Introducing Texas
If you thought, ‘Screw You, We’re from Texas’ was the state motto, not just the refrain in a Ray Wylie Hubbard song, you’d be forgiven for misunderstandin’. A certain chest-puffin’ pride does seem to go with being from the Lone Star State. It probably has as much to do with leftover independent spirit (locals are mighty proud of Texas having been its own country) as it does with all that bigness (the state is larger than Germany, England, Scotland, Ireland, Northern Ireland, Belgium and the Netherlands combined). Nevertheless, the Wild West lives on today mostly in attitude. If you’re expectin’ to see a buncha cowboys dusty from the trail, you’re about as sharp as a heapa mashed potaters. Computer-geek millionaires outnumber rich cattlemen, and you’re as likely to see a Dallas fashionista as a good ol’ gal in her tight-fittin’ jeans.
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Sure you can (and might oughta) do some two-steppin’ in a 100-year-old dance hall, but you should also rock out at the hundreds of live-music venues in Austin or pulse to the mariachi beat in ol’ San Antone. If you imagine the nature of Texas is tumblin’ tumbleweeds, a walk along miles of undeveloped Gulf Coast beach or the sight of snow in the 8000ft-plus Guadalupe Mountains will change your mind right quick.
Of course there’s also them bright lights ‘n big cities – Houston and Dallas, with their culture and such. And if what you really want to see is ropers and riders, they’ll oblige ya. Mosey on over to Fort Worth’s historic stockyards, attend a small-town rodeo, or get your giddy-up on at Bandera’s dude ranches. Wherever you go, most folks are just as friendly as pie. Can you blame ‘em? They’re from Texas.
Last updated: Feb 17, 2009
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Texas
Things to do
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Our Top Picks For Texas
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1 Continental Club
Diving into some hard-rockin’ blues at Austin’s original live-music bar, the Continental Club
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2 Rocketbuster Boots
Ogling the true Texana artworks that are handmade Rocketbuster Boots in El Paso
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3 Big Bend National Park
Photographing brilliant cactus blooms – bright fuchsia choyo, flaming orange ocotillo – in Big Bend National Park
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4 Fort Worth
Going country at the National Cowgirl Museum by day and the Stockyards rodeo by night in Fort Worth
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5 Salt Lick Barbecue
Marveling at the slabs of meat on massive outdoor BBQ pits at Salt Lick Barbecue outside Austin