As stories about heroes go, Lonesome Dove was a lot better than any John Wayne film, but let’s forget about legends and talk about movies where the heroes are harder to define. The Last Picture Show, adapted from another Larry McMurtry novel, is a loss-of-innocence story set in a West Texas town in the fifties where there was never a whole lot of innocence to begin with. The film is nostalgic, but it’s unvarnished too: A mentally handicapped kid has sex with the town hooker, a lonely teenager sleeps with his football coach’s even lonelier wife, and the town’s most respected figure has never gotten over the affair he had with a married woman. Tender Mercies, written by beloved Texas playwright Horton Foote, is the story of a burned-out country singer who turns his life around with the help of a widow, her young son, and her church. The movie was shot near Waxahachie, and Robert Duvall spends a lot of time staring off into the plains, where there is not a damn thing to look at—no rugged mountains, no swollen rivers, no cattle drives. Nothing but people, and the things they do to, and for, each other. Nate Blakeslee

47. Eat a Chicken-Fried Steak at Mary’s Cafe, in Strawn

The full Mary’s experience begins with the inevitable hike in from wherever you parked on the dusty two-lane highway out front. (Do not arrive at noon or six p.m.) It continues with the wait for a table in the plain-Jane room, with its beige walls, black chairs, and beer signs. (Repeat: Do not arrive at noon or six p.m.) Once you place your order for a chicken-fried steak, things start hopping. Unless the place is slammed, your steak will arrive at supersonic speed in all its golden-brown, plate-lapping glory. Half an inch thick, tenderized on-site, it’s cooked on a flat grill, the old-fashioned way. In other words, it’s not one of those preposterously battered, preternaturally fluffy modern CFSs. Cut off a piece with your fork (knife unnecessary) and take a bite. It tastes of meat, not grease or batter. Dip it in the cup of generously peppered cream gravy that comes alongside. The flavors meld deliciously. By the time you finish your steak, choice of potato, and Texas toast, you won’t be hungry again for a week. 119 Grant Ave., 254-672-5741. PS

48. Visit Buddy Holly’s Grave, in Lubbock

The bespectacled rock legend was still a rising star when his brief career was cut short by a plane crash in 1959, but his influence continues to this day. For dedicated fans, Holly’s flat granite headstone at the City of Lubbock Cemetery is sacred ground, and about a dozen visitors stop by each week to sing a chorus from their favorite song, make a video, or leave behind sunglasses, CDs, and guitar picks. For reasons that remain unclear, some folks leave pennies and nickels, as if contributing to an eternally low tip jar. 2011 E. Thirty-first, 806-767-2270. KV

49. Drive the Freeways at Night in Houston

I always tell my son to stay off the freeways after eleven o’clock, because that’s when terrible things happen to people, especially NBA stars driving too fast in their zillion-dollar cars. But sometimes, when the world is closing in and the night air is just too stifling, there is only one thing to do: Get on the freeway, roll the windows down, and turn the radio up. If you follow Loop 610, you can travel from the lights of the Galleria to the lights of the refineries and back again. Out on the Southwest Freeway, the neon from the titty bars and strip centers—those are different things in Houston—offers a rainbow of comfort for whatever ails you. Take Interstate 45 south and you can be in Galveston for the sunrise. Just don’t tell anyone under 21 that you did it. MS

50. Attend a Classic High School Football Game

Football in Texas is a hallowed tradition, like barbecue and religion. Every Friday in fall, high school stadiums fill with family, friends, and fans as the lights shine big and bright, illuminating the young stars on the field. Whether it’s a 5A dynasty or a 1A six-man team, this is football in its ideal form. Think of New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees leading the Westlake High School Chaparrals to a 16-0 season and the 1996 5A Division II state championship. Or Colt McCoy taking his 2A Jim Ned High Indians all the way to the championship game in 2003, where the San Augustine Wolves prevailed. Southlake Carroll, Katy, Temple. Lake Travis, Longview, Abilene Cooper. Albany, Goldthwaite, Wellington. Fort Davis, Paducah, Throckmorton. Parents work the concession stands, girlfriends lead the cheers, and the band thrills the crowd at halftime. It’s Friday night—and it’s pure Texas. DC

51. Visit the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, in Austin

You could do as you’ve done every April: Throw the kids and a camera in the car, drive to the nearest highway, and—quick! there!—pull over to record that instant in the bluebonnets. But if it’s a moment of transcendence you seek, then you’ll head to the mecca of native blooms instead: the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center. Here, surrounded by the reds of Indian paintbrush and winecup, the pinks of spiderwort and prairie verbena, the yellows of tickseed and Texas star, and the blues of dayflower and, of course, our beloved Lupinus texensis , you’ll experience the riotous explosion of spring like nowhere else. Dial in to the cell phone audio tour—you’ll hear an introduction by the patron saint of wildflowers herself—and walk among ponds and sandstone arches, explore dirt trails, marvel at pupating butterflies in the insectary, and revel in the six-hundred-plus kinds of flora before you. Oh, yes—and take photos. Lots of photos. 4801 La Crosse Ave., 512-232-0100. KR

52. Roll Down Miller Hill, in Houston

AstroWorld may be gone, but the city’s original roller coaster, 24-foot-high Miller Hill, in sprawling Hermann Park, can still be enjoyed from