planning a trip to Texas

[38Chevy454]

I've never visited the Shiner brewery (it's probably interesting) but I have drank their beer. (Once) With the exception of Budweiser there is nothing quite as bad.

Not sure what you drank, but Shiner Bock is one of my favorites!

 

[Big_Hitter]

Bock is good, the related GI issues...well...they only bother the DW

 

[Car-Guy]

No offense, sir, but you are not a Texan if you don't like Shiner.

I'm glad we are finally able to get kegs of it up here in the 83702.

OP: coast is a nice place to start, let me know what you like to do/golf/eat/drink - I lived in TX about 40 years

BH

No offense taken, if that's what it takes to be a Texan, I'll pass.

 

[Ally]

So many areas of Texas are different and interesting! We live in the South Plains (below the panhandle) and travel all over the state. Our favorite areas are the Hill Country, San Antonio, Dallas, Alpine, Marfa and the Big Bend Area and the Coast. However, we have lots of tourists in our South Plains area from Europe, Australia, Canada and South Africa who like the ranching/cowboy culture, Buddy Holly (born here and a museum), and the wide open spaces.


My suggestion is to order the travel magazine or look online at TravelTex - It's like a WHOLE OTHER COUNTRY and see what appeals to you.

 

[Big_Hitter]

No offense taken, if that's what it takes to be a Texan, I'll pass.

1) you like beer, preferably cold, lone star, pearl and shiner (and any TX craft beer)
2) you use the word "ya'll" both singular and plural
3) you consider the rest of the US another country
4) 90% of the music you listen to is by Texans
5) you either love or hate the dallas cowboys
6) the bed of your truck has at least 6 empties and a shovel in it at all times
7) you have a minimum of 6 firearms, at least one is a 12 gauge pump
8) you have memorized the words of 50% of ZZ Top's songs
9) tubing is not done on or near a ski hill
10) when you ski, you wear jeans and a cowboy hat
11) you own a minimum of 6 pair of boots
12) someone in your immediate family works in the energy business

 

[Alan]

I didn't see it mentioned, and it is a bit out of the way, but Palo Duro Canyon State Park (only the Grand Canyon is larger in the USA) is well worth a visit.

We first visited it on our way to Colorado in 2010 and liked it so much that in 2012 we stopped there for a couple of nights to give us the chance of a much better visit. It is near Amarillo

Palo Duro Canyon - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

http://tpwd.texas.gov/state-parks/palo-duro-canyon

 

[Derslickmeister]

I commute 84 miles RT on I35 (through the DFW Metromess) every day, as others have said avoid this death trap of a highway if at all possible. If you can't be sure to load up on Shiner Bock before trying to drive through (your nerves will thank you*).


* just kidding, I would never recommend drinking and driving. You'll be fine if you can avoid rush hour (6am-9am) and (3pm-6pm).

 

[RonBoyd]

I didn't see it mentioned, and it is a bit out of the way, but Palo Duro Canyon State Park (only the Grand Canyon is larger in the USA) is well worth a visit.

I agree. We have camped there twice.

 

[427Vette]

Thanks everyone for your input! I am going to do some research and come back with more questions I am sure. I am really intrigued by The Big Bend area and Palo Duro canyon. It also sounds like a quick visit to San Antonio might be interesting.

A few posters had concerns about possible weather conditions being that I was going to be leaving in February. I will obviously not leave in the middle of a blizzard or ice storm or anything. I plan to put in a hard day the day we leave and get out of the snow belt. I plan to leave with the RV being "dry" and I will stop and put water in it when the temps are high enough not to freeze.

Thanks again!

 

[meierlde]

Thanks everyone for your input! I am going to do some research and come back with more questions I am sure. I am really intrigued by The Big Bend area and Palo Duro canyon. It also sounds like a quick visit to San Antonio might be interesting.

A few posters had concerns about possible weather conditions being that I was going to be leaving in February. I will obviously not leave in the middle of a blizzard or ice storm or anything. I plan to put in a hard day the day we leave and get out of the snow belt. I plan to leave with the RV being "dry" and I will stop and put water in it when the temps are high enough not to freeze.

Thanks again!

