What's the Big Deal? (Houston, San Antonio: how much, home, camp)

[irwin]

Nice stock pictures.

Taking your word that Texas is so mountainous and hilly, please post pictures of the mountains around the major metro areas (Houston, Dallas, San Antonio, Austin).

BTW…for your info…Kansas and Ohio have hills but those states are generally flat.

[irwin]

Originally Posted by texasdreamin

Oh my goodness! How beautiful. Any hint as to where those locations are? Those fall pics just took my breath away. Where are those hills in the last pic?

Thanks, guys, for the Texas history. I really enjoyed reading about it.

Regarding the autumn colors, my guess would be Lost Maples
http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/spdest/f...s/lost_maples/

It is a pretty place but about the only place in the state where the trees change like that.

[mystree]

Absolutely awesome pictures 210. Like they say a pictures worth a thousand words

[Brian]

Texas tends to be overrated in many ways.

I enjoy visiting Houston/Harris more than I do with the whole state of Texas.

[neddy]

Irwin I understand your point and it is your point of view. and KS and NE are flat, Texas is hilly compared to CO and other mountains states but why did you come over here to knock Texas down? What's the point? Just wondering not trying to start anything. I would say some of those pictures with all that fall color might be from around San Antonio and the Hill Country.

[irwin]

Originally Posted by neddy

Irwin I understand your point and it is your point of view. and KS and NE are flat, Texas is hilly compared to CO and other mountains states but why did you come over here to knock Texas down? What's the point? Just wondering not trying to start anything. I would say some of those pictures with all that fall color might be from around San Antonio and the Hill Country.

Alright….if you guys want to call Texas “hilly” you’re free to. I’m tired of arguing such a stupid point. I think I made mine.

Anyway, I didn’t come here to knock Texas. My original post was an attempt to answer a guy from OK’s question as to why Texans have such pride in their state. I wanted to answer that question truthfully, explaining the draw of Texas…warts and all (yes people, Texas has warts!)

For people so proud of Texas, you people sure seem to be thinned-skinned about someone criticizing some of its pretty apparent weaknesses. I love Texas and I always will, but that doesn’t mean I don’t also know its flaws; flaws that are both alterable and flaws that are not. Everything and everyone has flaws…even Texas. You are not going to get thrown out of the state for admitting that.

[mgd323]

^Actually Irwin, you seem to be the one who is thin-skinned. Don't get upset just because people have proven your overly generalized statements to be false. If you can't handle rebuttals to your comments, then maybe you should stay away from message boards and instead keep a private diary in your nightstand.

First, El Paso is surrounded by mountains. Austin and San Antonio have quite a few hills and DFW, while considered flat, actually has some very hilly terrain.
Also, if you had ever been north of I-40 in the Panhandle you would know that the topography is constantly changing due to rolling hills and mesas. It's true that we don't have the mountains of some Western US cities, but there aren't many cities outside of those states that do.

Second, your comment regarding the leaves changing color only in Lost Maples is again wrong. The Canadian River Valley is becoming quite a tourist destination for their fall foliage. Also, there are quite a few places in North Texas to see the leaves change. These are examples just based upon my own personal experience. There are probably many other areas that can claim such a trait (Actually, this is a petty dissagreement, but you are the one who chose to make a snarky comment about that photo).

Finally, it's quite possible to live in Dallas or other Texas cities without a car and experience a traditional urban culture; your friend simply bought a condo in the wrong part of town. While the area in Dallas considered "downtown" is not a haven for urban culture, areas north of the central business district are actually quite urban. No one is stating that we have any cities that can compete with the urban experience offered by cities such as Chicago or New York, but to state that they lack any traditional urban amenities is just wrong.

