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For the past several weeks, we've been enjoying Mama Bear's cyber tours of various states of the USA, and she will be introducing even more as her time permits, until we've visited them all. As all our hostesses live in a different state, we decided that each of us would feature our own state, and today I'd like to invite you to Waltz Across Texas with me.
Texas is the only state to have the flags of 6 different nations fly over it. They are: Spain, France, Mexico, Republic of Texas, Confederate States, and the United States.
Texas boasts the nation's largest herd of whitetail deer.
Jalapeno pepper jelly originated in Lake Jackson and was first marketed in 1978.
President George W. Bush and former President George H.W. Bush proudly call Texas their home, and two other Presidents were born in Texas: Dwight D. Eisenhower, our 34th President, was born in Denison, Texas, on October 14, 1890; and the 36th President of the United States, Lyndon B. Johnson, was born on August 27, 1908, near Johnson City, Texas.
Texas can lay claim to: 13 Masters titles, 11 U.S. Opens, 6 British Opens, 14 PGAs, 13 U.S. Womens's Opens, 19 Vardon Trophies (awarded annually for lowest scoring average), and 9 Ryder Cup captains.
Texas is the home of other Sports Giants and Champions: The Dallas Cowboys (NFL), Dallas Mavericks (NBA), Dallas Stars (NHL), Dallas Burn (MLS), The Houston Astros (MLB), Houston Rockets (NBA), Houston Comets (WNBA), Houston Texans (NFL), Houston ThunderBears (AFL), San Antonio Spurs (NBA), and The Texas Rangers (MLB).
Six Flags Over Texas, Schlitterbahn Waterpark ........ and the Eiffel Tower. :)
Eiffel Tower, Paris, Texas
There are fourteen other American municipalities named "Paris," and more than a few have chosen to erect Eiffel Tower replicas to pay homage to their French namesake, but no others are adorned with a giant cowboy hat.
But at 60-ft. tall, it is edged out of faux-foreign architecture dominance by a mere five feet. The Eiffel Tower in Paris, TX is 65-ft. tall, built by the local iron worker's union.
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If you thought everyone wore cowboy boots, a 10 gallon stetson hat like J.R. Ewing of Dallas, and had an oil well in their back yard, you would be only partly right. Texas is made up of seven distinct regions; In some of those regions, the stetsons and boots are more at home than others. Let's take a look at the seven regions.
Cowboy boots and stetsons are at home in large parts of this region! I spent several summers at church camp in the Davis Mountains as a young teen. Sunrise, and evening services on top of a mountain - breathtaking!
Lubbock, Amarillo, Wichita Falls.....
Farmland - beautiful rows of wheat and cotton for miles and miles, wide open spaces. Cattle, horses grazing. You'll see cowboy boots and stetsons here. :)
My very favorite of all the Texas regions - I was born in this part of the country and spent my early childhood in Austin. It's the prettiest of all of Texas to me, with crystal clear lakes, rivers and streams, rolling hills, oak trees, bluebonnets, quaint little towns, bed & breakfasts and more. Just driving through this part puts me in a vacation mood.
Oh, Big D! What you do to me! The Dallas/Ft. Worth Metroplex! My favorite place to shop! Shopping, Amusement Parks, Sports, Dining! It's all there. 'Nuff said. :)
I know least about this region, but the fall colors are spectacular - forests, National Parks every where! A wonderful, scenic drive.
Have spent many vacations in Corpus Christi, Padre Island. Beautiful beaches. And Houston, known most recently as Space City, the largest city in Texas, has so much to offer. Sports, shopping, entertainment, fine dining, night life.
One level below the busy streets of downtown, the Paseo del Rio is San Antonio's premier visitor experience! The popular River Walk is edged by hotels, art and gift shops, restaurants and sidewalk cafes, boutiques, and live music, riverboat cruises. I love this place!
It's like a whole other country. It has roughly 262,000 square miles of land area, and another 5,000 or so square miles of water.
More land is farmed in Texas than in any other state.
The world's third largest telescope is atop Mount Locke in the Davis Mountains.
The nation's longest highway in any one state is U.S. 83. 903 miles from Brownsville to the Panhandle. (Interstate 10 is only 878.7 miles long from Louisiana just east of Orange, Texas, to El Paso.)
The world's largest spring fed swimming pool, with a 62,000 square foot surface (almost 1.5 acres) is Balmorhea State Park in the Big Bend Region. It's one of the largest man-made pools in the United States.
The world's tallest masonry structure (taller than either the Washington Monument or the Statue of Liberty) is the San Jacinto Battlefield Monument.
The world's most complete collection of working World War II aircraft is the Confederate Air Force, located in Midland (home of the Presidents Bush).
And finally, there are over 1400 FReepers who fly the Texas flag on their profile pages - more than any other state. :)
Welcome to Texas, Ya'll!
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