Texas!

[kello2111]

Hi guys! My sister and I will be travelling the US soon, and was just wondering if anybody had any recommendations in Texas?
We land in Austin in mid-October, and we've got a few places we want to visit, and thought I'd see if any experienced trekkers wanted to give a few suggestions!
We want to spend a few days in Austin and San Antonio, and we want to hit Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington too. We're also thinking of heading west to go to Carlsbad Caverns NP in NM, and were debating over whether to take the detour to Big Bend NP?

We're not hugely interested in museums or political history (though we will be going to see the Alamo), but would love to see a variety of things, from the nightlife and urban cities to the ghost towns and rural areas, along with any NPs. So, hit us with any suggestions of where to go, what to see and do, what routes to take, where to stay, where to eat... all and any advice from seasoned travellers!

As for length of time... we hadn't quite decided yet. Looking at a week to a fortnight, we're still working on a rough budget, and what will be the best way to go about what to see!

Thanks in advance!
~Kelly

[Southwest Dave]

Hi Kelly, welcome back.

I'm sorry to say I have no first hand knowledge of travelling in Texas but I would recommend you search around the forums and road trip planning pages for ideas to get you started. This thread has some links and info to help you do that.

Here are another couple of articles by Aaron Reed. Texas hill country. and Padre Island. And here is one more thread to help get your planning juices flowing !

[AZBuck]

Is this trip in addition to or instead of your previous trip? If you made that previous tri, how did you do getting the underage driver fee(s) waived? Will either of you be 25 for this trip?

For some national parks that would fit into your travel plans include San Antonio Missions National Historical Park, Amistad National Recreation Area, Big Bend National Park, Guadalupe Mountains National Park, Carlsbad Caverns National Park, El Camino Real de los Tejas National Historic Trail. Also consider some National Wildlife Refuges like Attwater Prairie Chicken and Balcones Canyonlands, as well as state parks like Enchanted Rock State Natural Area.

As for ghost towns, those are constantly changing and many that you will find listed o enumeration sites have been pretty well picked over. I tend to look for 'ghost towns in the making' and one of the best examples is near your route, Mentone TX. Mentone is actually the county seat of Loving County, but the entire county has a population of 62 (and declining).

AZBuck

[kello2111]

Hi Southwest Dave - thanks for the links, I'll have a mosey through them!

AZBuck, this is still part of the same trip, but the first leg where we're going to hire a car - we decided to use the Greyhound services around the N-NE area, then we're flying into Austin and will pick up a car from there. Haven't found anywhere that waives the fee, but I did find this - www.usrentacar.co.uk. They do a Young Driver's Package which seems to work out a little less extra than paying the U25 fees, and also includes up to 3 extra drivers aged 21-24, meaning we could share the driving at no extra cost, so we might go through them.

Thanks for all the NP suggestions, and will definitely check out Mentone.

Any thoughts about nightlife? I've heard Austin is great for live music, so might spend a night or two round there.