBATE AVAILABLE
AEP REBATE SERVICE PROVIDER
www.finelinessolar.com
NABCEP Certified
Cenizo
First Quarter 2012
Phone 432-386-8100
19