Texas is more than a state of mind. Texas is a jam-packed slate of unmatched meanderings that run a dozen different directions. Have you ever mingled in Marfa, lingered in Luckenbach, or wandered the expanse of the Padre Island National Seashore? Do you want to trek through the Piney Woods, track a Texas whatsit, or trace the footsteps of a Lone Star literary treasure? Would you consider visiting a Texas ghost town, pondering Ozymandias with Percy Shelley, or luxuriating in the Edenic waters of the Devil’s River?

Outside, inside, lakeside, beachside, mountainside, wayside, or with a side of nachos to scarf down on the way to your next Lone Star attraction, this fascinating Texas bucket list explores the neatest state in the lower forty-eight in all of its incredible diversity, stark beauty, and unparalleled allure and mystery. Many Lone Star travelogues are all hat and no cattle, assembled by temporary or transplanted Texans who aren’t familiar with the state in its entirety, much less the experiences and marvels that express bona fide Lone Star spirit.

Join award-winning writer E. R. Bills in 100 Things to Do in Texas Before You Die, a definitive, quick-reference travel guide put together by a native-born, lifelong Texan who has traversed the state all his life and spent the last several years writing about its distinct wonders, quirkiness, and notoriety.