Texas (TX)

Texas State Flag

"Lone Star State"

Long Horn Cattle Ranch, TX. Photo Credit: skeeze/Pixabay 

Why visit Texas?

Visit for architecture, barbecue food, birdwatching, camping, country-western music, cowboys, cultures, cyclists, dancing, diverse landscapes, fishing, golf, hiking, hunting, ranches, rodeos, tubing, rugged mountains, underground caverns and white water rafting.

Southfork Ranch (Dallas TV Show, Ewing Mansion), Parker, TX. Photo Credit: skeeze/Pixabay 

A popular destination for:

• Amateur & Professional Photographers
• Conventions, Meetings & Reunions
• Cruise: Disembark/Embark
• Groups: Family, Friends and Multigenerational

Rio Grande (Big River), TX. Photo Credit: David Mark/Pixabay 

At a Glance

• Capital: Austin
• State Bird: Mockingbird
• State Dessert: Peach Cobbler & Pecan Pie
• State Flower: Bluebonnet
• State Gemstone: Texas Blue Topaz 
• State Mammal: None
• State Rock: Oligocene Petrified Palmwood 

Dallas, TX. Photo Credit: David Mark/Pixabay 

Fun Facts

• Since 1913, "everything is bigger in Texas" has been used.
• "Don't Mess with Texas" began as an anti-littering advertisement and eventually became an identity statement.
  
• Second largest U.S. state. 
  
• The state flag and seal has one star reflecting their struggle for independence from Mexico.
• Has 3,700 named streams and 15 major rivers.
• Has the tallest freestanding historical figure statue, Sam Houston measuring 67 feet (Huntsville).
• Three of its borders are defined by rivers.
• The second most polluting state of greenhouse gases and seventh in the world.
  
• A reputation of very harsh criminal punishment for criminal offenses with strong self defense laws, allowing citizens to use lethal force to defend themselves, their families, or their property.
  
• Second largest population of millionaires in the nation.
  
• Leads the nation in the production of cattle, goats, hay, horses, mohair, sheep and wool.
  
• Droughts cost the state billions of dollars in crops and livestock.
  
• Upscale shopping mall, Highland Village Park (Dallas) was the first self contained shopping center in America. 
• The buckle of the Bible Belt (East Texas).
  
• Evangelical non-denominational Christian, Lakewood Church (Houston), has the largest attendance in the nation with 16,800 seats averages around 52,000 attendees weekly.
  
• Considered "The Live Music Capital of the World" (Austin), has more live music venues per capita than popular music hotbeds like Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Nashville, Memphis or New York City.
  
• Fusing sounds and dance of European, Mexican and U.S. influences has earned title as "The Tejano Music Capital Of The World" (San Antonio).
• Texas House Bill 588, guarantees students who graduate in the top 10% of their high school class will automatically admit to state funded universities. 
  
• Home to America's largest highway and railway systems.
  
• State Highway 130 toll road with a speed limit of 85 miles per hour is the highest limit in the nation.
  
• Port of Houston is our country's busiest port.
  
• Hosted the world's first rodeo (Pecos).
• Town Founders on the State's Application for Incorporation wrote "Uncertain" which was understood to be the town's name.
• The largest oil producer state with a total production of 1.85 billion barrels (2019).
  
• Hit television series, Dallas was filmed with CBS3 from 1978-1991 at Ewing Mansion (Southfork Ranch, Parker).
  
• Features 5 State Forests and 120 State Parks.

Big Bend National Park, TX. Photo Credit: Eduardo Letkeman from Pixabay 

Thank You!

• Spotlight Celebrities: "Beyoncé" Giselle Knowles-Carter (Musician), late President Dwight D Eisenhower, Lance Armstrong (Athlete), Lizzy Greene (Actress), Nick Jonas (Musician), Selena Gomez (Musician), Selena Quintanilla (Musician) and "Usher" Raymond IV (Musician), just to name a few.
• Movies to Inspire You: American Sniper (2014), Boyhood (2001), Killer Joe (2011), No Country For Old Men (2006) and The Tree of Life (2011), just to name a few.
• Reads Set in Texas: Adventures with a Texas Naturalist (written by Roy Bedichek), Coronado's Children (written by J Frank Dobie), Galveston (written by Nic Pizzolatto), Goodbye to a River (written by John Graves), Leaving Cheyenne (written by Larry McMurtry), No Country for Old Men (written by Cormac McCarthy), Tales of old-time Texas (written by J Frank Dobie),Texas (written by James A Michener), The Boy Kings of Texas: A Memoir (written by Domingo Martinez), The Gates of the Alamo (written by Stephen Harrigan), The Last Picture Show (written by Larry McMurtry), The Which Way Tree (written by Elizabeth Crook) and Thyme of Death (written by Susan Wittig Albert), just to name a few.

