Country Reporter since 1972.
7. Explore Palo Duro Canyon
At 120 miles long, about 20 miles wide, and 800 feet deep, Palo Duro Canyon is big enough to make any Texan proud. You can explore it by car, on foot, or on horseback and take in the stunning hues of purple, gray, and orange rock mixed in with the greens of mesquite and juniper trees. The canyon also provides the dramatic backdrop for the musical Texas, which runs from June to August and tells the story of the struggles and victories of the Panhandle settlers. The amphitheater fills with people from all over the world wanting to learn about the state and its myth. And nothing says Texas like a horseman carrying the Lone Star flag and a brilliant fireworks show. Patricia Busa McConnico
8. Buy A Pair Of Custom Boots
The happiest of all the many booted Texans are those who can slip on a pair made by hand just for them. With the leather (calfskin to crocodile), design (gentleman rancher or dance hall dandy), and artistry (spare or ornate) all of your choosing, custom boots can be an outward expression of your inner cowboy or cowgirl. And they’re assured to fit like gloves hewed from warm butter. Well-thought-of bootmakers abound in Texas, whether it’s cobbler to the stars Lee Miller, at Austin’s Texas Traditions, who apprenticed under bootmaking legend Charlie Dunn (see the song “Charlie Dunn,” by Jerry Jeff Walker); San Angelo’s M. L. Leddy’s (also in Fort Worth); El Paso’s Rocketbuster Boots; or San Antonio’s Little’s Boots. Find a reputable shop and get in for a fitting. Soon enough you’ll be standing taller, truly well-heeled and happy in your very own custom creations. David Courtney
9. Float A River
You might get sunburned. You might scrape your butt. And you might lose a beer or three when your cooler overturns. But is there a better way to defy the torrid summer heat than splayed across an inner tube on a spring-fed waterway? There’s the Guadalupe (light rapids and celebratory college students), the Comal (blessedly short), the San Marcos (so clean you could drink it), the Brazos (nice and slow), and the Frio (secluded and icy cold). Whichever river you choose (and whichever of its numerous outfitters; find a list at tubetexas.com), bobbing lazily for a few hours restores belief that life in triple-digit temperatures is actually possible. At least until you reach the take-out point and have to wait for the van ride back. Katharyn Rodemann
10. Sip a Dublin Dr Pepper
It is ten o’clock in the morning, and I won’t lie to you: I am drinking one right now. The ice-cold eight-ounce bottle proudly proclaims the signature ingredient, Imperial Pure Cane Sugar. No need for the high-fructose corn syrup that has become part of the standard formula for Dr Peppers elsewhere. That simple tweak makes a Dublin—named for the city whose bottling plant has been producing the Texas-born refreshment since 1891—a throwback indeed. I drank my first one in elementary school. After I returned home from a hard day of spelling tests and multiplication tables, Mom poured a small amount in my Billy Joe Dupree mug as part of my snack. I’ve been hooked ever since. And with two more left in my refrigerator today, you can guess what I’ll be doing at two and four. Brian D. Sweany
11. Attend a Star Party at the McDonald Observatory, near Fort Davis
“The stars at night / Are big and bright / Deep in the heart of Texas.” But the stars are even bigger and brighter when seen from atop the Davis Mountains, in far West Texas, under what is one of the darkest night skies in the contiguous United States. Every Tuesday, Friday, and Saturday nights after sunset, the McDonald Observatory hosts “star parties” at which visitors can peer through several high-powered telescopes and follow along as staff members identify the celestial objects overhead. You might be lucky enough to glimpse the rings of Saturn, but simply gazing up at a starry night sky unsullied by big-city lights is thrilling enough. Pamela Colloff
12. Marvel at the Painted Churches, in Little Bohemia
Some of the state’s most interesting art does not hang on gallery walls. It exists in the elaborate interior murals and frescoes that fill about twenty churches built by Czech and German immigrants one hundred years ago or so. The best place to see these masterpieces is near the towns of Schulenburg, Dubina, High Hill, Praha—an area known as Little Bohemia. The churches themselves are lovely, with lone steeples rising from the prairie, arched Gothic windows, and stone or white clapboard siding. But the painted wooden interiors are simply stunning. The colors are dazzling, the designs intricate. At the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary Catholic Church, in High Hill, there is even trompe l’oeil—the wooden ceilings are painted to give the illusion of Gothic groin vaults. S. C. Gwynne
13. Visit the dead in Fort Worth by Bob Ray Sanders
There is one place most of us will visit after we die, but I would suggest two spots that people should see while they are still in the land of the living. Pioneer’s Rest, on Samuels Avenue, was started in 1850 after land was donated to bury the children of Major Ripley Arnold, the commander of the fort he named Worth (he would later be buried there too). Also on the north side is the sprawling Oakwood Cemetery, on Grand Avenue. It contains two other cemeteries, Calvary and Old Trinity, a historic graveyard once reserved for black people. From large crypts to simple plots, many of the city’s pioneers are buried here, including John Peter Smith. In the Old Trinity section is also the grave site of William “Gooseneck” McDonald, the owner of the city’s first black bank. Sanders is a longtime columnist at the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
14. Order a Ribeye at Perini Ranch Steakhouse, in Buffalo Gap
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