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Texas Outside's Spring Newsletter
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March, 2012 |
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Spring has sprung, Texas got some rain, and the weather is perfect! It's time to get outside and go biking, tubing, golfing, hiking, camping, or exploring Texas. So dust off the tent, pump up the bike tires, buy some new golf balls, and grease the tires on the boat and RV. Get Outside and Enjoy Texas!
Attend a Music Festival or Two
It doesn't get much better than relaxing in your lawn chair, with a cold beer and some good friends, and enjoying multiple days of great music, camping, and good times. This time of year there are some excellent outdoor music festivals including:
 Thomas Michael Riley's Music Festival - Luckenbach - April 13th - 15th - it's hard to beat 3 days of country music in Luckenbach with Thomas Michael Riley, Roger Creager, Tejas Brothers, Randy Brown, Hal Ketchum, Larry Joe Taylor, Deryl Dodd, and more.
Old Settler's Music Festival - Driftwood - April 19th - 22nd - three days of Americana music, arts and crafts, camping, food, and good times. Four stages will feature award winning artists from around the world playing acoustic jazz, blues, country, bluegrass, and old-time local favorites.
Larry Joe Taylor's Texas Music Festival- Stephenville - April  24th - 28th - five days of outstanding Texas country music with over 45 of the best bands and musicians in and around Texas plus camping and a very lively fun crowd out for good music and good times. And it's BYOB!
 Wildflower! - Richardson - May 18th - 20th - an award winning multi-day eclectic arts and music festival with four stages and music ranging from folk to hip hop to country to rock plus a food garden, Kidz Korner, and lots more. Some of this year's lineup includes: Nelly, The Commodores, Mark Chestnut, Dashboard Confessional, Joe Walsh, Augustana, and more!
See you there!
You can read our Music Festival Reviews for each of the above festivals to learn more about these outstanding events and make sure you check out our Upcomming Events Page to find out about more fun events each month. |
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Hit the Links
After a horrible spell of record heat and drought, thanks to some good rain most of the golf courses are lush and plush and waiting for you to try and get a hole in one. If you're going golfing why not make it a weekend with the family or some of your golfing buddies and stay in a resort or one of the many golf stay and play lodging options. Read our Golf Stay & Play Reviews to find a great place to stay and golf. If you're planning a golfing vaction, you'll find some great  choices on our Golf Vacations Page where we reveiw some of the best courses (in Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona, Florida, Alabama, South Carolina, and more), talk about places to stay, and some other fun things to see and do. Hit 'um long and straight! Let us know about your favorite course and any new courses we need to reveiw. Thanks. |
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Dust Off The Tent & Get The RV Loaded
 Spring is perfect for camping in Texas and you've got lots of choices from camping on the beaches of Port Aransas, sites on the Guadalupe River, in the mountains at Big Bend, the piney woods of East Texas, or on the banks of a Texas lake. Bring the marshmallows, musical instruments, burgers and dogs, kayaks, tubes, washer boards, boat, bikes, and other outdoor stuff for a fun weekend with family or friends. Texas Parks & Wildlife has over 90 parks in Texas and thanks  to budget cuts, wildfires (25,865 wildfires blackened 3.8 million acres and destroyed 2,876 homes since November 2010), and the drought (the worst one year dry spell in Texas since 1895!), they need our support. Make a donation or better yet, spend a weekend camping and enjoying all that the State Parks offer. And this link will take you to Texas Parks & Wildlife's "10 Good Reasons to Get Outside."  A lot of the RV parks are adding or currently have some great amenities like swimming pools, tennis courts, bike trails, lake or river access, kayak or boat rentals, lazy rivers, and fun daily activities. Good Sam Club gave 6 Texas RV parks perfect 10/10/10 ratings (Fernbrook in Longview, Bentsen Palm Village in Mission, KE Bushman's Camp in Tyler, Mill Creek in Canton, Northshore RV Resort in Onalaska, and Rayford Crossing in The Woodlands) and several others 10/10/9.5. Here is our list of Favorite Texas Parks. Here are our favorite State and RV Parks which link to our reviews of the Texas Parks which tell you more about why we like them, the best sites, pictures, things to do, and more. |
