Lots of good stuff going on between now and the end of the year.  Pick up the phone and get some tickets for this weekend to Tommy Alverson's Family Gathering  - one of the best multi-day country music festivals in Texas.  Here are some other events to add to the calendar:  Terlingua Chili Cookoff; several Octoberfests; the Renaissance Festivals; TurkeyFest with Robert Earl Keen; Wurstfest; and Kickin' It Country Music Festival. 

Check out our Upcoming Events Calendar to find these and lots more! 

Over the last several months we attended and reviewed Old Settler's Music Festival, Woody Guthrie Folk Festival (still working on the review), Larry Joe Taylor's Rhymes & Vines and his Texas Music Festival, and the Frio River Song Fest.  All of which were fantastic - add them to your next years calendar.  You will find reviews of each one on our Music Reviews Page.

 We must admit one of the reasons we haven't done a newsletter is because we have been playing way too much golf, enjoying a number of golf resorts, and took some marathon golf vacations this year.  But we can now share with you some fantastic new courses (TPC San Antonio Oaks Course, Old American), some hidden gems (Vaaler Creek & The Club At ConCan), and over 50 updated or new reviews that have been added to Texas Outside's Golf Course Reviews.  And check out Texas Outside Top 25 Golf Courses.

This year we have also visited and stayed at a number of golf resorts - the most notable of which were Cypress Bend Resort, The Cliffs At Possum Kingdom, the new San Antonio JW Marriott, and La Torretta Golf Resort.  And spent the night and reviewed the courses at some Stay & Plays including Vaaler Creek, Frio Country Resort, and Garden Valley.   

And we set a new record during one of our marathon golf vacations - 198 holes of golf, 2 bottles of Advil, 2 broken golf clubs, and an embarrassing number of lost golf balls in one week!  And it seems that we brought home enough sand from all the bunkers we visited to create a new Texas beach.  We're still working on the review of our Myrtle Beach Golf Marathon, but you can read our reviews of the Myrtle Beach courses we played.  The Myrtle Beach golf vacation beat our previous record of 162 holes during a fun filled week in Orlando.  And we finally added course reviews for courses in Florida, California, Colorado, and Arizona plus completed our Golf Vacations Page.  All of which you'll find in the Golfing Section of Texas Outside. 

And our golf game still sucks!  But we love it! 
That silly, expensive, and frustrating game.   

 Since our last newsletter, we have put a lot of miles on the jeep, SUV, and motorhome in search of new adventures and fun things to see and do - and we've found lots of exciting things to do and added a number of new ones to our list to explore over the next few months.  Texas Outside's Discover Texas Section is dedicated to exploring Texas. 

We love lists and some of the new ones we have created include:

• Highland Lakes Things To Do
• Top Ten Things To See & Do In Dallas
• 25 Fun Things To Do In The Hill Country
• San Antonio Top 10 Things To Do
• 100 Things To Do In The DFW Area

Some of the other fun stuff that we have recently added to the Discover Texas Section include: Spas, Wineries, B&Bs, Dude Ranches, Swimming Holes, Texas Springs, and Fun Vacations.  Click on the Discover Texas top menu to find all of these.

If you are planning a wedding, corporate function, or reunion then check out our Outdoor Weddings, Corporate Retreats, and Reunion Pages - you'll find lots of fantastic places.

Even though we aren't really that romantic and we've been married for a very long (and very happy) time so, we are looking for some romantic getaways and honeymoon destinations - please email us your ideas and we'll add them to our new Romantic Getaways and Honeymoon Destinations page.

 This is a perfect time of the year to plan a getaway or mini family vacation and here are some ideas:  go camping; check into a resort or B&B for a weekend; take the kids to a dude ranch or for a ride on a zip line or to an indoor waterpark; head to the beach; or enjoy an amusement park. 

For specific ideas and links take a look at our Kids & Family Vacations Page, Weekend Adventures or Thank God For Weekends Articles, or click on any of the over 25 fun things to do ranging from airborne activities to zip lines under the top menu labeled "Fun Stuff" or in the Discover Texas Section of Texas Outside.  Whatever you do, get away from that TV and get outdoors - this is the best time of the year to enjoy Texas. 

Summer and the 100 degree temperatures are over and the next few months are a perfect time to go camping or boating.  This year we have updated and added several new campground and RV park reviews;  boated, camped, and stayed and reviewed several new lakes as well as updated the reviews of several other Texas lakes; and we expanded our interactive lake maps which will help you find some fun things to see and do on the lake. 

Here are some of the highlights from the last several months:

• Lakes - Sam Rayburn, Toledo Bend, and Possum Kingdom
• Campgrounds & RV Parks - Northshore RV Resort on Lake Livingston, Palo Duro Canyon State Park, and Fin & Feather on Toledo Bend

If you don't have a boat, don't let that stop you from enjoying any of the 125 Texas lakes for boating, fishing, boarding, cruising, or swimming.  You can rent a jet ski, pontoon boat, ski boat, sail boat, or fishing boat on most of the lakes and here is a link to boat rentals by lake.   

And we have added a number of new entrees to our lake resorts and lake cabins page as well as our lake camping page to help you find a place to stay on the lake.  

One of the reasons we love Texas is because it offers such a wide range of fun things to see and do.  Some of the new stuff we've added includes:

• Kayaking & Canoeing - paddling trails, rentals, lessons, and more
• Kids Activities - a page of fun things to do with the kids
• Zip Lines - what a blast, give them a try and for the really brave and adventurous, try the Challenge Courses
• Train Rides - take the kids for a memorable and fun ride on a vintage train
• Airborne Activities - go skydiving, hot air ballooning, parasailing, or sight seeing in a helicopter
• Caving - if you're not excited about airborne adventures, then go underground and explore some of the Texas caves
• Rock Climbing - here are some places to test your rock climbing skills
• Hike, Bike, & Horse Trails - check out these trails for biking, hiking, or horseback riding

This is the prime season for hunting and fishing, so grab the pole or rifle, some grub, and a few friends and set out in search of a new trophy. 

We have some new content Fly Fishing, Lake & River Fishing, Kayak Fishing, and Coastal Fishing Guides.  These guides know the local water and can help you land a trophy or enough fish to feed all your friends and family for a week.  We also have a couple fishing guide coupons to save you some money.

If you like hunting then check out these Hunting Guides & Hunting Lodges. Nothing better than some venison cooked on a grill and that trophy will look good over the mantle.