Bluebonnet (Buffalo Clover, Lupinus Subcarnosus, Lupinus Texensis, Texas Lupin) Austin, TX. Photo Credit: Joan Gonzalez/Pixabay 

Good to Know

• Anticipate distances between attractions.
  
• Take note of signs: No Smoking, No Dogs, No Guns.
  
• Beware of poisonous scorpions, snakes and spiders.
  
• State Parks Pass permits entry to several parks per vehicle.
  
• Hunters usually pay a fee to hunt on private game farms.
  
• Protected by State Law do not pick wildflowers.
• A melting pot of cultures from around the world.
  
• Ranks the third worst healthcare system in the nation for access to healthcare, avoidable hospital spending, equity and quality of care.
  
• Spanish is a second popular language spoken.
• Speak the local language: All git-out = exceedingly or as much as possible, Coke = any carbonated drink, Fixin’ to = you’re about to do something, Hissy fit = tantrum, Howdy = hello and Y’all = you all.

Sam Houston Statue, Huntsville, TX. Photo Credit:  rayvberkel/Pixabay 

Subject to Blue Norther, dust storms, heavy rains, humidity, hurricanes and tornadoes. Hurricane Season is June - November their impact normally between August - October.

• Best Time to Visit: March - April
• Coldest Month: January
• Hottest Month: August 
• Peak Season: June - August

