Still cherishing the memory that it was from 1836 to 1845 an independent nation in its own right,
TEXAS
stands apart from the rest of the United States. While its sheer size - eight hundred miles from east to west and nearly a thousand from top to bottom - gives it a great geographical diversity, is firmly bound together by a shared history, culture and ideology. Independence is key to the Texan mentality, from the overriding distrust of government - any government - to the absence of unionized labor. As the old anti-litter campaign put it, "Don't mess with Texas."
Preconceived ideas about what exactly is "Texan" are soon shattered. It's actually one of the most eclectic and cosmopolitan states in the Union and each of the major tourist destinations has its own distinct character. Hispanic
San Antonio
, for example, with its Mexican population and historic importance, has a laid-back feel absent from the big-city neurosis of
Houston
or
Dallas
, while trendy
Austin
revels in a lively music scene and intellectualism found nowhere else in the state.
Regional differences are vast. The swampy, forested
east
is more like Louisiana than the pretty
Hill Country
or the agricultural plains of the
Panhandle
, and the tropical
Gulf Coast
has little in common with the mountainous
deserts
of the west. Changes in
climate
are equally dramatic: snow is common on the Panhandle, whereas the humidity of Houston, in particular, is only made bearable by nonstop high-power air conditioning.
One thing shared by the whole of Texas is the constant boasting - everything has to be bigger and better than anywhere else. Such chauvinism is tempered both by a delight in self-parody and by the state's melting pot of cultures. The much-cited Texan
friendliness
is not imaginary; to be unwelcoming would simply be unpatriotic. Texas is, after all, named for a Native American word meaning friend,
tejas
, and a visit here, especially to the Panhandle or the Hill Country, is not for those who want to be alone.
