Stephen Tobolowsky became a “Hey, I know that guy!” character actor after playing the relentlessly cheerful insurance agent Ned Ryerson in the 1993 Bill Murray flick Groundhog Day. But Tobolowsky hasn’t always been a nice guy. In 1988, after 15 years of bit roles, he broke out in the Civil Rights drama Mississippi Burning, playing a hate-spewing Grand Wizard of the Ku Klux Klan. Coincidentally, both movies had the same casting director, Howard Feuer. “That doesn’t happen very often, that you play a racist in one movie and later they bring you in to try out for Ned Ryerson,” Tobolowsky says with a laugh.

When observed from the top of a West Texas mountain at night, the small town of Presidio seems to bustle with shining lights and activity. However, most of the twinkling emanates from Ojinaga, Presidio’s larger sister city in Mexico. The Texas town, population 3,200, is both a confluence of cultures and of two great rivers, the Rio Conchos and the Rio Grande. It’s also a gateway to some of the most scenic landscapes in the state. Big Bend Ranch, our largest and most rugged state park, lies to the east, and the remote Chinati Mountains reside farther north. Still, this Chihuahuan Desert town is more than a place to pass through; while the landscape may be harsh, locals welcome visitors to learn how Presidio developed into an oasis of hidden attractions and history, where legends of Pancho Villa loom large. Improvements to the Chisos Basin at nearby Big Bend National Park, set to begin construction in 2025, will encourage more travelers to visit this remote corner of our state. Just keep an eye out for roadrunners on your way in.

When the lights went out at his neighborhood grocery store, Tim Hennessy knew he didn’t have much time. He told his wife, Deb, they should split up to cover more ground before the customers were inevitably asked to leave the premises. This was the fifth day of the catastrophic...

The oompah of booming brass musical instruments, the rich smell of roasted meats, and the cheerful cries of “Prost!” over pitchers of caramel-colored Dunkel beers means it’s November in New Braunfels and Wurstfest is here. What began in 1961 as a modest festival created by city meat...

Amid a tight championship battle, Austin proved to once again provide an entertaining experience for fans. While Miami and Las Vegas have brought the total number of races in the United States to three, Circuit of the Americas remains the only track specifically built for Formula 1 racing. Miami’s race takes place in the parking lot around Hard Rock Stadium in Miami and Las Vegas takes place on the streets of the city. Self-described as “the people’s race,” Austin’s event continues to draw the largest crowd of the three races.

There was a time, within my time, when cellphones weren’t around, when to make a call from the road, you needed a pay phone and a quarter. It wasn’t that long ago. Not to me. But I think the ’80s were 20 years ago, tops. Say your car broke down. Flat tire. Engine overheating. Ran out of gas. Lights flashing on the dashboard. Say you were somewhere between a city and nothing. One of those big empty stretches. If you weren’t the sort of person who carried a toolbox, who could fix a car with duct tape and a coffee can, you had two choices—you could sit there and wait, or you could start walking. Hope the next exit wasn’t too far. Hope it wasn’t just an empty crossroad. Maybe you’d pass a farm. Maybe someone was home and they’d let you make a call.

Chef Jesse Griffiths is a renowned carnivore. At his East Austin restaurant and butcher shop, Dai Due, cases are filled with wild boar sausages, beef jerky, and brined quail. The chef and his team are celebrated for their skills with culinary preservation—drying, fermenting, pickling, and freezing—and much of it revolves around meat.

The first time Charles Graves tried on a Santa suit, a magical feeling came over him. “I felt it flowing through me,” he says. “A tingle throughout my entire body.”. With or without the red hat and coat, the 54-year-old New Braunfels resident looks the part. A mane of white hair flows from his head, and he sports a fluffy beard of the same color year-round. A pair of tiny round spectacles frames his eyes, which crinkle when he smiles.

For the first time in Texas Highways history, we dedicated an entire edition to a place unlike anywhere else in the country: the Rio Grande Valley. The four-county region on the tip of South Texas is known for its citrus production, South Padre Island beaches, and world-class birding. The September 2024 issue is packed with even more Valley gems.

