texas
Not having experienced the big Texas cities, I won't write about them; for me, the charm of Texas is its little towns. They seem to exist confidently in some other time-space, and most of them are home to a coffee or tea shop opened by some older woman whose childhood dream it was to have a tea shop and give tea parties. If there was ever a state to explore off-interstate, Texas is it.
central texas
Waco is nowhere I'd stop on purpose, but they do have a good coffee shop, Common Grounds (1123 S. 8th St., wireless), and a lake nearby-- Lake Waco-- where you could go swimming on a hot August day. Also, if you want to visit the compound where the famous Waco siege was, directions are available on the internet. Clifton is a little town west of Waco that is desperately trying to save itself by being the "Norwegian Captial of Texas," bless its heart, and it has some good antique shops. On Hwy. 22 between Meridian and Cranfills Gap, you'll find a strange out-in-nowhere, new, shiny German restaurant-- Zur Autobahn, where a lovely German woman will cook bratwurst or jaeger schnitzel for you. South of all this is Austin, a much-acclaimed city I'm not qualified to talk about, but
llano estacado / high plains
These plains are flat and cottony... for a description of the lovely desolation you'll find here, check out the Happy travel guide. Lubbock is "Hub City" of this area, and more information can be found in the Lubbock travel guide. If you're going west through Levelland, stop at the Mean Woman Grill (209 E Hwy 114) for an authentic Texas dining experience. North, the town of Hereford should be avoided, since it is the beef capitol of the U.S. and the slaughterhouse stench lurches across the land. Palo Duro Canyon and Caprock Canyon State Park offer your best glimpses at what the land might have looked like before Cotton took over. A bit to the East, Memphis is a cute dot of a town; stop in at Queenie Pete's dim coffee parlour. South, the town of Post is interesting for its experiment with planned community where no human habitation existed before... it was planned by cereal baron C.W. Post in the early 20th century, and swelled to a population of 2,000.
A GORGEOUS RELIEF from the plains greets you in West Texas, where the people are quirkier, the art is brighter, and the land has shape to it.
Alpine, named for the Alps of Texas, makes a great portal to the area. Within ten minutes of entering town, I was wired on high-quality espresso & learning all about Alpine's sushi war from a likeable ukelele player. There's a yoga studio here, a dance studio, and a peace-activist presence. For groceries, there's Agave natural foods (402 S. Walker-- expensive, but this is a remote area). For coffee & nourishment to the Trattoria (best espresso) or the 6th Street bakery (fresh pastries). There's also the Eidleweiss brewery, for local beer & German food; and a bookstore-- Front Street Books-- with an excellent poetry section; as Alpine is small, no directions are necessary, you'll find this stuff.
Nearby Fort Davis is worth passing through, especially if you're going up to Fort Davis park or the Davis Mountains state park... they have Star Parties at the McDonald Observatory up there. Check out the Sherlock Holmes Outpost for dinner/drinks, if you have money for restaurants. To the west of Alpine (south of Fort Davis), Marfa is a wonderful artist-filled town, read the Marfa travel guide for more info. Take U.S. 67 down to Presidio, which is definitely a border town, and Farm Road 170 into Big Bend Ranch State Park... you'll pass into Terlingua, which is definitely worth visiting. In Terlingua Ghosttown, a bunch of artists have taken over an old mining settlement; Terlingua town has a great organic market / coffee bar, the Phat Cafe, an ice cream parlor, and a lot of "character"-- like a Texas rainbow gathering, or the thrown-together artistry of some of the Crestone, Colorado houses with the grit and isolationism of Ward, Colorado-- I don't know how to explain the place without references to other places; you'll have to visit... on your way (past the Study Butte store) to Big Bend, of course, which is one of the least visited national parks in the country. Check out the hot spring which feeds into the Rio Grande-- heading towards the Rio Grande village from Panther Junction at mile 17.
If you're traveling along the I-10, you'll miss all this; but if circumstance forces you do to I-10 through Texas, don't give into despair. You can stop off at La Nortena Tortilla Factory in Pecos for some tamales, and sit by the fountain in the park across the street. And you can visit the "Must-Miss" Van Gogh gallery in Van Horn, or the Fancy Junk shop (both on Van Horn's main business-loop, quite visible).
PART OF ME feels bad for exposing the secrets of these little places... but there's always more secrets... and I know you wouldn't go through the trouble of going out there (much less bother to read this) if you weren't the type of person who didn't love these places.
I think also about how, while the world seems to become more connected, these Texan-desert-places get more remote... When oil is more expensive, and travel becomes more difficult / luxurious, what will become of these outposts? Here's a broken-down carriage I found from another era... the satin fabric inside faded and ripped... Yet we make, will make, the effort to find & travel to these vortex-places... whether it's because they pull us towards them, or for the joy of being nowhere.
lubbock
west texas
happy (plains desolation)
marfa
van horn
