Fun Facts and Fiction about Texas
- Thread starter Deya
- Start date
hearlady
Basic Member
- Location
- N Carolina
Everything is bigger there!
Born and raised Texan here, spent most of my life in Texas. I loved it. The culture is different (I am now in Colorado). I can't explain it.
Taking a trip to another state? Plan on an entire day of driving just to get out of the state (depending on where you start, of course). From one end of the state to the other, at the longest point, it is over 800 miles.
I remember one trip where signs said, "Rest Area - 26 miles". Or "Rest Area - 84 miles". I crossed the border into Texas and the next sign said, "Next Rest Area - 278 miles", or something like that. I burst out laughing.
What I don't miss about Texas and why I haven't moved back there: Venomous snakes, tornadoes, hurricanes, chiggers and other biting insects, flash floods, entire summers with temps over 100F (not just a few days now and then) when you step outside your door, take a breath and think your lungs have been seared.
I have saved my Texas license plates and my Texas drivers license.
Taking a trip to another state? Plan on an entire day of driving just to get out of the state (depending on where you start, of course). From one end of the state to the other, at the longest point, it is over 800 miles.
I remember one trip where signs said, "Rest Area - 26 miles". Or "Rest Area - 84 miles". I crossed the border into Texas and the next sign said, "Next Rest Area - 278 miles", or something like that. I burst out laughing.
What I don't miss about Texas and why I haven't moved back there: Venomous snakes, tornadoes, hurricanes, chiggers and other biting insects, flash floods, entire summers with temps over 100F (not just a few days now and then) when you step outside your door, take a breath and think your lungs have been seared.
I have saved my Texas license plates and my Texas drivers license.
I still have my Texas drivers license I got at 14. I should frame it I guess. I remember the chiggers from time spent in East Texas. Also Copperheads that I feared worse that rattlesnakes. I left in my late teens and haven't been back.
What many don't know is about half of Texas is full of small towns. Then in the other half, the towns are a long ways apart. The climate goes from hot and dry to humid and wet, then there is the Panhandle where the weather changes suddenly.
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hollydolly
SF VIP
- Location
- London England
that's the whole size of the UK..from the southern tip of England to the very North of Scotland
Lizard point to Dunnet head
MACKTEXAS
Well-known Member
Yes, those wide open spaces are more in west Texas than either north, or central Texas (where I am).
But the Dallas / Ft. Worth metroplex (north Texas) is very congested and growing, as is Austin / San Antonio, to the south. I live in a small rural town in central Texas with almost zero population growth in well over 20 years.
Contrary to what some may think, most men in Texas don't go around wearing cowboy hats, except in very rural areas or country and western bars.
Brookswood
Senior Member
Texas????? I thought it was called Taxes. I always thought the people who lived there loved to pay taxes so they name their state Taxes. My mistake.
hollydolly
SF VIP
- Location
- London England
we used to have a member here.. who lived the rodeo life when he was younger, and still wears the cowboy gear now as an older man.... big hats, boots, the belt buckles.. and he's very proud of it .. but he doesn't come from texas..I believe he is from Colorado..at least I know he lived/lives in Colorado .. ( Cody if youre reading this please come and correct me )
A friend came over from England to take an old rt 66 road trip with me. It was nearing dark as we entered Texas. I said "If you are hungry we should stop at the first place we see as it gets sparse of towns and open places after dark" "Nah... it's fine let's keep going" Three hours later I hear this moan and then" If you see road kill just STOP and let's eat!" I was believed thereafter.
Disgustedman
Senior Member
Lampasas TX, has a beautiful rose garden, but Tyler Texas has the nations largest rose garden spanning 14 acres.
I learned this when I took a trip down to Lampasas some years ago. Nice place to visit but I sure as heck couldn't stand living there, it was 97 degrees and 95% humidity. Y
I learned this when I took a trip down to Lampasas some years ago. Nice place to visit but I sure as heck couldn't stand living there, it was 97 degrees and 95% humidity. Y
No state taxes in Texas…….
Probably less cowboy hats seen in Texas than California. I can't recall ever seeing a 10 gallon hat except for show for a special occasion.
Central Texas would be my choice if I was kidnapped and forced to live in Texas.
jujube
SF VIP
I've driven through Texas a few times. I swear it's 3000 miles wide. We took Highway 20 once and I've never seen more depressed and depressing tiny towns in my life. Silos, bars, and the occasional Dairy Queen. If it didn't have a Dairy Queen, it was really depressed.