Looking around The Little Gay Shop, you can see how a person could be forgiven for getting caught up. The store opened in 2020 in a renovated shipping container on Airport Boulevard and moved to trendy East 12th Street last summer. The location may have changed, but the vibe remains the same: Pee-wee’s Playhouse with a Texas twist.

At Texas A&M, congeniality rivals football as the ultimate passion—and the school is far more successful at it, too. That’s because kindness is rooted in the institution’s core principles. These are just some of the hallowed traditions that serve as a de facto guide to Aggie etiquette.

A lighthearted battle over the Lone Star State’s most congenial word.

When family and friends from out of state visit, they often mention the friendliness of the Texans they encounter. “A family at Zilker Park shared their snacks with us!” “The clerk at the grocery store was so nice and talkative.” While the image of Texans most often portrayed in media outside the state tends to focus on bravado and big personalities, anyone who’s from Texas or has spent any length of time here knows a more common characteristic is our down-to-earth friendliness.

To most Texans, hospitality extends beyond one’s own home. Just ask JeriLynne Clifford, a hospitality expert known as the Hill Country Bon Vivant. In 2023, Clifford and her husband were vacationing in Italy when lightning struck and burned down their Fredericksburg home. In response, Clifford’s community started a collection to set her up with cooking supplies and even “pulled my husband’s truck out of the fire so we would at least have a car when we got home.” In the ashes of disaster, Clifford felt blessed by Texas hospitality. Here she offers her best advice for returning the favor. hillcountrybonvivant.com.

It’s volunteer gardening day at Community First! Village in East Austin, and Shaeneeka and I are kneeling in flower beds by the chicken coop, planting tomatoes. She makes a hole with her spade, and I plop in a tomato plant. We find a snail and feed it to chickens on the other side of the fence, telling them it’s escargot. Shaeneeka’s good conversation distracts me from the stench of bird poop. She shares what it’s like to be a “neighbor,” the term for “resident” in this 51-acre master-planned community that roughly 390 formerly homeless men and women now call home.

It’s as ubiquitous on Texas highways as the big skies above: the road sign that reads “Drive Friendly – The Texas Way.” The slogan, made official by the state Legislature in 1973, has since served as a welcome reminder that in Texas we try to keep things civil. But as roads get more congested, and road rage more enticing, these rules reinforce our message of fellowship.

Texans should feel obligated to play nice with others—even if they’re from New York City. Friendliness is in our DNA. Our state motto is “Friendship.” We promote “Drive Friendly – The Texas Way.” And our very name, Texas, is derived from the Caddo word “taysha,” which means “friend.” A lot of people have moved here recently for the barbecue and lack of state income tax, but our character must have something to do with it, too. For Texans new and old, and folks just passing through, here’s a primer on some of our friendliest tour guides, shops, artworks, animals, traditions, and more.

Adkins has deep knowledge of historic Route 66 and Palo Duro Canyon—Texas’ Grand Canyon. “My family moved here in the ’40s, so I have wonderful firsthand stories of the oil boom, tornados, and Amarillo’s growth,” she says. “The Panhandle is not easy. The settlers survived some of the toughest conditions in Texas. They helped their neighbor; if they survived, you survived. Being there for one another comes naturally.”

On West Commerce Street, a mural on the back of a bail bonds building marks the gateway between downtown San Antonio and the city’s West Side. Bursting with life, La Música de San Anto depicts several of the city’s musical legends, from the Texas Tornados’ Doug Sahm to “The Meadowlark of the Border,” Lydia Mendoza. They’re all mid performance as couples dance in the background. The mural is a colorful love letter to the city’s history and cultural impact, and to friendship.

Copperheads and fire ants aren’t exactly ideal neighbors, but don’t hold that against the rest of our animal kingdom. Texas has over 142 species of mammals, more than 600 birds, 71 types of amphibians, and 160 kinds of reptiles, according to the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. We also have a whopping 30,000 varieties of insects, which should come as no surprise to anyone who has endured a long, hot Texas summer crawling with blister beetles, assassin bugs, and—possibly the most unfriendly of them all—mighty cockroaches. David Hewitt, executive director of Wildlife Research at the Caesar Kleberg Wildlife Research Institute at Texas A&M University-Kingsville, details some of the kindest creatures in the state.