Texas: Back Roads Texas
The famed Hill Country is a bucolic rural landscape filled with wildflowers. "Bluebonnets grow in such profusion around here from early spring to midsummer that they often resemble a large body of water," says San Antonian Patrick Kelly. Fredericksburg, one of the Hill Country's many German settlements, has over 300 B&Bs and a World War II museum. Climb and camp at Enchanted Rock State Natural Area, home to the Texas version of Ayers Rock. Arrange a tube float in New Braunfels on the fast-flowing Guadalupe River or the calmer Comal. Scoot your boots at the dance hall in Gruene. Visit Lyndon Johnson's LBJ ranch, the "Texas White House" of the mid 1960s.
•Logistics: The Hill Country starts north of Austin, extends south to San Antonio and west to Kerrville and beyond. Lodging: Trois Estate at Enchanted Rock. Luxurious Southwestern B&B near state park, ten rooms, from $169. Dining: Francisco's. Steak, seafood, and Mexican fare in an 1890 Kerrville storefront; www.franciscos-restaurant.com. Best link: www.traveltexas.com.
Oklahoma: Nature-lovers' Oklahoma
Come to southeastern Oklahoma for its lakes, forests, and—yes—mountains. The Ouachitas (pronounced wash-uh-taws), reminiscent of the Appalachians, hide clear rivers, rocky hiking trails, and a startlingly beautiful, 54-mile ridgetop roadway called the Talimena Scenic Drive. "It's one of the most spectacular drives east of the Rockies," says Mel White, who lives across the border in Arkansas. Go boating or diving at the 22-mile-long Broken Bow Lake, nestled in the mountains; and camp and horseback ride on its shores at Beavers Bend State Park. Hike the park's 16-mile nature trail, or, for a bigger challenge, tackle the Ouachita Trail. It stretches 223 miles from Talimena State Park through the heart of the range.
•Logistics: Broken Bow Lake is a three-hour drive northeast of Dallas or four hours southeast of Oklahoma City. Lodging:Beavers Bend Resort Park Lake-view Lodge. Forty well-appointed rooms with lake views, from $110; www.beaversbend.com. Or camp in the park for $8 a night. Dining: Abendigo's Grill & Patio, Hochatown, Okla. Surprisingly sophisticated cuisine near a state park, with blue corn crabcakes and sirloin glazed with chipotle honey sauce. www.abendigos.com. Best link: www.travelok.com.
Arizona: Arizona's Adventure Central
Stretch your legs in sunny Tucson, where outdoor wonders abound. Hike up Seven Falls Trail in Sabino Canyon to a natural pool with views. Bike the eight-mile-long Cactus Forest Drive in the east section of Saguaro National Park. "Don't be surprised if you hear a javelina grunt nearby or see a white-tailed deer scurry past," says visitor Jeanine Barone. Go rock climbing in any of the five mountain ranges surrounding the city. Ride horses in or near Catalina State Park. And, after the sun goes down, cool off at one of the city's ubiquitous Mexican restaurants.
•Logistics: Tucson is in south-eastern Arizona, 65 miles north of the Mexican border. Lodging: La Siesta. Renovated 1950s-style boutique motel with retro charm, from $65, www.lasiestatucson.com. Dining: El Charro Café. Classic Mexican fare at a downtown institution dating to 1922, www.elcharrocafe.com. Best link: www.visittucson.org.
New Mexico: Authentic Shopping in Santa Fe
Shop over 200 galleries—and the sidewalks of the historic plaza, where Navajo and Pueblo artisans spread out blanket displays of their handmade turquoise jewelry—in this 399-year-old city blending Spanish and Native American cultures. This summer, hundreds more authentic vendors come to town for special markets. On July 11and 12, Santa Fe's sixth International Folk Art Market convenes 165 master artists—selected by a panel of experts—from locales as distant as Rwanda, Afghanistan, and Kyrgyzstan. "More than 90 percent of the proceeds go home with the artists," says Charlene Cerny, executive director of the event. Exotic food will be served. A few days later comes the Spanish Market, and then, in late August, the Indian Market, attracting more than a thousand Native American artists from across the U.S.
•Logistics: Santa Fe is an hour's drive northeast of Albuquerque or 90 minutes via the new Rail Runner Express commuter train. Lodging: Hotel Santa Fe. An adobe, Native American-owned property a few blocks off theplaza, from $116; www.hotelsantafe.com. Dining: The Shed. Housed in a 17th-century hacienda, offering authentic Southwestern fare with fresh-milled chile; www.sfshed.com. Best link: www.santafe.org.
