Unknown Texas - The Lone Star State

"The cinematic journey begins on the picturesque, endless prairies and large cattle ranches of northern Texas. We accompany ranch owner, Jerry Bob Daniel and his cowboys in their daily work with the cattle; learn interesting facts about nature and the environment and gain insights into the tradition Texan attitude to life. This is also the case in Richard Oliver's family business. In Oliver's Saddle Shop, the horse saddles are still produced in the old way and made to measure for the respective use. While the north of Texas, with its expansive prairies suffers from an ever-increasing water shortage, the climate in the extreme east is humid and wet. Here on the border with the state of Louisiana lies the most mystical fairytale place in Texas - Caddo Lake. Towering majestically from the water are huge cypress trees, centuries old and draped in Spanish moss. But paradise is threatened: We follow conservationist, Laura Ashley-Overdike and her colleague, Hattie Hackler as they battle a fast-spreading aquatic fern known as Giant Salvinia. The plant threatens the biodiversity of water bodies and originally comes from Brazil. The conservationists want to defeat the plague by breeding small weevils. Texas is famous for its barbecue. In the heart of Texas in the Hill Country, we meet the “Pittmaster”, meaning grill master, Jake Gondolfo. He introduces us to the world of special smokers in which the famous beef brisket is cooked in wood smoke for hours. "

"The last wild herd of buffalo in Texas lives in the Caprock Canyons. About 20 years ago, the only remaining 44 bison in the state were captured and brought here. Photographer Wyman Meinzer has photographed bison since the beginning. We're traveling between canyons with Wyman tracking down the bison. All Texans love their rodeo. All over the state there are rodeo events where horses and bull cattle are ridden. Sterling Spurr is 19 and wants to be a professional bullrider like his father Mike. Sterling returns to the arena for the first time after a long layoff due to injury. South Padre Island is located in the far south of the Texas Gulf Coast near the border with Mexico. The island's beaches are the most important breeding ground in the US for the endangered Kemp's Ridley sea turtle. We accompany marine biologist Amy Bonker on her work during the nesting season. Amy also runs a sanctuary for sea turtles injured by fishing nets or boat engines. The capital of Texas is Austin. In a hip district we meet the well-known Pop Art artist Todd Saunders. Todd makes modern art objects out of neon tubes that used to light up advertising signs along highways. "