1. Yee-Haw Your Heart Out At The Texas State Fair
What can you expect from the State Fair of Texas? Delicious fried foods of every kind, live music, rides, butter sculptures, and a whole lot more totally Texas fun for nearly three weeks at the tail end of summer. Who wouldn’t yee-haw to that?
2. Go On A Dallas Margarita Crawl
Between Wild Salsa, Gloria’s, Joe T. Garcia’s, Primo’s, Blue Goose Cantina, and the several dozen other places in Dallas to get a giant, delicious, and Dallas-strong margarita, crawling might be all you’re doing by the end of the night.
3. Satisfy Your Sweet Tooth At The Blue Bell Creamery
A visit to the Blue Bell Creamery in Brenham is like winning the golden ticket to Willy Wonka’s chocolate factory… without all the risk of dying or turning into a blueberry, and with ice cream instead of chocolate, of course.
4. See A House Made Out Of Beer Cans
The Beer Can House in Houston is one monumentally awesome example of the “reduce, reuse, recycle” mantra. Even more impressive? The artist, John Milkovisch, along with his wife and friends, drank all that beer.
5. Down A Few Beers Of Your Own At Saint Arnold
If you’re feeling inspired after the Beer House tour, take a trip to a local brewery. Saint Arnold Brewing Company isn’t just the oldest craft brewery in Texas—it’s also consistently ranked as a local favorite. You may not be able to build a house, but you can try for a mailbox.
6. Stroll Along The San Antonio River Walk
The river walk is lined with shops, restaurants, and bars, so if you get tired of all the ridiculously gorgeous views, you can stop inside for a minute.
7. Take In That Big Texas Sky
The McDonald Observatory in Davis is the perfect place to stargaze on a clear, cool Texas night.
8. Go To A Real Life Rodeo
If you want to see a real Texas rodeo, you might as well start with the best. The Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo is a three week event of a lifetime that involves as much gasping in total shock as cheering.
9. Walk Where The Dinosaurs Did
Dinosaur Valley State Park is full of some of the best-preserved dinosaur tracks in the country, and it features a two giant dinosaur models. If prehistoric creatures aren’t your thing, the swimming holes, hiking trails, and bike paths should draw you in.
10. Cheer On The Most Adorable Turtles Ever
Each summer the protected Kemp’s Ridley sea turtle eggs hatch on Padre Island, where you can cheer on the tiny baby turtles as they crawl toward the water. Why? Because it’s super cute.
11. Grab A Slice Of Pecan Pie At The Frisco Shop
The Frisco Shop serves up an excellent slice of the official Texas pie. Just make sure you say “pee-can” when you order, and get a scoop of vanilla Blue Bell on top.
12. The First Three Letters In Funeral Are F-U-N
Is the National Museum of Funeral History really morbid? Totally. But if you’ve been in mourning since “Six Feet Under” went off the air or you’re dying to indulge your inner Wednesday Addams, this Houston museum should definitely be on your bucket list.
13. Celebrate Eeyore’s Birthday Party
This Austin event, held on the last Saturday of April in Pease Park, may be a birthday party for a gloomy children’s book character, but this celebration is anything but gloomy. There’s live music, drum circles, costumes, and food. Plus, all the proceeds benefit local non-profits.
14. If You Want To Believe, Watch For The Ghost Lights In Marfa
The Marfa lights have been attributed to a lot of things over the years—UFOs, ghosts and, well, car headlights. It just goes to show some people will always be Mulders and some will always be Scullys.
15. Celebrate Awesome Texas Cowgirls
It’s not hard to find cowboy related activities in Texas, but the National Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame in Fort Worth turns the spotlight on the often left out but totally worthy and butt-kicking women.
16. Spend Fall Among The Lost Maples
If you think Texas doesn’t get its fair share of pretty fall foliage, think again. The Lost Maples State Natural Area is the perfect place to take in all the fall colors.
17. Eat Every Kind Of Hot Dog Imaginable At Frank
Do Jackalopes actually exist? You’ll want to believe they do after trying a rabbit, antelope, and pork sausage Jackalope dog from Frank. Not to worry—if Turducken or a Ron Swanson style feast is more up your alley, they have that too.
