This tour was completed over a period of 16 days, although it can be completed in 14 days if Galveston is omitted.
The holiday began with a flight to Dallas in Texas in early June 2000. We found a relatively inexpensive flight by Air France, from Manchester via Paris (£256 each).
From Texas we travelled through New Mexico, Kansas, Oklahoma and back to Dallas. Each State and the attractions we visited follows:-
TEXAS
Our first stop was at San Antonio to see the Alamo Mission; don't miss the IMAX film of The Alamo. San Antonio is a lovely place and you could easily spend a full week there.
Our next stop was at the town of Lubbock to see the birthplace of Buddy Holly. The Buddy Holly museum is closed on Sundays so try to make your visit on a different day.
Travelling further north we spent two days at Amarillo. Here you can take part in cowboy mornings or evenings and sample life on the range. A visit to the Big Texan Steakhouse is a must; here, you can have a 72oz steak for free, providing you can eat it in the time limit of one hour.
A 20 mile drive from Amarillo will take you to Palo Canyon. This is an ideal site for panoramic views or a spot of walking.
NEW MEXICO
From Texas we headed into New Mexico with a first stop at Roswell to see the UFO Museum.
It was then on to Albuquerque to take a trip up a mountain on the world's longest aerial tramway.
A short drive north of Albuquerque is the capital of the State, the beautiful town of Santa Fe. Heading further north the countryside changes from bareness to lush vegetation and marvellous scenery. An ideal place to spend the night is the town of Taos.
KANSAS
Leaving New Mexico we entered Kansas and headed for the town of Liberal where we visited "Dorothy's House" which depicts in great detail the Yellow Brick Road and The Wizard of Oz.
It was then on to Dodge City where you can really experience how life was lived in the early 1860's. See a cowboy gunfight, visit Boot Hill and tangle with Wyatt Earp.
Moving on, we then visited Wichita to see Old Town Museum, a full-sized cowboy town complete with authentic people of the 1860's.
OKLAHOMA
From Kansas we travelled via a buffalo Reservation and in to the town of Tulsa. It is strongly recommended that you visit Discovery Land at Sand Springs. Here we saw an outdoor production of Roger's and Hammersteins "Oklahoma", a show which is truly magnificent.
Our circular tour now took us back into Texas.
TEXAS
In north Texas we stopped off at the town of Plano where we called in at Southfork and relived the TV series "Dallas".
Arriving back at Houston we then visited the Nasa Space Centre, a very memorable experience.
With two days of our vacation left we spent some time on the beach at Galveston and paid a visit to Moody Gardens. Don't miss the IMAX 3D theatre there.