Cadillac Ranch, Amarillo, TX. Photo Credit: David Mark/Pixabay 

Your Must-See & Do

• Historical Sites: Acton State Historic Site, Battleship Texas State Historic Site, Caddo Mounds State Historic Site, Casa Navarro State Historic Site, Confederate Reunion Grounds State Historic Site, Eisenhower Birthplace State Historic Site, Fannin Battleground State Historic Site, Fanthorp Inn State Historic Site, Fort Griffin State Historic Site, Fort Lancaster State Historic Site, Fort Leaton State Historic Site, Fort McKavett State Historic Site, Fort Richardson State Park & Historic Site, French Legation State Historic Site, Fulton Mansion State Historic Site, Goliad State Park & Historic Site, Goodnight Ranch State Historic Site, Hueco Tanks State Park & Historic Site, Landmark Inn State Historic Site, Levi Jordan Plantation State Historic Site, Lipantitlan State Historic Site, Lyndon B Johnson State Park & Historic Site, Magoffin Home State Historic Site, Mission Dolores State Historic Site, Mission Rosario State Historic Site, Monument Hill & Kreische Brewery State Historic Sites, National Museum of the Pacific War, Port Isabel Lighthouse State Historic Site, Sabine Pass Battleground State Historic Site, Sam Bell Maxey House State Historic Site, Sam Rayburn House State Historic Site, San Felipe de Austin State Historic Site, San Jacinto Battleground State Historic Site, Seminole Canyon State Park & Historic Site, Starr Family Home State Historic Site, Varner–Hogg Plantation State Historic Site, Washington-on-the-Brazos State Historic Site and Zaragoza Birthplace State Historic Site.
• Museums: African American Museum, Air Terminal Museum, Amarillo Museum of Art, American Quarter Horse Hall of Fame & Museum, Amon Carter Museum of American Art, ArtCar Museum, Bayou Bend Collection & Gardens, Blaffer Art Museum, Blanton Museum of Art, Briscoe Western Art Museum, Buffalo Soldiers National Museum, Bullock Texas State History Museum, Cavanaugh Flight Museum, Charles Goodnight Historical Center, Children's Museum of Houston, Contemporary Arts Museum, Corpus Christi Museum of Science & History, Creation Evidence Museum, C.R. Smith Museum, Crow Museum of Asian Art, Dallas Museum Of Art, Devils Rope Barbed Wire Museum, Dolph Briscoe Center for American History, Dr Pepper Museum & Free Enterprise Institute, dison Museum, Elisabet Ney Museum, Ellen Noël Art Museum, El Paso Museum of Art, Fort Worth Aviation Museum, Frontiers of Flight Museum, George W Bush Presidential Library & Museum, Heard Natural Science Museum & Wildlife Sanctuary, Heart of Texas Country Music Museum, Holocaust Museum Houston, Houston Museum of Natural Science, International Bowling Museum, International Museum of Art & Science, Kimbell Art Museum, LBJ Presidential Library, Lone Star Flight Museum, Mayborn Museum Complex, McNay Art Museum, Meadows Museum, Mexic-Arte Museum, Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth, Museum of Biblical Art, Museum of North Texas History, Museum of South Texas History, Museum of Southwest, Museum of Texas Tech University, Museum of the Big Bend, Museum of the Weird, Museum of Western Art, Nasher Sculpture Center, National Border Patrol Museum, National Museum of the Pacific War, National Videogame Museum, Ocean Star Offshore Oil Rig & Museum, Old Red Museum of Dallas County History & Culture, Panhandle - Plains Historical Museum, Permian Basin Petroleum Museum, Perot Museum of Nature and Science, Pioneer Museum, Republic of Texas Museum, San Antonio Museum of Art (SAMA), San Jacinto Battleground State Historic Site, San Jacinto Museum of History, Selena Museum, Sid Richardson Museum, Silent Wings Museum, Space Center Houston, Spindletop-Gladys City Boomtown Museum, Stark Museum of Art, Star of the Republic Museum, Texas Capitol, Texas Civil War Museum, Texas Heritage Museum, Texas Maritime Museum, Texas Memorial Museum, Texas Museum of Broadcasting & Communications, Texas Museum of Science & Technology, Texas Prison Museum, Texas Ranger Hall of Fame & Museum, The Alamo, The Art Museum of South Texas, The Bryan Museum, The Buckhorn Saloon & Museum, The DoSeum, The Health Museum, The Museum of Fine Arts, Umlauf Sculpture Garden & Museum, USS Lexington, ("The Blue Ghost"), Thinkery, UTSA Institute of Texan Cultures and Witte Museum.
• Popular Attractions: Animal World & Snake Farm Zoo, AT&T Stadium, Aquatica San Antonio, Austin Aquarium, Bahama Beach Waterpark, BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir, Barton Creek, Barton Creek Greenbelt, Beach Park At Isla Blanca, Beer Can House, Bishop's Palace, Boogie Bahn, Brackenridge Park, Brazos Bend State Park,  Cadillac Ranch, Klyde Warren Park, Big Bend National Park, Big Rivers Waterparks, Black's & Kreuz Market, Brackenridge Park, BSR Cable Park, Buffalo Bayou Park, Caldwell Zoo, Cameron Park Zoo, Caprock Canyons State Park & Trailway, Castaway Cove Waterpark, Caverns of Sonora, Children's Aquarium at Fair Park, Chiso Mountains, Circuit of the Americas, Congress Avenue Bridge, Dallas Zoo, Dealey Plaza, Dinosaur Valley State Park, Discovery Green, Don Harrington Discovery Center, Doral Tesoro, Dove Waterpark, Downtown Aquarium, El Paso Zoo, Enchanted Rock, Epic Waters Indoor Waterpark, Fanthorp Inn State Historic, Fort Worth Botanic Garden, Fort Worth Stockyards, Fort Worth Water Gardens, Fort