Riffs, Roams and Raves: A Weekly Column

Riffs, Roams and Raves uncovers the creative, noteworthy and accomplished in the Wimberley Valley and beyond with tips on who to hear, where to go and what to see from managing editor Teresa Kendrick.

Riffs: On the phone with a legend

For someone who declared himself retired several years ago, Gary P. Nunn is awfully busy.

He told me in a friendly telephone conversation last week that COVID-19 pushed him into retirement but after the pandemic was over, he was not so ready to quit. He said that “there was a pent up demand, so out I went. If the calls keep coming in,” he laughed, “I’ll keep going out.”

As we talked, I asked if he imagined early on if he ever anticipated the success he’s had as a celebrated Texas musician.

“No, not really. Everything was new. There was no time to speculate what the outcome might be. It was a matter of putting one foot in front of the other, especially when it came to keeping up with Michael Murphey and Jerry Jeff Walker. I was well suited to be a helper with their careers. I had the confidence that they’d be big stars, and so I was along for the ride.” I found his declaration as a “helper” surprisingly humble for a performer who has released 17 albums on his own and written more that 200 songs and earned multiple gold and platinum records for writing, publishing and performing.

“In the ‘90s, after the Lost Gonzo band dissolved,” he continued, “I was fortunate that I was earning royalties from earlier work and could contemplate what I might do next. One day I got a call from Mike Hardwick in Phoenix. He asked me if I needed a band.” And Hardwick suggested, “How about we come out and make a band behind you?” Gary P. agreed to the proposal. “It meant that I didn’t have to put a band together. It was ready-made.”

He owes his longevity, he told me, “to creating the balance between playing music and having a normal life. Having my wife Ruth, who is my business partner, at my side was a huge contribution to increasing my stature.”

“I’ve seen a lot of stars make it big who then fell into drinking and carousing which made their families break up. I made sure my family came first. I wanted it to be a long term situation.”

“Fortunately,” he said, “I do not suffer from some of the ailments common to long time musicians.”

Although he broke his hands in high school, he doesn’t suffer from carpal tunnel syndrome or arthritis. His left hand is, “a little less responsive than the other,” so he works at keeping it in shape. And, “since I’m a rhythm player, I don’t have any issue with keeping up.” He takes other measures to keep his singing voice in good condition.

“Besides performing,” he told me, “I’ve been publishing and making my own records and it keeps me busy. And then if there’s nothing to do, I can always practice,” to which he added with a laugh, “What an awful idea!”

Songwriters and the process of songwriting continues to fascinate the multi-instrumentalist. “Like Jerry Jeff, I’m always on the lookout for the next song. He was a good influence on me that way.”

In fact, Gary P. has collected over 500 songs that he’s had something to do with over the years. “I have a huge catalog of unrecorded music that I’d like to get out to performers.” But he said getting them out there is not so easy. “You have to go through a half dozen doors before you get to a performer and everyone wants a cut. So I’m thinking of creating a podcast that I’ll call something like “the great unknowns” so that those songwriters get recognition for their work and performers have the opportunity to look at material that’s new to them.”

To do that, though, he would have to clear space in a building full of “stuff” in order to set up a studio. Maybe he’ll find time in between upcoming gigs in Tomball, Waxahachie, New Ulm, Fort Worth and Spring Branch. I hope he does. It seems there’s plenty more Gary P. Nunn to be enjoyed.

Roams: Caverns of Sonora and a T-Shirt My roam this week took me half way to Big Bend to the west Texas town of Sonora. At a little over three hours away, my drive was mostly achieved on I-10 and it offered wide open views to the charms of the Chihuahuan desert to the south.

This particular roam marked the culmination of a year-long peek into Texas’ underpinnings on a journey called the Texas Cave Trail. The challenge was to visit five specific caves within one year. For those intrepid enough to complete it, a Texas Cave Trail t-shirt is the reward. But more than that, it offers an understanding of the aquifers from which we, in our part of Texas, access our water. The final cave on the Trail was the Caverns of Sonora and it is located within the Edwards- Trinity Plateau aquifer.

