Paddling Down the Rio Grande in the Shadow of a Drought
My dream of navigating through Big Bend’s stunning canyons finally came true. I just had to start a little farther downstream.
A Temple native, David Courtney joined Texas Monthly in October 2005 and in July 2007 debuted his wildly popular advice column, the the Texanist, regularly the magazine’s most-read feature.
In 2017, the University of Texas Press published The Texanist: Fine Advice on Living in Texas, and in 2019, Fox Entertainment optioned the column with plans to develop a television show based on it. At the 37th Annual National City and Regional Magazine Awards, in 2022, the Texanist brought home the highly regarded Herb Lipson Award for Column Excellence. As the Texanist and as himself, Courtney has contributed his talents to such endeavors as the annual Bum Steer Awards, the quinquennial review of the fifty best barbecue joints in Texas, "The 50 Greatest Hamburgers in Texas,” “The 40 Best Small-Town Cafes,” and “Snap Judgment,” a compilation of the ten greatest plays in Texas college football, as well as “The Beachcomber,” for which he walked the entire 65-mile length of Padre Island National Seashore, and “Water, Water Everywhere,” for which he swam buck naked in Lake Travis, outside of Austin.
My dream of navigating through Big Bend’s stunning canyons finally came true. I just had to start a little farther downstream.
Moviegoers have returned to theaters in droves to see the long-awaited sequel—and we have Texas to thank.
An Austinite living in Washington, D.C., worries about the consequences of sporting pricey designer footwear.
A San Antonio man wonders how Sun City got its other nickname and learns about the nicknames of many other Texas cities.
A New Braunfels man isn’t quite sure that he has a firm grasp on this fundamental aspect of Texas rural life.
A pair of Texas Monthly writers chronicle an emerging scene that would end up defining a city and changing American music forever.
As it turns out, even the best films and TV shows about the Lone Star State have their share of gaffes. (Yes, even ‘Lonesome Dove.’)
A transplant from California wades into an age-old culinary debate.
A Fort Worth woman wants to know why we honor the bluebonnet and the pecan tree, but not the strudel or the sopaipilla.
An El Paso woman is looking for the finest example of Lone Star holiday musical jollity. But can there only be one?
A longtime San Antonio resident is thrilled—but puzzled—by the presence of monk parakeets in her hometown.
An Arlington man wonders if his penny-wise buddy is being barbecue-foolish.
A conversation with the big guy himself.
A man now living in Fredericksburg wonders if his hometown really has anything to brag about.
Two Texas buddies stationed at an Air Force base in Qatar wonder if their bond can survive the SEC’s recent expansion.
A Eulogy man wants to make sure that his footwear and pants-wear choices are compatible.
A Plano woman doesn't think pistol-packing goes with pasta primavera.
A Dallas man is flummoxed by Quitaque. And Danevang, and Jiba, and Study Butte, and Zuehl . . .
A very wet spring has a San Antonio woman looking for some relief from an arthropod invasion.
A Houston man wants to get the width of his brim just right.
A Brady woman isn't sure her new relationship will survive a fundamental disagreement about the weather.
A Houston woman wants to know why the fine folks in Granger just won't leave her alone.
A Fort Worth resident wants to know if the stepson of a descendant of Moses Austin can call himself the great-great-great-great-great-step-grandson of the Father of the Father of Texas.
A man from the Sooner State has a question about the other Red River Rivalry.
A Waxahachie man is trying to gauge the popularity of the "red draw."
A Kansas woman is puzzled by some recent data about the Volunteer State and the Lone Star State.
A River City man isn’t happy about paying for what used to be free.
A West Texas man seems to be tired of living on Mountain Standard Time.
The recent, terrifying events in Washington have an Austin man wondering about mayhem closer to home.
A Maryland man is worried that his progeny may never become a true Texan.
An Austin man is skeptical that a company held by a Chicago investment firm can claim that distinction.
An Oregon transplant is hoping he can find a few places to cast a line in his adopted state.
A Belfast woman is looking for a few good corn husks.
The New York–born singer-songwriter got to Texas as soon as he could—and spent the next five decades changing the lives of seemingly everyone he met.
A Midland woman wonders what to do if she meets a member of the family Ursidae in the wild.
An Austin man ponders the unthinkable.
A Houston mom has had it with Minecraft.
A resident of “The Texas of Canada” is having second thoughts about retiring to the Lone Star State.
A Texas transplant to California is unhappy about the ubiquity of the “nasty and repugnant weed."
A Sugar Land man wants to know if his friend from out of state could be the official greeter at the State Fair of Texas.
As the state started shutting down, one man took to the coast in search of a different kind of solitude. And seashells.
A Texan deployed overseas wants to know if there’s any foodstuff weirder than armadillo tail with gravy. (There is.)
A Houston man would like to maintain an annual summer tradition.
A sad and anxious time may offer a silver lining.
The recording career of country music’s greatest artist, surveyed, sized up, and sorted on the occasion of his 87th birthday.
A Portland man is confused by the Menger Hotel's and Excelsior House Hotel's dueling claims. The Texanist is, too.
A Michigander with dreams of owning a massive piece of Texas land isn't sure how he would occupy himself on his $32.5 million spread.
A McKinney man wants to see William Travis singing and dancing his way across the Alamo Plaza.
As Valentine’s Day beckons, a Midlander in a new relationship is looking for an intimate getaway.
A San Antonio football fan wonders if the squad’s already small outfits have gotten even smaller over the years.