Happy Birthday to the Great State of Texas

I am a Texan.  I don't know why God blessed me in such a way, but I am sure glad he did.  I love to travel; I love the mountains and the ocean, but my heart belongs to the big blue skies of Texas.  If I'm gone too long, my eyes start aching to see Texas.  There's just something about this place.  So, just when I thought I was done with making lists, here is a list to honor my beloved Texas:

Quotes and Tidbits about Texas:

1. "Texas is a state of mind.  Texas is an obsession.  Above all, Texas is a nation in every sense of the word."  John Steinbeck

2. "You may all go to hell, and I will go to Texas."  Davy Crockett  

3. The oldest construction in North America is in Texas!  (Bet you didn't know THAT!)  It is a stone floor in a muddy rock shelter.  It is called the Kincaid Shelter and is near Uvalde. 

4.  The least populated county in the United States is in Texas.  It is Loving County and it has only 67 residents.

5. Brewster County is the largest county in Texas.  Connecticut, Rhode Island and Delaware could all fit inside this county.

6. The famous King Ranch is larger than the state of Rhode Island. 

7.  Eighty percent of Texas' land area is composed of farms.

8. Something I did not know...Texas has 90 mountains that are a mile or more high.  The highest peak is Guadalupe Peak.  It is 8,751 feet.

9. Texas has the largest of all state capitol buildings.  

10.  In Texas, it is illegal to put graffiti on someone else's cow.  (great, now I have to think of something else to do this weekend!)

11. DFW Airport has the world's largest parking lot!  

12. Guess where the world's 3rd largest runway is located!  DFW? no  Austin? no...Amarillo!  It is meant to serve as an alternate landing space for the space shuttle.

13. The population of people and cows in Texas is almost even.  There are just slightly more people than cows here.

14. In Texas, it is illegal to curse in front of a corpse.

15. It is also illegal to shoot a buffalo from the second story of a hotel.  (darn, there goes weekend plan B!)

16. "Some folks look at me and see a certain swagger, which in Texas is called 'walking.'"  George W. Bush

17. Texas is the only state to enter the union by treaty instead of territorial annexation.  As a part of the treaty, we retained our right to fly our state flag at the same height as the American flag.  (we're the only state that can!)

18.  The nation's largest herd of whitetail deer lives right here in Texas.  (smart deer)

19.  Dr Pepper was invented in Waco (thank you Waco!...and there is no period after Dr...I did not know that until today!)

20.  More species of bats live in Texas than any other part of the US.

Happy Texas Independence Day!