Wandering Around America One State at a Time – Texas

Posted in Birds, Nature, RVing, State Parks, Texas, Tourist Attractions, Wandering around America, WildlifeTagged , , , ,

State 39:

Welcome to the next post in my series highlighting states we have visited throughout the years. I hope you will enjoy coming along for the ride!

I will be featuring the states alphabetically. The next state in my series is

Texas

Texas became the 28th state on December 29, 1845. The Capital is Austin.

Texas is the second largest state by area and unless you’ve driven through Texas it is hard to comprehend the size. Our Texas adventures have taken us through the Texas Panhandle, mesquite and cactus covered plains, the green rolling hills of the Texas Hill Country, and the beautiful Texas Gulf Coast. Along the way we camped by beautiful lakes, near the Gulf Coast, in the second largest canyon in the United States, and a quite a few places in between. As we drove around the back roads we saw canyons and creeks, dance halls and wineries, historic sites and ranches, quaint small towns and old homesteads, toured museums, made a few hikes, attended a fiddle fest and chuck wagon races, met wonderful Texans, and saw more wildflowers than I ever imagined.

The lighthouse trail at Palo Duro Canyon, Enchanted Rock, and the Devil’s Waterhole Trail at Inks Lake were some of our favorite hikes.

Starting the Lighthouse Trail
Enchanted Rock
At the Summit of Enchanted Rock
View of the Lighthouse from the trail the first overlook
Devil’s Waterhole Trail at Inks Lake

The official Texas Longhorn herd is divided between a few state parks. At Copper Breaks State Park and Palo Duro Canyon State Park we saw them up close.

One of the official Texas Longhorn herd, at Copper Breaks State Park
Part of the official Texas Longhorn herd at Copper Breaks State Park
Longhorn kiss at Copper Breaks State Park
T-Bone, one of the Texas Longhorns

We planned a spring trip to Texas so we could see the bluebonnets in bloom. Texas is the only place on earth where some of the bluebonnet varieties bloom naturally. There were also many other wildflowers along the way.

Texas Bluebonnets in Laredo
Bluebonnets beside boot topped fence
Unknown wildflower beside a rest area in the Texas Plains
Bluebonnets at Lake Arrowhead
Bluebonnets and Indian Paintbrush along Park Road 4
Texas Bluebonnets in Laredo
Bull Thistle, Copper Breaks State Park
Wildflower growing along the road
Prickly Pear Cactus, Copper Breaks State Park
Wildflowers at Padre Island National Seashore
Bluebonnets near Stonewall, Texas

We found some wonderful places to camp. We especially enjoyed camping at many Texas State Parks.

Palo Duro Canyon
Copper Breaks State Park
Green all around at Lake Arrowhead
Relaxing behind our campsite at Inks Lake State Park, Burnett, Texas

Rain and fog couldn’t keep us from enjoying the three state parks and Padre Island National Seashore along the Texas Gulf Coast.

Sand Dunes at Mustang Island State Park
Hazy day at Padre Island National Seashore
Morning sky from our site at Goose Island State Park
Sunrise over the Gulf at Galveston Island State Park

There are many varieties of birds along the Texas Gulf Coast.

Sandhill crane and Whooping crane near Goose Island State Park
White Pelicans, Goose Island State Park
Whooping cranes, near Goose Island State Park
Roseate Spoonbills and Egret,Goose Island State Park
Green Heron
Great Blue Heron near Goose Island State Park
Whooping Cranes and Sandhill cranes near Goose Island State Park
Mallards at Inks Lake
Sandpiper with a tasty crab
Tri-Colored Heron

Texas Horned Lizards, Cottontail Rabbits, mule deer, white tailed deer, prairie dogs, and wild turkeys are some of the wildlife I was able to capture.

Texas Horned Lizard, Palo Duro Canyon State Park
Mountain Cottontail, Copper Breaks State Park
Wild Turkeys, Palo Duro Canyon State Park
Mule Deer, Palo Duro Canyon State Park
Prairie Dog, Lake Arrowhead State Park
We saw deer almost every day at Cranes Mill Campground

Being serenaded, attending a fiddle fest, listening to music in a dance hall, touring the Buddy Holly museum, going to Luckenback, and seeing signs about Willie Nelson reminded us of how important music is to the Lone Star State.

