Fort Worth Makes List of ‘Underappreciated’ Cities to Visit
We wouldn't exactly call Fort Worth "underappreciated." With its cowboy culture and world-class museums, ... Read More »
A Weekend Getaway in Bell County
Located in the heart of Texas, just off I-35 between Waco and Austin, Bell County is far enough from hipster joints and the urban hustle to provide a dose of small-town Texas—but close enough for a weekend getaway. For barbecue enthusiasts, Belton’s stellar smoked meat purveyors provide reason enough to exit the interstate. But the area’s appeal goes well beyond brisket: There is camping, fishing, and boating on Lake Belton; hiking in state parks; craft beer, and a free-spirited creative community; and plenty of shopping in nearby Salado. It’s a diverse community where the camouflage population of Fort Hood intermingles with co-eds. Early on, Belton’s location on Nolan Creek fueled its growth. In the 1870s, most businesses were devoted to cotton and the numerous cattle drives on the Chisholm Trail. After a fire destroyed Belton’s business district in 1879, locals rallied to build the town’s first cottonseed oil mill (and more gins to follow). The best way to appreciate the area’s charms and understand its rich history is to spend a weekend soaking it all up. Read More »
A Weekend Getaway in Goliad
Remember Goliad? It’s one of the oldest towns in Texas, originating in 1749 as a Spanish colonial mission and presidio where the San Antonio River flows through gently rolling coastal plains a little more than 45 miles inland from San Antonio Bay. Read More »
An Unplugged Travel Challenge Through the Rio Grande Valley Leads to Unexpected Detours and Rewards
After U-turns on the edges of grapefruit groves, repeated pullovers to study our Rio Grande Valley street guide, and a precarious three-point turn on the narrow levee road where a border patrol truck blocks our path, we are really lost. Like so many wanderers before us, we are searching for La Lomita Mission, which a local history buff named Frank told me about at an Edinburg bar the night before. “Just travel the Old Military Highway that goes along the Rio Grande,” Frank said. What Frank didn’t say was that Military Highway, much like the river it runs along, is a trickster that stops, starts, and twists in unexpected ways. Read More »
Texas History and Pride Combine in Gonzales
When you’re known as “the birthplace of Texas freedom,” you have a lot to live up to. Gonzales doesn’t disappoint, celebrating its past like Austin does its live music scene. This town of 7,628 has the only state-designated Texas History Museum District, plus there’s a Pioneer Village of cabins, blacksmith shops, a barn, a church, and a smokehouse that embodies the 1800s. A few miles outside of town, a monument marks the site of the battlefield where the first shots of the Texas Revolution were fired in 1835. The actual cannon is on display at the Gonzales Memorial Museum; flags depicting it with the defiant “Come and Take It!” slogan, which taunted Mexican troops, are omnipresent reminders that Gonzales might as well be nicknamed the “Live Texas History Capital of the World.” Read More »
Where to See Spectacular Monarch Migrations Along the Coast
Early one morning on Trinity Bay, the autumn sky began to glisten. Myriad monarchs unfurled in clouds from the shoreline, fluttering overhead, some landing on our boat, on our fishing rods, and even on me and my husband. We watched, enchanted, as they danced ever-southward, propelled by a light north wind and their biological imperative. Read More »
Need to Recenter? Try the Silent Treatment
In an attempt to quiet my mind and turn my attention inward, I’d come to the small town of Windom, an hour and a half northeast of Dallas, for a 36-hour silent retreat. Over a dinner of white rice, lentil curry, and homemade yogurt, my fellow retreaters at the Siddhayatan Spiritual Retreat Center, a Jain ashram, smiled knowingly as I folded my handwritten greeting into a square and tucked it into my pocket. “Oh, I did that for half a day once,” said Carmen, a 37-year-old mom from Saskatchewan, Canada, a devotee who’d come to the ashram to help out with a kids’ camp the following week. “It’s so hard if you’re a chatter like me.” Read More »
Take 3 History-Packed Hikes in the Davis Mountains
The Davis Mountains have long attracted people seeking respite from the surrounding deserts of West Texas. Delivered as magma from volcanic activity some 35 million years ago, the mountains harbor patches of “sky island” known for relatively moist forested hillsides, cooler temperatures, and spartan beauty. To explore the Davis range’s cultural past and natural marvels, head to the highest town in Texas—Fort Davis, at 5,050 feet—and hit the trail. Or better yet, hit three trails. Read More »
Photo: The Guadalupe Mountains Tower Above the West Texas Desert
Range Roving Rising from the Chihuahuan Desert north of Van Horn, the Guadalupe Mountains crest at the four highest elevations in the state—Guadalupe Peak, Bush Mountain, Shumard Peak, and Bartlett Peak. Though slightly shorter, El Capitan stands out as a distinctive limestone cliff towering some 3,000 feet above the road—making it a popular stop for photographers. The range contains some spectacular geological features, including part of the fossilized Capitan Reef, much of which can be seen within Guadalupe Mountains National Park. Read More »
The Daytripper Visits the Antiquing Outpost of Round Top for Texas Antiques Week
It may be one of the smallest incorporated towns in Texas (official population: 90), but don’t let that fool you—the little town of Round Top makes for some big trippin’. Visit during the biannual Texas Antiques Week and you’ll find thousands of “junkers” filling every available cow pasture with vintage collectibles. But even on a normal day, this hamlet has plenty of charm. Read More »
Gladewater Offers Walkable Shopping and Dining in East Texas’ Antique Capital
With its old buildings, passing trains, vintage shops, and faded storefronts, Gladewater can seem like a relic from a bygone era. Elvis Presley used to play here. So did Johnny Cash. But in another sense, Gladewater is modern: The recent arrival of a brewpub and the opening six years ago of a bed-and-breakfast have turned the official “Antique Capital of East Texas” into one of the most walkable downtowns around. Read More »
A Border Atmosphere, Smoking Chile Rellenos and Arts and Crafts Greet You in Laredo
Illustration by Chiari VercesiA stroll across the San Agustín Plaza, just a few hundred feet from the Rio Grande ... Read More »