Oklahoma: Tulsa—Built by Oil
Tour opulent art deco masterworks—the Philcade high-rise and the Boston Avenue Methodist Church, for example—built during Tulsa's first oil boom in the 1920s. Then discover what else petrodollars have done for this city of 384,000. Browse the Remingtons and Russells at the Gilcrease, the former mansion of an oil baron housing a huge collection of American art, and, similarly, the Philbrook Museum of Art, a 72-room Renaissance-style villa situated on 23 acres of gardens. Want more? Tulsa also offers the Sherwin Miller Museum of Jewish Art, the Tulsa Ballet, and the Oklahoma Jazz Hall of Fame. "There's not so much culture for hundreds of miles in any direction," says writer K.M. Kostyal.
•Logistics: Tulsa is in northeastern Oklahoma, a hundred miles from Oklahoma City. Lodging: Kennedy Mansion B&B. Elegant, 1920s oil boom property serving French breakfasts, five rooms, from $99; www.kennedymansion.com. Dining: The Wild Fork. Gourmet American fare including steaks and seafood; www.wildfork.com. Best link: http://visittulsa.com.
Texas: Make a Pilgrimage to Yesteryear
Jefferson, a quaint town of 2,000 on Big Cypress Bayou, was once a thriving steamboat port. Today you can tour 19th-century homes, some of which are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Ride the Historic Jefferson Railway, a narrow-gauge train that courses along the bayou among bald cypress trees. Take a backwater tour of nearby Caddo Lake, the state's largest naturally formed lake, which remains a mysterious maze of bayous, channels, and thickets, attracting birdlife and canoeists. "Carry a good map or a GPS, or hire a guide, so you can find your way out," says Dallasite Scott Daniels, who likes to paddle Caddo's canoe trails.
•Logistics: Jefferson, Tex., is three hours east of Dallas by car, or an hour northwest of Shreveport, La. Lodging: The Excelsior House Hotel. Two-story, New Orleans-style brick and timber hotel built in the 1850s, from $60. www.theexcelsiorhouse.com. Dining: Lamache's Italian Restaurant. Fine Italian cuisine in a restored Victorian-era hotel; http://historicjeffersonhotel.com/lamaches.htm. Best link: www.jefferson-texas.com.
New Mexico: Rustic, Refined Taos
Perched at almost 7,000 feet, this picturesque town of 5,000 lucky souls balances guilty pleasures with a legacy of ancient cultures. Stroll upscale galleries, sample exquisite Southwestern cuisine, find a room in a luxurious adobe-style hotel or B&B. Then head a few miles north of town to the Taos Pueblo, a thousand-year-old Native American community centered around a multilevel adobe building. To the west, peer into a 650-foot-deep canyon at the Rio Grande Gorge Bridge. "The beauty and abundance of the landscape is reflected in the people who live here," says Summer Wood, a 20-year resident. "Taos is a small and friendly town with a really local feel."
•Logistics: Taos is 21/4 hours by car northeast of the Albuquerque airport. Lodging: Casa Gallina. Artistic inn run by a former New York restaurateur and licensed masseur, from $115; www.casagallina.net. Dining: Orlando's. Cozy local favorite, family run, classic New Mexican menu; 1114 Don Juan Valdez La., 575-751-1450. Best link: http://taosvacationguide.com.
Texas: Fort Worth Loves Fine Art
Catch a cattle drive at the Stockyards National Historic District, tour the Texas Cowboy Hall of Fame, and stop in at Billy Bob's honky-tonk for some barbecue brisket. Then, for something completely different, head to the Fort Worth cultural district to tour the Amon Carter Museum, with its notable Western art and photography collections; the Kimbell Art Museum, and the Modern Art Museum, with several smaller gallery choices around town and the cooling Fort Worth Water Gardens to boot. "For every afternoon you spend looking at O'Keeffes and Picassos," says Fort Worth native June Naylor, "there's an evening you can two-step in a vintage saloon, go to a rodeo, or see Willie Nelson on stage."
•Logistics: Forth Worth is a 30-minute drive from the Dallas/Forth Worth International Airport. Lodging: Stockyards Hotel. Turn-of-the-20th-century hotel with spacious rooms in historic district, from $189; www.stockyardshotel.com. Dining: The recently opened Grady's Restaurant offers gussied-up comfort food from favorite cowboy cook Grady Spears, including crunchy tostadas topped with quail. 2443 Forest Park Blvd., +1 817 922 9980. Best link: www.fortworth.com.
Published in the May/June 2009 issue of National Geographic Traveler.