Just scratching the surface of the huge state of Texas.
We’ve visited two main areas of Texas: Houston and South Western Texas. We covered South Western Texas during a road trip around New Mexico and loved the food and nature!
This trip took place March 2023.
Check out our full vlog here:
During our time in Texas we saw El Paso and Guadalupe Mountains National Park.
El Paso
We visited El Paso on the front and back end of our road trip around New Mexico. (check that out HERE). Our first stop after picking up our rental car was…. TACOS! We visited Tacos Don Cuco which was a great little place with lots of locals.
Afterwards, since we’ve never been quite so close to Mexico (without actually being in Mexico), we made our way to see the boarder. We drove to Ardovinos Desert Crossing which is a really beautiful restaurant. On the property you could see the actual border wall, which was interesting to see. Afterwards, we also drove up to the University (UTEP) – parked at Silver Zone Parking 4 where we had more sweeping views of the border and Mexico in the distance.
Another interesting place we saw while in El Paso was the La Casa de Azucar or ‘Sugar House’ at 4301 Leavell Ave. It felt weird to just drive up to someone’s house, but there were a few people stopping while we were there. I think as long as you’re respectful, they seemed used to having pictures taken. The couple that lives there has been adding decorations to his house for over 50 years and it’s really amazing.
We had an amazing dinner in El Paso at L&J Cafe. This is a really popular place, and the food is fabulous. We were disappointed we didn’t have more time in El Paso to get more Mexican food.
In the evening, we did the scenic drive in El Paso, which is a windy road that takes us up into the mountains and has sweeping views of Mexico. There are lots of turn offs that you can stop at for pictures. It’s a great place for sunset.
Our last activity in El Paso was the zoo. It was a nice, pretty small zoo, but tickets were inexpensive and our kids love a good zoo. It was actually pretty crowded, but it was nicely done.
Guadalupe Mountains National Park
On our drive from New Mexico (Carlsbad) back to El Paso, we made a stop at Guadalupe Mountains National Park. As far as National Parks go, it was decent and really uncrowded. We did one hike while there, which was the Smith Spring to Manzanita Spring 2.3 mile trail. We parked at Frijole Ranch first to begin this trail. It was a really nice hike and pretty easy. Had nice views out over the landscape and a nice spring at the top. Most of the hike was fairly exposed, and even in March we were hot. I imagine it’s super intense in the summer. We visited the visitor center as well, which was nice. Overall, it was a good stop but didn’t quite seem as amazing as some other National Parks.
Texas has a lot to offer, and we’ve just scratched the surface. Hopefully this guide helps if you’re looking for a good weekend trip idea, or for a starting/ending point for a road trip like we did.