Travel & Outdoors

Grin and Bear It

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

Shrimpers

Someone endured weeks of hard work, loneliness, and seasickness to land that lovely pink delicacy on your plate.

Going Under

For a man and his daughter out for a pleasant day’s fishing, the first sign of danger was a man’s hat floating silently down the stream.

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.

Life Behind Bars

Zoos are fine for people, but they make animals go crackers.

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.

The Ultimate Sport

Polo? It’s passé. Big game hunting? Humdrum. It’s the pursuit of the wily blue marlin that admits men to the world’s most exclusive club.

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.

Can the Boy Scouts Save America?

Perhaps. At least they’re on the right track and trying hard.

Feather your vest.

By Patricia Sharpe

Patricia Sharpe

Patricia Sharpe writes a regular restaurant column, Pat’s Pick, for Texas Monthly.

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In the Still of the Night

A photographer finds mystery and magic.

The Secret Life of the Beach

Along the silent, lovely beach, tiny armies fight in the tide, fierce battles rage in the sky, and nocturnal marauders slither across the sand.

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.

An Insider’s Guide to San Antonio

There’s more for the traveler in San Antonio than meets the Alamo.

Three’s Company

Not even a freak April snow could keep the glittering multitude from the Y.O. Ranch’s one-hundredth birthday party.

The Good Life

You can still find it in these great small towns.

The Women Who Came to Dinner

Bringing the world’s most controversial feminist sculpture to Texas turned out to be no picnic - but a rare feast for connoisseurs of the outrageous.

A Dog’s Life

Fighting over a black neighborhood in Austin; corralling the irascible Bull of the Brazos; fussing and feuding with the DAR; monkeying around with the San Antonio Zoo.

On the Edge of Texas

For hundreds of years man—from the Comanche to the backpacker—has tried to conquer Big Bend. Still, it remains wild, stark, and pristine.

I Want to be a Star

You do? There are some people right off Dallas’s Central Expressway waiting to help.

Alias Miss Moonlight

For Maxine, Texas’ leading gossip, life is all work and no playcation.

Horse Power

Horses are expensive, finicky, and a pain to groom. They are also irresistible.

Down in the Depths

The intricate underwater passages and pristine water of Jacob’s Well fascinate divers. Too often, the fascination proves fatal.

Flipping Out

When big-time gymnastics came to Fort Worth, half the contestants were steely-eyed little girls with the bodies of children and the wills of fanatics.

Doing the Greenville Avenue Boogie

By reputation Dallas is a staid city. But there is one strip where Dallas is fevered, excessive, and lascivious, and where every night is party night.

The Best Little Hotels in Mexico

We’ve found them: nine of Mexico’s best colonial inns and lodges. All you have to do is make reservations.

Tiny Texas

If you want big, we’ve got big. If you want small, we’ve got that, too.

Zandra and the Laughing Elk

Al Neiman’s Fortnight the attractions varied between eccentric Americans and somnambulant British.

Trial by Water

Marathon canoe racing is the toughest sport in Texas. It’s tougher than bull riding, more grueling than pro football. The canoeists say that’s why it’s fun.

Funky Hotels

Why subject yourself to the dreariness of impersonal, prefab hotels when these country hostelries are just down the road?

East Meets Wet

The Dalai Lama encounters Houston. He finds it good.

Titles Texans

Beneath certain Stetsons lies a crown.

The Beautiful and the Damned

Town and Country magazine came to Texas to record our sophistication, wealth, and savoir faire—and all hell broke loose.

Down to the Sea in Buses

Grab your beach towel and bathing suit, but leave your car in the garage.

Next on Dallas: J. R. at the Ball

Dallas is both a television show and a city, but at the Cattle Baron’s Ball you couldn’t tell which was which.

Haute as a Pistol

A Paris fashion show and the cotton-eyed Joe, nowhere but Texas.

A Tale of Two Coasts

The best thing about a trip to Florida is coming back to Padre Island.

The Birds of Death

Cockfighting is probably cruel and certainly illegal, which are only two reasons that attract its aficionados.

Stuck on Cactus

Making a few points about our favorite all-American plant.

Barton Springs Eternal

What was once a mere rural spring is now a crowded, languorous, bare-skinned utopia.

Happy Trails to You

Why let Roy Rogers have all the fun? Waltz across Texas this summer along these eleven good-time trails.

The Streets of Laredo

The real Nuevo Laredo isn’t George Washington’s Birthday, Boystown, or throngs of tourists; it’s the street life.

On the Wings of a Dove

Praise the Lord for gentle creatures and pass the ammunition.

The Middle-Aged Man and the Sea

The Baja wilderness isn’t a great place to confront one’­s own neuroses, but it’s an even worse place to confront someone else’s.

Cheap in the Heart of Texas

A family vacation, almost a contradiction in terms, is still possible at these old-fashioned resorts.

Adventures Under the Sea

Where is Lloyd Bridges when you really need him?