The other four caves were Cave Without a Name in Boerne, Natural Bridge Caverns near San Antonio, Longhorn Cavern State Park in Burnet and Inner Space Cavern in Georgetown. As I worked my way through this interesting exercise, I learned what the term “karst” meant. Karst is land, either above ground or below, made up of soft limestone. As rainwater seeps through limestone, it slowly dissolves. Like our own limestone substrate in the Wimberley area, karst landscapes are home to caves and underground streams and aquifers. The aquifers that hold our water, for example, are underground karst landscapes.

The Caverns of Sonora is noteworthy because of its stunning calcite crystal formations. Not only will you see stalactites and stalagmites, you’ll see helictites. Stalactites are formations that descend from above, stalagmites, you’ll remember from classes in geology, rise up from the floor and helictites extend either horizontally or diagonally. The helictites at the Caverns of Sonora are extremely abundant, unusually pure and arranged in wildly complex formations.

Not only is it a world class cave, the place is hailed as a National Natural Landmark because more than 95% of its formations inside are still “growing.” As water continues to seep through the cave from above, it drips and keeps on creating the formations, albeit slowly. The average stalactite grows an inch every hundred years. The cave, according to our guide Deborah, is probably 1.5 to 5 million years old and was filled with water before it drained out somewhere between 1 and 3 million years ago. That’s when the formations began growing.

As I walked down into the caverns with 11 other people on the tour, it was clear that this cave was a showstopper. Smooth cave walls gave way to walls and ceilings absolutely covered in calcite bumps called “popcorn,” or in smooth sheets, “draperies,” columns, or the cave’s celebrated crystal butterfly. Pools on either side of the walkway held water and if you were patient enough, you could watch a droplet fall from a stalactite into the pools and watch the ripples fan out. Weddings are performed deep in the cave, but some of the passages are so narrow it would be nearly impossible to pass through them without touching the walls in full wedding gear.

The cave is on private ranch land owned by the Mayfield family. The story goes that a dog chased a raccoon into an opening of rocks on the south side of the ranch which led to its discovery in 1900. Locals began exploring the cave in the early 1920s. On Labor Day weekend 1955, four cavers crossed a narrow, sloping ledge on the right hand side of a big pit to reach passages not seen by earlier explorers. Development started in 1959 to preserve the cavern and make it accessible to the public. It opened to visitors in 1960.

Six generations later, members of the Mayfield family continue to operate the cave. I met Gerry Mayfield Ingham, who at 80 years of age, owns the cave and still works six days a week in the office, managing emails, paying bills and attending to other matters. She takes care of ranch business the other day of the week, she told me while cradling her full time office companion, a chihuahua mix named “June.” The ranch raises cattle, sheep, goats and horses. Her daughter Louise sells tickets in the gift shop and manages the tours. Everyone I met there was friendly and invested in the operation in a way that only family and dedicated employees can be.

If the idea of checking out our region’s undercarriage sparks your interest, I recommend the Texas Cave Trail challenge. It’s a great way to connect with the turf we call home. For more information go to texascavetrail.com.

Raves: Thanking our emergency responders The Knights of Columbus from St. Mary Catholic Church are taking Wimberley’s emergency responders to lunch on Thursday, March 21 to thank them for their service on behalf of the Wimberley people.

On the guest list are the Sheriff’s Department, Precinct 3 Constable and Deputies, Wimberley Fire and Rescue, the EMS staff, the Justice of the Peace and their staff, the Fire Marshall, Texas Highway patrol Troopers, Hays County Emergency Services, Barnabas Connection, My Neighbors

PHOTOS BY TERESA KENDRICK

Keepers, the Hays County Precinct 3 Annex Staff, the Wimberley Valley Rangers, the Cities of Wimberley, Woodcreek Emergency Staff & Community Emergency Services, and CERT, the Community Emergency Response Team.

Is there anything better than a heartfelt “thank you” to the people who care for all of us? Kudos to the Knights of Columbus for this thoughtful, team building event.