On the other hand, I've had a really, really good time in Texas. San Antonio (my favorite), Houston, Dallas, Fort Worth are a riot. We stayed in Boerne for a few days and went over to Bandera. Now, that's a town with atmosphere! I've never been to Austin, but I'm sure I'd love it.
MACKTEXAS
Well-known Member
Probably less cowboy hats seen in Texas than California. I can't recall ever seeing a 10 gallon hat except for show for a special occasion.
Central Texas would be my choice if I was kidnapped and forced to live in Texas.
From your earlier posts, I noticed you've lived in Texas here at one time,or spent a notable amount of time here. So they would have to kidnap you to get you to come back.
I can understand that. I didn't pick it myself - I was just born here and never had a reason to move elsewhere, since my wife and I never wanted to be too far from family, and all of them lived in Texas.Aside from Texas cities that tourists often visit, such as Dallas, Houston, San Anonio, and Austin, there are some scenic and fun places to visit as well - like Big Bend National Park, and there beach cities like Galveston, Corpus Christi, and the beaches along the southern coast, like Padre Island, and Palo Duro Canyon in the northern part of the state.
We went to all of those, and we took a number of vacations to other states as well. Some states we especially enjoyed and went back to more than once were New Mexico, Colorado, and Wyoming. But we were never tempted to move north where it is colder.
I-10 is 880 miles thru Texas ...
Interstate 10 is the major east–west Interstate Highway in the Southern United States…. In Texas, it runs east from Anthony, at the border with New Mexico, through El Paso, San Antonio, and Houston to the border with Louisiana in Orange.
At just under 880 miles, the Texas segment of I-10, maintained by the Texas Department of Transportation, is the longest continuous untolled freeway in North America
that is operated by a single authority.
It is also the longest stretch of Interstate Highway with a single designation within a single state. Wikipedia
Interstate 10 is the major east–west Interstate Highway in the Southern United States…. In Texas, it runs east from Anthony, at the border with New Mexico, through El Paso, San Antonio, and Houston to the border with Louisiana in Orange.
At just under 880 miles, the Texas segment of I-10, maintained by the Texas Department of Transportation, is the longest continuous untolled freeway in North America
that is operated by a single authority.
It is also the longest stretch of Interstate Highway with a single designation within a single state. Wikipedia
jujube
SF VIP
Oh, I forgot about Galveston. We went there once for the day and I could have stayed for a week. I love the houses. The beach, though? Meh.
You gotta be kidding me ….nothing compares to the white sand beaches in Florida … best of the best. ..Galveston is not Florida
jujube
SF VIP
Thus why I live (and beach it) in Florida and not Texas.....
All my great grandparents came to Texas early to mid 1800s. The Indian side was from other states and the others came from Prussia, Canada, and Scotland. I was born in Texas and lived all over the state. I left at 19 and returned briefly when my father died.From your earlier posts, I noticed you've lived in Texas here at one time,or spent a notable amount of time here. So they would have to kidnap you to get you to come back.
Aside from Texas cities that tourists often visit, such as Dallas, Houston, San Anonio, and Austin, there are some scenic and fun places to visit as well - like Big Bend National Park, and there beach cities like Galveston, Corpus Christi, and the beaches along the southern coast, like Padre Island, and Palo Duro Canyon in the northern part of the state.
We went to all of those, and we took a number of vacations to other states as well. Some states we especially enjoyed and went back to more than once were New Mexico, Colorado, and Wyoming. But we were never tempted to move north where it is colder.
Yes, the Big Bend National Park is awesome as is White Sands, San Padre Island, and the historical Hill Country. Port Isabella was one of my favorite places to visit. If my health was good and we had money out the wazoo, I would get one of those semi buses and spend two months touring Texas.
My feelings about Texas are a love/hate thing. Although both my husbands parents were from Texas, he had never been there until 20 years ago when he and a sister flew back to visit an old uncle and aunt. He arrived and left in a torrential rain. The only highlight of his trip was eating catfish at a swank place in Corpus Christi. He wasn't impressed with the gulf of Texas. He thought I was exaggerating the Texas rains.
Strange thing is his parents and my parents were all born in a 50 mile radius of each other. None of them ever met or had even heard of the others. I was first concerned about a kissing cousins situation, but an investigative search found no relation, so we got married. I suppose I will always have a Texas state of mind.
