As a longtime resident of Texas, I'm kicking myself for not travelling out to the far western end of my state for so long. I spent a week with my family out there based in Marfa (Austin's baby cousin and home to the movie Giant) and spent a lot of time down in the Big Bend region, Ft. Davis, Terlingua, Balmoreah, McDonald Observatory, Marathon, Alpine, etc. f**k amazing, and surprised Big Bend National Park doesn't get the pub it deserves (nearly on par with the Grand Canyon imho). I also secretly crossed into Mexico for a bit and didn't die.
All those westerns you've seen (or even portions of No Country for Old Men) are realized out there visually, just f**k cool. If any of you want get a kickass Texas vibe, skip the cities and go out to that part of the state, it's totally worth it. The best vacation I've taken with my family.
This message brought to you by the Texas Tourism Board™.
I'll try and post some pics later.