The Panhandle.
I love the Llano Estacado's geometry of earth and air, its straight planes of golden grass and cerulean sky, and the way these roads at the top of Texas tumble now and then from caprock into canyon.

The Big Thicket National Preserve.
The first preserve in the national park system feels mysterious, even mystical. You can hear silence, deep in its dense foliage, where spirits seem to come to life. Is that one Lance Rosier, the local botanist who helped save this biological crossroads?

Big Bend National Park.
Another reason to visit the high, chiseled beauty of the Big Bend is to spend a night at Marathon's Gage Hotel.