35 Things We Love About Texas - Nola McKey

35 Things Senior Editor Nola McKey Loves About Texas

1.    The crazy, distinctive shape of our wonderful state  
2.    Driving the state’s highways and byways and seeing boundless fields of wildflowers  
3.    Native-Texan pride  
4.    Driving northwest on US 84, near Post, and coming upon the Llano Estacado with
its dramatic demarcation  
5.    Mi Tierra Cafe in San Antonio, and the fact that it’s always open  
6.    The timeless beauty of Presidio La Bahía near Goliad, and its rural setting  
7.    Stopping for lunch at almost any small-town barbecue joint and sitting elbow-to-elbow with folks you have little in common with except that you all love good 'cue 
8.    Undulating rice fields on the coast as seen from a plane in early spring  
9.    Rippling sandscapes in Monahans Sandhills State Park
10.    Watching families pose for their annual in-the-bluebonnets shots
11.    Enchiladas, especially at mom-and-pop Mexican restaurants  
12.    Domino games in Hallettsville and other small Texas towns  
13.    Stopping for kolaches at a small-town drive-in/bakery
14.    Family reunions or wedding receptions at SPJST and K of C halls in South Central Texas  
15.    The scenic overlook on Texas 207, between Silverton and Claude  
16.    Real cowboys (and cowgirls) doing real work, and not a pair of designer jeans among them
17.    Central Market and Whole Foods produce aisles in Austin, Houston, San Antonio, and the Metroplex
18.    Watching fireworks with folks from all over the United States (and beyond) after a July 4th performance of TEXAS in Palo Duro Canyon State Park
19.    Eating fresh shrimp on the coast, preferably outdoors, overlooking the Gulf  
20.    Friday-night football games in a small town, where you know players on the home team and most of the people in the stands
21.    Austin City Limits, broadcast nationwide
22.    Seeing spring (and fall!) vegetable gardens in small-town backyards  
23.    Garner State Park in summertime
24.    Driving the winding road to Chisos Basin in Big Bend National Park
25.    Seeing kids riding their horses along the side of the road
26.    The restored Capitol, and schoolchildren looking for the circle of gold letters that spell T-E-X-A-S inside the dome
27.    The original Schlitterbahn, a theme park with soul
28.    Our wealth of museums, many of them made possible by volunteers with a passion for the site
29.    Meeting another car on a country road and seeing the driver raise his forefinger in greeting without taking his hand off the steering wheel
30.    The melding of so many cultures, and seeing Texans’ appreciation of diversity grow in my lifetime

For more on Nola McKey, read her blog.

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