We were serenaded with a Bob Wills classic while we enjoyed our steak at the Big Texan
Llano Fiddle Fest 2015
Luckenbach, Texas
Buddy Holly Statue and West Texas Hall of Fame
Gruene Hall is one of the oldest dance halls in Texas
Gotta love Texas

For us, no trip to Texas would be complete without sampling some of their fantastic steaks and barbecue, especially the brisket.

Cooper’s Barbeque in Llano, Texas
Salt Lick Barbeque
Chopped brisket sandwich at Triple J Chop House, Lubbock
Brisket Sandwich at the Branding Iron in Wichita Falls
The Big Texan Steak Ranch in Amarillo

In Paris, Texas we stopped to see the Eiffel Tower with a red  cowboy hat and attended chuck wagon races.

Eiffel Tower in Paris, Texas
Start of a Chuck Wagon Race
Spectators at the Chuck Wagon Races

There were interesting things to see all around the state.

Cadillac Ranch, Amarillo
The Big Tree in Goose Island State Park in Texas is a 1000 year old live oak
A common sight in the Texas Plains
At the LBJ Ranch
Big Blue Crab in Rockport, Texas
Sculpture at the entrance to a ranch

One of the best things about visiting Texas is meeting native Texans. Without fail, every  Texan we met was proud of their state and eager to share their favorite places to visit or where to find the best brisket. One woman I met had so many good suggestions about places to go I had to get a notebook out of the truck to take notes!

To read previous posts about the states featured in this series just click on the state name: Alabama      Alaska      Arizona      Arkansas      California      Colorado     Florida      Georgia      Hawaii        Idaho  Illinois      Indiana      Iowa     Kansas     Kentucky     Louisiana     Maine     Maryland     Massachusetts     Michigan     Minnesota    Mississippi     Missouri     Montana     Nebraska     Nevada      New Hampshire     New Mexico      New York     North Carolina    North Dakota      Ohio     Oklahoma     Oregon     Pennsylvania    South Carolina     South Dakota     Tennessee

23 thoughts on “Wandering Around America One State at a Time – Texas”

  1. What a fun post! And you got to see a Horny Toad (as we call them around here: OK/TX)! I used to see them all the time as a kid. They’re so cute. The babies are about the size of a pencil eraser. But now their numbers are dwindling and they’re a protected species. I hope they can recover.

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  2. Thank you for my Texas fix this morning. So much diverse fun to be had in that state. I’m hoping to spend March in the hill country to immerse myself in wildflowers after my time along the coast communing with birds. Already looking forward to it 😃

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      1. Let’s hope tornado season stays at bay during March in Texas or hubby will be hitching up and high tailing it to AZ 😁 Having grown up in IL, we know a thing or two about weather!

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          2. That park sounds like a good one. We made a day trip to Fredricksburg from Canyon Lake so didn’t see any of the Rv parks there. Not real close to Fredricksburg but we really enjoyed Inks Lake and the area around Llano.

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  4. Thanks for the information. Now we have a few more places in Texas to explore. My favorites so far are Big Bend National Park, Galveston, Austin and the Hill Country.

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    1. We didn’t go as far west as Big Bend. We really enjoyed Palo Duro Canyon, Inks Lake and Copper Breaks State Parks. Just driving around on the FM roads was fun. Texas is so big you could spend your life there and not see it all!

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  5. For about ten years, we went to Houston once or twice a year to visit family that lived there. I never saw these beautiful sights though because I was in the city with the traffic and humidity. We’d barely make it from the door of their house to the door of the car while heading for the door at the mall. I’d never experience heat and humidity like that. We haven’t been back in several years, and I can only imagine it is even busier. I like your views better. 🙂

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    1. Judy, except for driving on the interstate through San Antonio towing our fifth wheel, we avoided all the cities. We talked about spending a day in Austin but decided against it. When we visited in the spring the weather was very nice.

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  7. Wow, you sure hit a lot of this amazing state. We were so excited as our daughter and son-in-law contemplated moving to Dallas after he lost his job in Virginia. They would have transferred him and our daughter could have sought a transfer as well. That would be the only way we could have seen as much as possible in this state. Sadly, they discovered it would not have been financially beneficial to them. Thankfully, he was able to obtain other employment.
    I have been fortunate to visit Dallas and San Antonio and just loved it! Hope we get to visit some of the state.

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