In the high desert of West Texas, there's a trail dodging cactus. No signs or guideposts here … just the crunch of gravel underfoot, and above, a wide-open sky. But for those in the know, like Matt ...

In the late 1970s, a group of university students in West Texas, wanting a place to study with a view, hauled a desk to the top of Hancock Hill (elevation: 4,900 feet), in the town of Alpine. Today, ...