Touring Texas: Texas: big, bold and bursting with blockbuster attractions, the Lone Star state satisfies every vacation whim - State Of The Month

Travel America, Nov-Dec, 2002 by Ellen Clark

More than simply one of the 50 states, Texas is--to some--the only state, and definitely it is a state of mind. Bumper stickers on cars and trucks herald the way Texans feel about their state with witticisms such as "I wasn't born here, but I got here as fast as I could," "On earth as it is in Texas" or "Everybody's somebody in Luckenbach, Texas."

Vast, varied, quirky, and uncompromising, Texas is larger than life and full of surprises. From humble to sophisticated, from green and lush to parched and dry, from attraction-packed cities to millions of acres of wilderness, the state is overflowing with class and character.

To get a handle on this enormous (275,416 square miles) state without becoming hopelessly overwhelmed, it's best to divide it, as the department of tourism has, into seven areas: Big Bend Country, Panhandle Plains, Hill Country, South Texas Plains, Prairies and Lakes, Piney Woods, and Gulf Coast.

Big Bend Country is just how I expected Texas to be, with miles and miles of dusty, over-grazed land, tough weather-beaten ranchers, eccentric towns, and more than enough wide-open space to satisfy even the most claustrophobic.

Big Bend's major cities, Midland/ Odessa and El Paso, offer plenty of options for the urban-minded, but the real draw of the area is the outdoors. Almost 2,000,000 acres of wilderness lure hikers, trekkers, backpackers, and campers to the area's two national parks, Guadalupe Mountains and Big Bend. Canoers, rafters, and kayakers can glide through imposing canyons on the Rio Grande that flows through Big Bend Ranch State Park.

Of all the towns here in southwestern Texas, Marfa is perhaps the most eccentric. Besides being the location for the epic 1955 film Giant, on certain nights mysterious lights appear in the sky. Some opt for a scientific explanation, some for a supernatural, but so far no one has been able to prove either. But its most surprising attraction is the Chinati Foundation. Who would have thought that in a dry little Texas town miles from anywhere there would be, in numerous former army post buildings, a display of ultra-modern contemporary art, including 100 aluminum boxes by Donald Judd and 23 crashed automobile parts by John Chamberlain.

Anyone looking for a good dose of the Old West need go no further than the Panhandle Plains. This is cowboy country, where Western heritage and ranches abound.

Amarillo's attractions run from the sublime to the ridiculous. The American Quarter Horse Heritage Center and Museum is a classy outfit that showcases the elegant equine. Just west of the city, 10 upended classic Cadillacs make up Cadillac Ranch, a crazy display that looks like some kind of bizarre Stonehenge.

Those with true Texas appetites should head to Amarillo's Big Texan Steak Ranch, where dinner is free for anyone who can devour a 72-ounce steak, with all the trimmings, in an hour. For a less intimidating dining experience, Cowboy Morning Breakfast serves a chuckwagon feast at the rim of Palo Duro Canyon as the morning sun shimmers off the multi-colored canyon walls.

At the Bar H Dude Ranch, cowboy and cowgirl wannabes can experience life on a working ranch up close and personal. Visitors spend anywhere from a few hours to a few weeks riding the range and helping with chores.

For a more passive ranch experience, there's Lubbock's Ranching Heritage Center. Spread over 16 landscaped acres are 35 authentically restored and furnished structures, many of which belonged to the great Texas ranches.

Sophisticated and bucolic, the Hill Country seems softer and lusher than I would have expected of Texas. Austin, the area's largest city, is also the state capital. Claiming, perhaps argumentably, to being the "Live Music Capital of the World," there is no doubt that there are plenty of places to enjoy everything from classical to rock.

LBJ was a native son of the Hill Country and is remembered at the Lyndon B. Johnson Library and Museum in Austin as well as at the national and state parks at Stonewall, site of the LBJ Ranch, his birthplace and his grave.

Germans immigrated to the Hill Country in the 19th century, and their influence remains. In Fredericksburg, for example, restaurants serve German beer and traditional dishes, oom-pah bands play polkas, the Pioneer Museum celebrates the area's German heritage, and Opa's Smoked Meats turns out sausages by the score.

Springtime is dazzling in the Hill Country when the rolling landscape is covered by a vivid palette of wildflowers. At Wildseed Farms in Fredericksburg the seeds of these flowers are harvested and shipped around the country.

Not all the attractions in the Hill Country are above ground. The area is honeycombed with caves; some, including Longhorn Cavern and Natural Bridge Caverns, give tours of these underground wonderlands.

If you're longing for margaritas, mariachis, mercados, and Tex-Mex, the South Texas Plains is the place to be. Bordering Mexico to the south and west, it has the cities of San Antonio and Laredo, both of which generate plenty of South of the Border atmosphere.