Travel

The National Tour of Texas

A glowing beacon near Haynesville; broomweed royalties in Foard County; Archer City’s decorated dump; curative waters and a grand hotel in Mineral Wells; faux Alamo in Farmersville.

The National Tour of Texas

Out itinerant reporter visits with a Lubbock man determined to preserve the American Way of Life; the doughty clan that brought beer to Levelland; a windy lady fascinated with the weather and a rusticated professor gone to seed.

Texas Primer: The Balcones Escarpment

The blackland prairie of the old South meets the wide-open spaces of the wild West at Texas’ great geologic divide.

The National Tour of Texas

In the Mesquite Kingdom, where the coyotes howl, the wind blows free at the MacArthur Academy of Freedom, an honest face gets you a phone and immigration throws mariachi parties.

The National Tour of Texas

In search of elusive Central Texas: along the Cold Beer trail, inside Killeen’s soldier shops, through the hills of Toy Texas, deep within a nameless cave.

The National Tour of Texas

Across pastoral northeast Texas, where Baptists debate the niceties of immersion, truckers and hookers turn the airwaves blue, and bass have their private lives laid bare by electronic snooping.

The National Tour of Texas

Tales of the Piney Woods: the original kinds of the forest, the Bright way to get a chicken in every pot, the gamble of today’s Tenaha. Plus: an unusual graveyard, a haunting ruin, a chilling church name.

The National Tour of Texas

Passing (slowly) through Kendleton. Then on to Houston, where student murals record the march of time and Vietnam vets gather; to a meal so good it’s kept under lock and key; and finally to the (formerly) Golden Triangle.

Hollywood on the Rio Grande

Brownsville has everything Mexico’s leading filmmaker could want—except visas.

Go Up, Young Man

These tall office towers, observatories, and revolving restaurants offer inspiring vies of Texas’ cityscapes.

The National Tour of Texas

Back from the Gulf and along its coastal bend, picture-book towns offer scenes that have nearly vanished from urban Texas, not to mention the most confusing sign, the best noontime stop, and the most Shakespearean site.

From the harsh landscape of the Permian Basin, whose residents find their faith in free enterprise tested by hard times; to the subtropical city of San Antonio, whose Hispanic citizens have gone gaga over Goyo-Goyo; into deepest South Texas, where the old times of the Parr machine are not forgotten.

All Aboard for Copper Canyon

Try North America’s best travel bargain—the Copper Canyon train ride. For $9 you can see Indians who run down deer on foot, Mennonites who speak German, and the most spectacular scenery in Mexico.

Travels through the Trans-Pecos—splendor in the Big Bend, the greening of the Alpine grasslands, today’s version of profitable ranching, escape from the rat race in South Brewster County, innkeeping Indians in Van Horn—to El Paso, way out on the edge of Texas.

Cabin Fever

Not in the mood for a plush vacation resort or the rigors of backpacking? Instead, try solitude and starry nights at one of these ten park hideaways.

¡Howdy, Señor!

Come to Monterrey, where you can find all the comforts of home: Pollo Frito Kentucky, Super Sietes, and a looming economic crisis.

The National Tour of Texas

The Rio Grande Valley never had a valley—except in the minds of developers who invented its name.

The National Tour of Texas

The view from the Great Freeway: I-35 is two things, the speediest drive from Dallas to the Valley and the clearest division of Texas into West and East.

The National Tour of Texas

I’ve long dreamed of driving every highway in Texas. This year I’m doing it—all 32,000 miles worth.

The Last Resort

Texans are always looking for a new frontier, a place where business people can do business without worrying about a lot of bureaucrats. Want to make it in Texas today? Come to Belize.

Waco’s Secrets Revealed

Cradled on the Brazos, this central Texas town yields its pleasures ever so grudgingly.

Eighteen Minutes

Unlike the Alamo, which can seem as remote and mysterious as Stonehenge, the San Jacinto battlefield has few secrets. Its history lies close at hand.

Hot Springs Eternal

Going to Hot Springs was once a Texas rite of passage steeped in the ways of old sin. Today this Arkansas resort is still worth the trip.

A Caribbean Escape

From luxury class to no-plumbing primitive, the Technicolor tropics of Mexico’s Yucatán Peninsula offer end-of-the-world delights. And it’s practically in our back yard.

Every Traveler’s Nightmare

Ever worry that your trip overseas could turn into a disaster? We certainly didn’t—until a speeding bakery truck collided with our Italian vacation.

Deep in the Heart of Mexico

What’s wrong with Mexico is exactly what’s right with it.

Roaming the Range

Follow that ribbon of highway to discover the breathtaking River Road, a beer-drinking goat, fabulous fajitas, and the ghostly cavalry of Fort Davis—all in the vast vacation resource known as West Texas.

Isle Without End

An early castaway described Padre Island as “a wretched, barren sandbank.” It’s better known today as the Gold Coast of Texas, but its identity is still rooted in wildness and age-old solitude.

Last One In . . .

When the summer heat starts to get to you, cool your heels by plunging into an icy green swimming hole.

Jambalaya, Crawfish Pie, Filé Gumbo

Son of a gun, they've got great food on the bayou.

Blissed Out on the Beach of Love

At a slightly wacky hotel in southern Mexico, you can lose your inhibitions and find a little romance.

Little D

Dallas, Scotland: the city that’s everything Big D isn’t.

The Man Who Dreamed Up Luckenbach

Hondo Crouch went from being a champion athlete to being the sad clown of Texas’s fun-and-games capital.

Twofers

They are the quirky enterprises that offer two things under one roof—like shrimp and guns, steaks and loans, or eggrolls and gasoline.

Funky Riviera

Discover another side of the Texas coast—its peerless beachcombing, legendary beer joints, odd birds (feathered and otherwise), and lovable year-round scruffiness.

Tea for Texas

Can Texans be won over to the antique tradition of tea and little sandwiches in the afternoon? Dallas’ and Houston’s new gilded hotels are counting on it.

Underneath Texas

The real lowdown on the Lone Star State.

The Store That Made Jonesville Famous

And other great country stores of Texas.

Get Out and See the World, Kid . . . or Bring the World Back Home

These gifts should activate the wanderlust in any recent graduate.

Pack Up Your Troubles

Today’s high-tech camping gear has stolen a march on your old kit bag.

Grin and Bear It

Camping gets you back to the basics: blisters, chiggers, and, yes, deep satisfaction.

Out in the West Texas Town of El Paso

What to eat, how to shop, and where to boogie in the most enchanting corner of Texas.

Schmaltz Across Texas

On a soap opera sound stage in Brooklyn the state of Texas lives and loves.

See How She runs

Diane von Furstenberg is a one-woman event, from her DVF glasses to her purple lizard pumps.

Medicine Men

From pig pancreas pills to pyramid power ice trays, the cure-alls of these unorthodox healers are aimed at getting you back on the right wavelength.

Discover Beautiful Beaumont

Okay, we heard that snicker. But give the place a chance. You’ll find plenty to enjoy.

Dust on the Golden Spur

When ranchers gathered in Lubbock to celebrate their way of life, they found they didn’t have much cause for celebration.

Feather your vest.

The Conqueror Worm

All the beautiful kickers gathered in Houston for the premiere of Urban Cowboy. It began at a shopping center and ended in a honk-tonk, and John Travolta had to say he liked it.

And Now, On Your Left…

Have you ever wondered what Houston and Dallas look like to tourists? A Gray Line Bus is the perfect way to find out.