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Other Fun Stuff To Do
 Warrior Dash, the world's largest running series, is coming to North Texas (April 21st & 22nd) and Central Texas (November 10th) - it's a mud-crawling, fire-leaping, extreme 5k run from hell. Warriors conquer extreme obstacles, push their limits and celebrate with music, beer and Warrior helmets. Sounds like fun! Explore some new places, for example here is some of Texas Parks & Wildlife's 2012 "Best of Texas Naturally" - Best Cruise  (along the Rio Grande from Lajitas to Presidio), Best Place to Row, Row, Row Your Boat (the Lighthouse kayak trail near Port Aransas), Best Day Scuba Adventure (the World War II Texas Clipper which was sunk in 2006 off the Texas coast), Best Place to See a Primitive Picasso (pictographs at Seminole Canyon State Park), Best Place To Hunt Fish (the backwater shallows of Port O'Connor in a kayak), Best Place to Watch a War (San Jacinto Day Festival and Battle re-enactment at San Jacinto Battleground State Park), and Best Place to Hit the Trails ( Mother Neff State Park has excellent hiking and running trails that cross three ecosystems).  Southern Living had a list of "10 Adventures in Texas' Hidden Hill Country" some of which sounded fun like: kayak the Medina River, drive scenic Highway 16, dig for Topaz, hike to Gorman Falls, and watch a sunset from Enchanted Rock. Last year the lake levels were really low which meant ramps were closed, lake lodging and camping was far from the lake, the fishing guides were drinking beer, and boat rentals, restaurants, and other activities were closed. Same was true for  the rivers and tubers were high and dry! Good news - the recent rains have brought water levels up significantly, particularly in North Texas. Some lakes are still lower than normal like Lake Travis which came up 5 feet but is still down over 30'. Good news is you can now plan a lake camping or lake lodging stay, rent a boat or kayak, fish, swim, and enjoy the lakes and rivers. So get the swim suit out of the moth balls! Our Lakes & Boating Section has lots of good info on fishing, boating, camping, party coves, boat rentals, and lots more.  You're in Texas, so put on your jeans, boots, and a cowboy hat and play cowboy, cowgirl, or cowkid (is that a word?) for a few hours or even a weekend. Go horseback riding, attend a rodeo, dance the night away at a lively Texas dance hall, or spend a fun weekend at a dude ranch. |
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Check Out The Bluebonnets
 Spring has sprung and so have the wildflowers and bluebonnets meaning its time to hit the road for some stunning scenery, good wine, and good times. Here are some ideas:
- Linden Wildflower Trail - Linden, April 27th & 28th - an abundance of wildflowers in the area plus a rodeo, 5K run, parade, classic car display, arts & crafts, horseshoe tournament, and more
- Wine & Wildflower Trail - Fredericksburg, April 13th to
 22nd - for wine and flower lovers this is the trail to hit with over 33 wineries participating you'll enjoy one to three tastings at each winery on the trail, discounts on bottles of wine, a rain gauge, a packet of seeds to spread along the trail, and some beautiful scenery - Bluebonnet Festival - Burnet, April 13th to 15th - named the official "Bluebonnet Capital of Texas" Burnet offers a profusion of blue plus a street dance, 5K, arts & crafts, weiner dog and dog house races, a variety of food, and a carnival
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Save Some $$$$$
Before you head out, make sure you take a look at Texas Outside's Coupon section where you can find coupons on camping, fishing guides, resorts, boat rentals, kayaking, and more. |
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Win a Free Wedding! If you are planning on tying the knot in 2013 or 2014, then you should enter to win a free wedding at any of the six beautiful wedding venues at The Springs Events
- details will be available shortly on their Facebook page. |
| | Enter to win between April 1st and July 1st, 2012 |
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Over the past year we have played, reviewed, and rated a number of new courses and updated our reviews on some of our favorites. Here is a link to our 
We just returned from a week of outstanding golf in Gulf Shores and several weeks traveling around Florida golfing at some outstanding resort courses. Here is a link to the