Head on down to Bandera, Texas, population 957 and the "Cowboy Capital of the World." 
Just 30 minutes northwest of San Antonio, we're on the western edge of the Texas Hill Country and "central casting" for authentic cowboy towns. The hot and humid land is covered with native hardwoods, such as wild cherries, madrones, live oaks and mountain laurel, and sprinkled with limestone gravel known as caleche. That wide open terrain plus dude ranches with names like the 
Dancing Bear, mouthwatering barbecue, feed stores selling "deer corn," fish fry dinners, advertising for "bronco-busting deals" and junctions that consist of a cafe and filling station assure us that we're in the heart of cowboy country.
You might be lucky and land in town on "stomping night" or a Sunday jam. You might spot country singer Robert Earle Keen or one of the Dixie Chicks, as many popular Country Western 
singers perform in thee parts. For such a small town, there's an incredible variety and abundance of things to do. Antiquing and craft fairs are plentiful here, especially if you have a ranch or farmhouse to outfit back home. Check out the local trading posts, too.
In predictable cowboy bravado, Bandera is not modest -- 
you can eat the finest ribs and barbecue here. Our favorite is Busbee's, where the offerings include delicious smoked turkey barbecue for lower fat and low-cholesterol watchers.
Along with the ranches and guest houses in the area, also consider The Westin La Cantera Resort in the Hill Country outside San Antonio, with breathtaking views of the area, and, in downtown San Antonio, the historic Menger Hotel, which brought sophistication to the Texas frontier in 1859. Situated next to the Alamo, the elegantly restored Menger is one of the Historic Hotels of America, part of the National Trust for Historic Preservation. (Unusual fact -- Oscar Wilde stayed at the Menger in 1882 and was described as drinking "spiked lemonade" and "smoking long, foreign cigarettes.")
