Some of the best foot-stomping, heart-stopping action you can find anywhere is at a Texas rodeo. The roping and riding, the cowboys and cowgirls -- it's enough to make you holler "yee haw!" Titans among rodeos, shows in Fort Worth, San Antonio and Houston in the early part of the year offer plenty of Western entertainment plus carnivals, concerts, exhibits and eats. Saddle up, and check out the Fort Worth Stock Show and Rodeo (January-February), the San Antonio Stock Show and Rodeo (February) and the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo (February-March).

"Move 'em out. Ride 'em in." Believe it or not, that's what you'll hear in Fort Worth, a modern city with a distinct Western flair. Every day, you can see "horns that don't honk," an actual cattle drive along a city street. Twice a day in the Fort Worth Stockyards National Historic District, wranglers in authentic Old West cowboy garb guide a herd of longhorns up East Exchange Avenue.

Every January and February, the biggest birthday bash for our first president is right here in the Lone Star State. The colorful border town of Laredo hosts the oldest festival honoring the colonial patriot. George Washington's birthday is celebrated with a lavish, multi-cultural festival. The festival, which began in 1898, has grown to a month-long event with a parade, balls, pageants, concerts and street parties.

Also on the Texas border, Brownsville, holds Charro Days, a two nation fiesta that lights up the city in late February.

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