Worth Zoo, Fossil Rim Wildlife Center, Galveston Beach, Galveston Island Historic Pleasure Pier, Garner State Park,  Gerald D Hines Waterwall Park, Gladys Porter Zoo, Gonzales Food Market, Grand Texas, Gruene Hall, Guadalupe Mountains National Park, Guadalupe River, Hamilton Pool Preserve, Harry Ransom Center, Hawaiian Falls Garland, Hawaiian Falls Roanoke, Hemisfair, Hermann Park, Hill Country, Houston Arboretum & Nature Center, Houston Funplex, Houston Zoo, Hurricane Alley Waterpark, Hurricane Harbor Arlington, Inks Lake State Park, Inner Space Cavern, Japanese Tea Garden, John Fitzgerald Kennedy Memorial, Joyland Amusement Park, Kemah Boardwalk, Kiddie Park, Klyde Warren Park, Kreische Brewery & Monument Hill State Historic Site, Laguna Atascosa National Wildlife Refuge, La Villita Historic Arts Village, Legoland Discovery Center Dallas Fort Worth, Lillie & Hugh Roy Cullen Sculpture Garden, Lions Junction Family Water Park, Longhorn Cavern State Park, Lost Maples State Natural Area, Louis Mueller Barbecue, Magnolia Market, Majestic Theatre, Mandalay Canal Walk at Las Colinas, Market Square, McDonald Observatory, M.L. Leddy's Boots & Saddlery, Mission Concepción, Monahans Sandhills State Park, Moody Gardens, Morgan's Wonderland, Mount Bonnell, Mustang Island State Park, NASA, Natural Bridge Caverns, Natural Bridge Wildlife Ranch, NRH2O Family Water Park, Padre Island National Seashore, Palo Duro Canyon, Palo Duro Canyon State Park, Paradise Springs Aquatic Parks, Paris Texas Eiffel Tower, Prada Marfa, Pecos, Pedernales Falls State Park, Pioneer Plaza, Pirates Bay Waterpark, Pirates Cove, Port Isabel Lighthouse, Prause Market, Radha Madhav Dham, Rainforest Pyramid, Reunion Tower, Rio Grande River, Salt Lick, Ripley's Believe It or Not!, Rob Fleming Aquatic Center, Rowlett Wet Zone, San Antonio Botanical Garden, San Antonio Missions National Historical Park, San Antonio River Walk, San Antonio Zoo, Rock'N River Water Park, San Fernando Cathedral, San Jacinto Battleground State Historic Site,  Schlitterbahn Waterpark Galveston, Sea Life Grapevine Aquarium, SeaWorld San Antonio, Six Flags Fiesta Texas, Six Flags Over Texas, Sonny Bryan's, Spoetzl Brewery, South Congress Avenue, Southfork Ranch (Ewing Mansion), Splash Dayz, Spalsh Kingdom Waterpark, Splashtown San Antonio, Splashway Water Park, Summer Fun Water Park, Sunken Gardens,  Texas State Aquarium, The Dallas Arboretum & Botanical Garden, The Dallas World Aquarium, The Menil Collection, Tower of the Americas,  Typhoon Texas Waterpark, Volente Beach Waterpark, Waco Mammoth National Monument, Waterpark at the Villages, Water Works Park, Wet N' Wild Waterworld, White Rock Lake, White Water Bay, Zero Gravity Thrill Amusement Park, Zilker Botanical Garden and ZDT's Amusement Park.
• Popular Cities/Towns to Visit:Amarillo, Arlington, Athens, Austin, Beaumont, Brownsville, Canton, Corpus Christi, Dallas, Driftwood, El Paso, Fort Worth, Frisco, Galveston, Garland, Gonzales, Grand Prairie, Houston, Irving, Killeen, La Grange, Levelland, Llano, Lockhart, Lubbock, Marshall, McKinney, Muleshoe, Notrees, Pasadena, Plano, San Antonio, Turkey, Uncertain, Waxahachie and West.
• Special Events: (January) Day for Night Festival, 3M Half Marathon, Southwestern Exposition & Livestock Show, (February) Anime Matsuri, Charro Days, Commstock, Ushicon, (March) Dogwood Trails Festival, Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo, Shriners College Classic, South by Southwest (SXSW), South Texas State Fair, Sweetwater Jaycee's World's Largest Rattlesnake Round-Up, (April) Bob Wills Day Celebration, Bunnies on the Bayou, Red Poppy Festival, Strawberry Festival, (May) A-Kon, Canadian River Music Festival, Crawfish Festival, Euphoria Music Festival, JMBLYA, Middllelands, Old Fiddlers' Reunion, Spring Fest & Fiddlers Contest, Stagecoach Days Festival, Texas Star Party (TSP), (June) DFW Writers Conference (DFWCon), Houston Gay Pride Parade, QueerBomb Dallas, Shrimporee, Tomato Festival, West Texas Western Swing Festival, (July) Great Texas Mosquito Festival, Kaboom Town, Miss Texas' Outstanding Teen, RealmsCon, Spring Ho, What A Melon Festival, (August) AnimeFest, Herb Festival, Let's Play Gaming Expo, QuakeCon, Rock the Desert, Schulenburg Festival, UFO Festival, (September) Cactus Country Festival, Dripping with Taste, Fall Festival, Harvest Festival & Street Dance, Kolache Festival, Neon Desert, Old Town Festival, Safeway Bowl, State Fair of Texas, Trans-Pecos Festival of Music + Love, West Fest, (October) Art Outside, Austin City Limits Music Festival, Austin Film Festival, Chigger Festival, Come & Take It Festival, Cotton Harvest Festival, Czhilispiel, East Texas Fire Ant Festival, East Texas Yamboree, Fire Ant Festival, Levitation, North Texas State Fair & Rodeo, 'Old Rip' Fest, Oni-Con, Peanut Festival, Pirate Festival, Prairie Days Festival, Retropalooza, Texas Mushroom Festival, Texas Rose Festival, UTOPiAfest, Wild Game Festival, World Championship Fiddlers Festival, (November) Margarita Ball, Spinach Festival, Texas Renaissance Festival, Wurstfest, (December) Cowboy Christmas, Dickens on the Strand, Ikkicon and Texas Bowl.
• UNESCO World Heritage Sites: San Antonio Missions

Mission Concepción,  San Antonio, TX. Photo Credit: gamathers/Pixabay 

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