18. Then Find Out What It Takes To Make It Up There At Space Center Houston
Looking at the stars is one thing, but Space Center Houston is an awesome place to learn all about the astronauts who actually flew among them.
19. Explore The Longhorn Caverns
The Longhorn Caverns have been used as shelter by the Comanche Native Americans and Confederate soldiers, a hideout by outlaws, and a speakeasy during the prohibition period. And that’s not all that makes them super cool. Walking into the Longhorn Caverns is like entering another world.
20. Seriously, The Toilet Seat Museum Isn’t Crappy
The Toilet Seat Art Museum in San Antonio is just weird enough to work. The rooms are filled with some of the most unlikely art ever—interesting decorated toilet seats that take kitsch to a whole new level.
21. Hang Out With The Animals At The Fort Worth Zoo
The Fort Worth Zoo is so good that even people from Dallas will go to Fort Worth for it, and getting someone from Dallas to go to Fort Worth is no easy task.
22. Visit The Grand Canyon Of Texas
The Grand Canyon may get all the glory, but Palo Duro Canyon in the Texas Panhandle is second largest in the country and definitely tied for best.
Even Georgia O’Keeffe was inspired by this natural wonder, calling it “a burning, seething cauldron, filled with dramatic light and color.” Well said, Georgia.
23. Stay Fit In Super Weird Austin Style
If you want to run a 5k, donate the proceeds to saving mountain gorillas, and wear an incredibly ridiculous gorilla suit while doing it, the Austin Gorilla Run is the run for you. You get to keep the suit, but good luck getting the sweat out.
24. Visit The Best After School Special Museum Ever
The Texas Prison Museum in Huntsville promises “an intriguing look into the lives of the state’s least-loved citizens.” It’s also the perfect place to scare the crap out of your kids.
25. Eat A Free 72 Ounce Steak
The catch? You have to eat the entire whopping steak in an hour. Not to mention all the sides. If you’re up for the challenge, visit The Big Texan in Amarillo.
26. Take A Dip In The Big Bend Hot Springs
Big Bend National Park is an excellent hiking spot, and better yet, an excellent spot to rest your weary (from running all around Texas) bones in one of the natural hot springs.
27. Tour The Five Missions Of San Antonio
Don’t stop at just The Alamo. San Antonio has four other unique 18th century missions (that are rarely as swamped with tourists) to explore.
28. Eat The Best Barbeque In Texas
It’s impossible to truly name a best barbeque restaurant in Texas. At least, it’s impossible without a million Texans crying out “But you forgot about (insert favorite BBQ joint here)!” But Franklin Barbeque in Austin definitely stands up to the huge amount of competition, and it’s totally worth the massive lines.
29. Visit The Other Alamo
The Alamo Drafthouse in Austin is the perfect spot to catch a cult movie at midnight on Weird Wednesday or scream your lungs out on Terror Tuesday.
30. Tag A Car At The Cadillac Ranch
The Cadillac Ranch in Amarillo isn’t just ten vintage Cadillacs buried nose down—it’s also a constantly evolving work of art. Plus, how often do you get the chance to tag a car totally legally?
31. Live Your Cheesiest Dreams And Ride A Horse Down The Beach
At South Padre Island Adventure Park you can ride a horse down the South Padre beach at sunset, and you will definitely feel like you’re in a really cheesy music video, and it will definitely be awesome.
32. Experience A Wild West Shootout Without Dying
The Burnet Gunfighters Association stages lively wild west reenactments that seem a lot more goofy when no one is actually being shot.
33. See So Many Bats That You’ll Feel Like You’re In A Vampire Movie
There’s nothing quite as terrifying as watching hundreds of bats pour out of the Congress Avenue Bridge in the summer. But there’s nothing quite as incredibly exhilarating either.
34. Stop And Smell The Bluebonnets
If you’re in Texas in the spring, finding bluebonnets in bloom is as easy as driving into the countryside, where you might want to slow down and relax a little anyway.
What’s your favorite thing to do in Texas? Tell us in the comments below! 