With Big Bend and Palo Duro it is still possible to get freezes in Feb, you have to be east of San Antonio towards the coast to avoid them. I recall in the hill country early in Feb 8 F and early in march 11 F. So you will have to watch for what is called a Norther which is a cold front sweeping in. Recall that in Big Bend you get up to 7k feet, and Palo Duro is between 2k and 4k feet. Going there requires looking at weather reports in Feb and being flexible in changing plans if need be. I recall being stuck by an ice storm in Van Horn for 2 days in early Nov.

 

[HFWR]

I commute 84 miles RT on I35 (through the DFW Metromess) every day, as others have said avoid this death trap of a highway if at all possible. If you can't be sure to load up on Shiner Bock before trying to drive through (your nerves will thank you*).





* just kidding, I would never recommend drinking and driving. You'll be fine if you can avoid rush hour (6am-9am) and (3pm-6pm).

Make that 12AM - 11:59:59PM...


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[RonBoyd]

Make that 12AM - 11:59:59PM...

This is one of my favorite Rants: There is no such thing as 12:00am (or 12:00pm, for that matter) -- there is only Noon or Midnight.

 

[MRG]

This is one of my favorite Rants: There is no such thing as 12:00am (or 12:00pm, for that matter) -- there is only Noon or Midnight.

Every watch the old fashion wall clocks in a hospital. They skip 1/2 second on the hours so TOD can't be 12:00:00.

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[Car-Guy]

Thanks everyone for your input! I am going to do some research and come back with more questions I am sure. I am really intrigued by The Big Bend area and Palo Duro canyon. It also sounds like a quick visit to San Antonio might be interesting.

A few posters had concerns about possible weather conditions being that I was going to be leaving in February. I will obviously not leave in the middle of a blizzard or ice storm or anything. I plan to put in a hard day the day we leave and get out of the snow belt. I plan to leave with the RV being "dry" and I will stop and put water in it when the temps are high enough not to freeze.

Thanks again!

Deadshort52, I did respond to your PM about off road driving in Big Bend. Hopefully you got it and it was helpful. Enjoy the trip and drive safely.

 

[Ally]

I am really intrigued by The Big Bend area and Palo Duro canyon. It also sounds like a quick visit to San Antonio might be interesting.

Keep in mind that Texas is huge and there is no quick trip from Palo Duro to Big Bend to San Antonio. I bet it would take 7 hours from each of these locations to any of the others.

 

[RonBoyd]

I bet it would take 7 hours from each of these locations to any of the others.

Yes, Texas is "Huge!"... and it is so diverse <understatement>. That's what I meant at the beginning of this thread about OP's query being like asking, "I'm going to Europe. What should I see."

For an eye-opening exercise take a compass and measure between El Paso and, say, Dallas. Then draw a circle using any city, say Chicago, as the center. Then imagine driving to the perimeter.

 

[Walt34]

Also bear in mind REWahoo's now-famous (or notorious) take on life in Texas.

Sometimes I get the impression he's trying to discourage people from moving there.

 

[meierlde]

Keep in mind that Texas is huge and there is no quick trip from Palo Duro to Big Bend to San Antonio. I bet it would take 7 hours from each of these locations to any of the others.

It is 410 miles from Big Bend to San Antonio, all be it that 250 of those miles have a 80 mph speed limit. 70 or 75 on the remainer (IH 10 has a 80 mph speed limit between Kerrville and west of Fort Stockton. It is 499 mi from Palo Duro Canyon to San Antonio mostly at 75 mph. ( all but 119 mi of this is 4 lane road)

 

[iac1003]

Well it all depends on traffic. I did >100 miles RT today for a meeting in New Braunfels from Austin on I-35. Going down at 10AM was fine. Going back at 1PM was h*ll.

I used to have 133 mile RT daily commute from Austin to Temple on I-35. It was a looong trip home.

It is quite cold in central TX in the winter. I wouldn't consider it snowbird country at all. I am sorry I gave away a lot of my sweaters when I moved from the Northeast. 20's or lower in the AM happen many a morning and this week it was over 70 briefly one day, but that didn't last.

But then, the OP is from MN so this might be positively balmy.

Enjoy your trip. We are going to sunny warm Mexico during that time to relieve ourselves of the Texas winter!


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