In the May issue, writer Michelle Burgess plans a lifetime of bucket-list adventures to share with her new grandson. We put a call out for readers’ bucket-list ideas, and as usual, your ideas inspire us!
Among the most popular sites on your must-do lists is the Big Bend region, not surprising as it’s a long haul from most everywhere in the state. We smiled when someone suggested drolly to “Go somewhere out of Texas. The world is a big place.” (True, true, but then the same can be said of Texas.) Ah, but there are no wrong answers. Such is the beauty of adventure.
In no particular order, here are some of our favorite reader suggestions.
Take the back roads to Fredericksburg and see the fields in bloom.
Go to a Star Party at McDonald Observatory, near Fort Davis, in West Texas.
Spend two weeks in Palo Duro Canyon State Park and surrounding area; see the play, have Cowboy Morning Breakfast, the whole shootin’ match.
Try to see the famous Mystery Lights in Marfa.
See Garner State Park when the fall foliage is at its prettiest.
Have breakfast at the Blue Bonnet Café in Marble Falls.
Read all the historical markers.
Take a driving trip to every county to photograph their courthouses. Also, find my favorite restaurant and/or favorite meal for every county.
Go scuba-diving at Balmorhea State Park.
See the Japanese Tea Garden in Brackenridge Park, San Antonio.
Paint something on the HOPE Outdoor Gallery (Graffiti Wall) in Austin.
Spend a night in every state park.
Float the Rio Frio in springtime.
Spend the day at Hamilton Pool near Austin, when swimming is allowed.
Go dancing at Gruene Hall in New Braunfels.
Take my grandchildren to Great Wolf Lodge in Grapevine.
Go festival-hopping to the Texas State Fair, the Renaissance Festival in Magnolia, and the Strawberry Festival in Poteet.
Spray-paint a caddy at Cadillac Ranch in Amarillo.
Revisit South Padre Island when it’s NOT Spring Break.
Fly over Dallas in a DC9 at night.
Explore East Texas, east of Houston on I-10 north to I-20.
Go to a NASCAR race at the Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth.
Swim in Jacob’s Well, Wimberley.
Go country dancing in all of the old dance halls.
Luckenbach
Have my photo taken next to the Stevie Ray Vaughan statue in Austin.
Tour Cowboys Stadium in Arlington (now called AT& T Stadium).
Book a cabin at the Chisos Mountains Lodge in Big Bend.
Spend the summer in Port Aransas or on the Frio River.
Go fishing at Sam Rayburn Lake in East Texas.
