Texas Pastimes - Brief Article

Travel America, July, 2000

There's no end to the vacation possibilities in our second largest state

Whether you plan on shopping 'til you drop or quietly communing with nature, Texas offers a limitless list of things to see and do. And thanks to mild winters, most activities are available all year long.

Here are three vacation ideas to pursue in the Lone Star State:

BIRDWATCHING. If you enjoy the thrill of spotting birds, then you have come to the right place. With over 600 species, Texas is arguably the birding capital of America. In fact, the American Birding Association listed Texas as the most popular destination in the country for birding tours the last five years in a row. The World Birding Center headquarters will soon be located in Mission in the lower Rio Grande Valley.

There are many birding hotspots throughout the state, including the 500-mile Great Texas Coastal Birding Trail, which stretches from Brownsville to Beaumont. The Aransas National Wildlife Refuge, just northeast of Rockport, is the principal wintering ground for the near-extinct whooping crane. The Bentsen-Rio Grande Valley State Park is a year-round home to native birds such as orioles, fly-catchers, and kingfishers, and also is frequented by exotic species like the collared forest falcon of Argentina.

Head to the Hill Country near Austin to see rare golden-cheeked warblers and black-capped vireos. Or head farther west to view many of the more than 450 species that inhabit Big Bend National Park.

STATE PARKS. Texas boasts 122 operational parks--that's a different park every weekend for more than two years! You'll find great areas for hiking, camping, and fishing, but Texas has parks that will surprise you, too. For example, at Hueco Tanks State Historical Park near El Paso, you can see ancient Indian pictographs on cave walls. At Longhorn Cavern State Park near Burnet, two miles of surreal tunnels are yours to explore.

In East Texas lies Big Thicket National Preserve, a vast area of tangled, often impenetrable woods, streams, and marshes. A series of hiking trails takes visitors through the varied terrain, which goes from arid desert to damp hardwood swamps to temperate piney woods.

Palo Duro Canyon State Park in the Panhandle is one of the largest state parks--15,000 acres. The color-streaked canyon plunges to depths of almost one thousand feet.

SHOPPING. If your idea of a getaway is boutiques and fashion instead of bluffs and forests, head to the cities for some serious shopping. In San Antonio the San Antonio River winds through the heart of downtown. The Paseo del Rio, or River Walk, is a picturesque walk-way built on the banks of this meandering riven The new South Bank is a huge restaurant and retail complex right on the River Walk.

Other cities offer similar venues for waterside shopping. Irving's Las Colinas Complex has the Mandalay Canal Walk, a European-style canal walk featuring eclectic shops and Venetian-built water taxis. Kemah Boardwalk, on Galveston Bay in the Clear Lake area, features themed restaurants, specialty shops, rides, and more.

For the finest in cosmopolitan shopping, try Houston or Dallas. In Houston a six-mile system of underground pedestrian tunnels and skywalks includes a variety of shops and more than 100 restaurants in the downtown area. In Katy, just west of Houston, you can experience Katy Mills, a 1.3-million-square-foot shopping mecca. For upscale shopping, visit Dallas, known for its bounty of prestigious retail shops.

Whether you are the outdoors type or the outfits type, Texas offers the best of both worlds. To order a free Texas State Travel Guide, call (800) 8888-TEX (ext. 1657) or visit the Web site, www.TravelTex.com.