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 Still cherishing the memory that it was from 1836 to 1845 an independent
nation in its own right, TEXAS stands apart from the rest of the United
States. While its sheer size - eight hundred miles from east to west and
nearly a thousand from top to bottom - gives it a great geographical
diversity, is firmly bound together by a shared history, culture and
ideology. Independence is key to the Texan mentality, from the
overriding distrust of government - any government - to the absence of
unionized labor. As the old anti-litter campaign put it, "Don't mess
with Texas."
Preconceived ideas about what exactly is "Texan" are soon shattered.
It's actually one of the most eclectic and cosmopolitan states in the
Union and each of the major tourist destinations has its own distinct
character. Hispanic San Antonio , for example, with its Mexican
population and historic importance, has a laid-back feel absent from the
big-city neurosis of Houston or Dallas , while trendy Austin revels in a
lively music scene and intellectualism found nowhere else in the state.
Regional differences are vast. The swampy, forested east is more like
Louisiana than the pretty Hill Country or the agricultural plains of the
Panhandle , and the tropical Gulf Coast has little in common with the
mountainous deserts of the west. Changes in climate are equally dramatic:
snow is common on the Panhandle, whereas the humidity of Houston, in
particular, is only made bearable by nonstop high-power air conditioning.
One thing shared by the whole of Texas is the constant boasting -
everything has to be bigger and better than anywhere else. Such
chauvinism is tempered both by a delight in self-parody and by the
state's melting pot of cultures. The much-cited Texan friendliness is
not imaginary; to be unwelcoming would simply be unpatriotic. Texas is,
after all, named for a Native American word meaning friend, tejas , and
a visit here, especially to the Panhandle or the Hill Country, is not
for those who want to be alone.
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| abilene
and sweetwater |
amarillo |
austin |
canyon |
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ABILENE has a certain curiosity value as an oppressively God-fearing
Bible city and home to three Christian universities. There's not much
reason
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AMARILLO may seem cut off from the rest of Texas, up in the northern
Panhandle, but it stands on one of the great American cross-country
routes I-40
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The Texas State Capitol , at 13th Street and Congress Avenue, is over
300ft high, taller than the national capitol in Washington, with a red
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The one "sight" in the former cattle town of CANYON , fifteen miles
south of Amarillo on I-27, is a must. The Panhandle-Plains Historical
Museum
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| corpus christi |
dallas |
el paso |
fort
worth |
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The unabashed resort town of CORPUS CHRISTI is reached along the
coast on Hwy-35 from Houston or Galveston, or on I-37 from San Antonio
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Contrary to popular belief, there's no oil in glitzy, status-conscious
DALLAS . Since its foundation as a prairie trading post, by Tennessee
lawyer
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Back when Texas was still Tejas , EL PASO , the second oldest
settlement in the United States, was the main crossing on the Rio Grande
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Yes, Dallas does have something Fort Worth doesn't have - a real
city thirty miles away .
- Amon Carter
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frederickburg |
galveston |
houston |
laredo |
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FREDERICKSBURG , smack in the middle of the Hill Country, might at
first glance look like a pastiche of a German village, overrun by
Biergartens
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In 1890 GALVESTON on the northern tip of Galveston Island, the
southern terminus of I-45 was a thriving port, far larger than Houston
fifty
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HOUSTON has relentless Texan pride, and above all its refusal to
take itself totally seriously, give it a perverse appeal, while its well-endowed
museums
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LAREDO , over one hundred miles from the coast, has seen greater
days even though it's the fastest-growing city in the state. Santa Anna
marched
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| lubbock |
nacogdoches |
nuevo laredo |
san antonio |
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LUBBOCK , the largest city in the Panhandle, has long been the
center of its commerce and transportation, roughly one hundred miles
northwest of Abilene
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NACOGDOCHES , north of Angelina National Forest on US-59, claims to
be the oldest town in Texas. One of the state's first five Spanish
missions
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It's an easy walk across the bridge from San Agustin Plaza in Laredo
to the typical Mexican border town of NUEVO LAREDO ; so easy that this
is the most popular
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With neither the modern skyline of an oil town, nor the tumbleweed-strewn
landscape of the Wild West, attractive and festive SAN ANTONIO
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terlingua and lajitas |
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Some of the long-abandoned mercury mining communities on the fringes
of Big Bend are now stuttering back to life as alternative tourist
centers. TERLINGUA
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