[momof2dfw]

So what our large metropolitan areas are not built on mountains. Neither are LA, San Deigo, New York, Chicago, Detriot, Denver, etc. Large cities no matter where they are are NOT built ON mountains. And saying that cities in Texas have no culture in the arts. You could not be farther from the truth. We have enough musuems, theaters and performance halls in the Dallas/FTW area to keep one busy for months without getting a chance to breath. It is a matter of getting out and finding it just like in any city. Yes, we know, you like VERY urban areas where you don't need a car at all in your life and can walk to anything you need. Sorry the pioneers of Dallas, Houston, Austin, San Antonio, El Paso, Ft. Worth did not want our cities looking like the New York Cities of the world. And I for one am HAPPY!!! that they did not. I like that our town is spread out and we are not all piled on top of each other. I have room to put my arms out w/o hitting my neighbor. Besides, all of those big urban living buildings would block the view of the sunsets and sunrises that we so enjoy. That is what makes us unique. Every city/state/country has THEIR own "flavor". If every single city in the country was exactly alike one would never need to move/relocate/vacation/visit/travel/experiment............

[i_catch_tree_bass]

Geez, I don't know where to begin. Most of what I have to say is the same is what others have already said:

Great pictures, 210, and to think, those pics only single out one aspect of Texas geography. They're absolutely killer.

To continue to claim that Texas is flat is wrong. At first we gently tried to persuade some folks in this thread that there is more to Texas than one might believe without having traveled through a great deal of it. Now that the facts are being disputed, we're getting a little more direct about it. Much of the Panhandle and parts of West Texas are flat. Virtually the rest of the state has some other element of geographical value to it, from the scenic to the simply stunning.

Without skimming back through all three pages of replies, did someone actually say the only place in Texas they like to go is Houston? Geez, I don't want to offend folks in Houston, but I don't even know where to begin with a comment like that. Be kind of like saying "The only thing that's really neat about space travel is the Tang..."

And, to close, not to get too cranky, but it appears this thread was started by someone who actually just doesn't care for Texas, not by someone trying to learn more about it. I don't have a problem with that, but I don't go to the Oklahoma board and start asking "I've driven through northern OK (or western OK, both flat areas of the state, ironically similar terrain to the Panhandle of Texas, wonder why that is?) , and it's flat, boring, desolate and the weather sucks. What's so great about it?"

[irwin]

Mgd323-

I’m certainly not thinned skinned. Why do you think I keep coming back here? See, I’m not the one posting select pictures as somehow representative of the state as a whole. I could start posting pictures of Eastern Colorado which is flat as a pancake. That doesn’t mean that the general topography of Colorado is flat prairie.

I am simply pointing out the obvious; Texas is “generally” flat. That doesn’t mean there are not stray outcrops of hills. That doesn’t mean that an isolated and sparsely populated portion of the state (i.e. far West Texas) doesn’t have some foothills and even small mountains. Texas has all of that. But generally, if you move to Texas, you are going to be living on flat or nearly flat land. It is not like the Carolinas where your house may be on an incline. And it is certainly not like Colorado, Washington, Oregon, etc.

Here is exhibit A on my point: any self-respecting Texan should know that the vast majority of Texas was once a shallow sea. That is why we have such wonderful oil deposits! And anyone who has taken basic geography knows that the bottom of seas and oceans are, for the most part, some of the flattest places on earth. That doesn’t mean that there aren’t stray outcrops of hills and that doesn’t mean there aren’t ravines and canyons. There are. But generally, the bottom of a sea or ocean is flat. Far west Texas was the old seashore, hence the higher ground.

Besides, this flat land has influenced Texas culture as well, oil of course being the largest example of this. But cattle grazing requires vast expanses of prairie as well. Grazing cattle in mountainous areas is difficult and not nearly as productive. Texas would have never become the cattle and grazing giant it is without the vast expanse of flat land.

Finally, my greater point is to answer a common question among people not from Texas, “What’s the deal?” My point was that at first glance Texas doesn’t seem like that appealing of a place. The weather pretty much stinks. The land is certainly not as striking as places out West. The beaches aren’t all that great. The cities are not as exciting as the centers of urban culture back East. Yet, the draw of Texas is the people, the culture, and the history. It is the fact that people with little to nothing rose up and fought an imperial army with little more than hunting weapons. It is the fact that people will risk everything for the long-shot of hitting oil and making millions. It is the fact that for all their faults, Texas people are generally friendly, open, and welcoming. It is all that.

Alright, I think I have beaten this horse to death. Sorry if I offended some people, but the initial question (i.e. “What’s the deal?”) is common from people who have never been to Texas or didn’t grow up there. I have found that such questioning is not meant to be offensive, but generally people are curious.