If you’re looking for a little adventure, take a walk on the wild side. Wild as in untamed, natural, one of the best times you will have anywhere! Texas has more than 70 guest and working ranches – complete with chuckwagons and cattle – and they just love to strut their stuff for “city slickers”.

Scenic Bandera, just northwest of San Antonio, is home to a number of ranches. Nearby Boerne features Western adventure and relaxation on the banks of the picturesque Guadalupe River.

These ranches offer you a wonderful opportunity to step back in time; while still able to enjoy most of the modern-day comforts we’ve come to love so well. And it’s not about sitting on a horse all day either (although I’m sure that’s an option if that’s your preference).

While you will certainly want to research all of the Dude Ranches, a great first experience can be found at the Mayan Dude Ranch in Bandera, Texas. Just outside of San Antonio in the Texas Hill Country, the daily trail rides offer some of the most spectacular views to be found in Texas. But those views are nothing compare to the dining treats you will experience. From the Cowboy Breakfast cook-out to the Texas-sized steak at Hicksville (their little western town), you might find yourself having to unbutton that top pant button after partaking!

You can’t go wrong with this true Texas past-time. If you find yourself overwhelmed by technology and stress, this trip might just be what the doctor ordered. Have you experienced any of Texas’ working ranches? Do you have a favorite? Let me know, I’m always planning my next trip!

Until next time . . .

Paige aka PJsTravelinTexas

A friend of mine from Chicago viewed my photos of a recent trip online and asked me two questions:

1. Did you take all those photos?
2. Is this place in China?

My answers to both questions are “YES”. And not only you, but also Google has “told” me that this fairyland called “jiuzhaigou” is far less well known than Xi’an, Guilin or even Yangshuo. Besides, everyone with a most common camera is able to take pictures like ->>!

• Results 1 – 10 of about 587,000 for “jiuzhaigou”.
• Results 1 – 10 of about 1,100,000 for “yangshuo”.
• Results 1 – 10 of about 12,500,000 for “xian” .

Jiuzhaigou (九寨沟, means “valley of nine villages” in Chinese) Valley is located in Nanping County, 450 kilometers (about 280 miles) to the north of Chengdu, the capital city of Sichuan Province, which is the home to spicy Chinese cuisine. I believe Sichuan is the “California” of China in terms of the variety of travel resources. Being one of 166 UNESCO World Natural Heritages in the world, and one of 45 in Asia Pacific since 1992 according to Wikipedia, Jiuzhaigou was first found accidentally by woodcutters in the 1900s then became a nation nature reserve in 1978. In 1982 it became one of the first scenic areas under special nation protection. An easy way to interpret the status of “special nation protection” is to consider it as a National Park.

The Jiuzhaigou Valley we talk about today consists of three valleys: Shuzheng Valley, Rize Valley, and Zechawa Valley. It combines blue/green lakes, waterfalls, verdant forests, snow-covered mountains, and the folk customs of Qiang peoples. The roads to visit these three valleys were developed as a “Y” shape. To protect the environment, normal gas-consuming vehicles are banned in the park except of those of the local Qiang peoples who live within the park. The green transportation system is very convenient and has basic access to all the view points. Buy a map in visitor center and follow the bus route, it is self explanatory.

Admission fee: 220 RMB/person (two-day pass), shuttle bus: 90RMB/person/day in peak season (April to November). Half price other time.

How to get there:

1. By bus: there are buses departed from Chengdu city or Dujiangyan city daily. It is about 450 km from Chengdu city. Buses journey along the winding roads and the trip takes around 10 hrs in normal road condition. Cost: 120RMB.

2. By private car with your own driver: you can hire a private car with a driver if you want to tour around Sichuan province. The private car won’t remove the boredom of a long drive, but will provide you more flexibility. Cost: 450 – 700 RBM/day, from sedan to 4W drive.

3. By air: Huanglong-Jiuzhaigou airport is 88km away from Jiuzhaigou Valley. There are flights from 3 cities：Chengdu, Chongqing and Xi’an. Flight time is 45 – 75 minutes, depending on departure location. Cost: 980RMB (before tax) for Chengdu departed flights (over 20 flights per day in peak season), shuttle bus to the Valley is 45RMB/person, private car is 200 RMB.

Where to book your hotel:

1. Hotel booking sites such as elong and ctrip, similar to Expedia or Quikbook in the U.S.

2. Local travel agents: there aren’t many options for hotels on elong or ctrip, but local travel agents have many more resources and you can get better rate with them. The only obstacle will be language.

3. Your private tour guide: if you travel with a local tour guide, let him/her handle all the logistics. They can also get good rate for you.

In theory, you don’t need to book in advance since there are nothing except hotels outside of the park.

When to visit:

Water is the highlight of the park. We have a saying: Once you come back from Jiuzhaigou, there is no other water worthy of your visit. I did some research by clicking through hundreds of images on Picasa online public albums and checked the image information (camera, resolution, day time). My research shows that everyday is a best time to visit, but Oct. 15- 30 is the best time to see foliage, however the chance for rain is also higher, since fall is rainy season.

How to find a private tour guide：

I started by posting my itinerary on a few forums (in Chinese language) seeking travel buddies to share private car costs. A few days later I received responses and chatted with them to sync our travel plans. In the end, I found two other women who had booked a private car with a driver and wanted to share rides for the first day. Here are some additional suggestions:

• Check with your friends who are already in China. Even though they don’t know a private tour guide, they can share with you about the real China and help you prepare for the trip.
• Check with your friends who have been to China recently. My college professor called me after seeing my online shared album for Jiuzhaigou and I ended up sharing the contact information for the driver.
• Visit or call your local tour operators who run China tours. They might have some connections with local Chinese travel agents who run inbound tours, but the private tour guides are very likely too expensive since they want to sell you a group tour package rather than encouraging you to travel independently.
• Spend half a day while you are in to visit local travel agents and ask for private guides. Know the market price and stick to it and you won’t be taken for a ride. Don’t agree to pay in advance.
• Check on-line travel forums and communities. Active community members or forum moderators are always there to help you. But you need to describe your situation and needs in detail and leave your contact information if you don’t plan to check the boards. I recently met a girl who is an expert on the Tripadvisor Shanghai forum and she told me she spends “lots of time helping people”. Places to start: Lonely Planet Thorn Tree, TravBuddy and TripAdvisor.
• Use on-line Question and Answer communities. Yahoo! Answers come to my mind first. Nothing to lose when asking a question.
• Utilize on-line search engines. You will need the city names to do the search, in order to receive useful results. There should be plenty of information, but sometimes it is difficult to tell the quality. Ask to chat with them online or even a phone interview.

See more Jiuzhaigou Valley photos here. And let me know if you need an English speaking tour guide in Jiuzhaigou area!

If you’re not from Texas and you’re thinking about taking a little traveling vacation through West Texas, then I have a few tips for you. By the way, when I say travel I mean from one little town to another (or even city to town) but I’m predominantly talking about highway travel here.

For hard and fast state laws and regulations you can find a wealth of information at Findlaw or the Texas DPS website. But I’m going to tell you about a few things that aren’t official but will take the mystery out of your cross-country trip.

1. Friendliness: People really do drive friendly in Texas. If you are driving on a two-lane highway do not be surprised if as a car comes towards you and passes you the driver raises a finger (or even the whole hand) to wave at you. Please note that unless you are driving erratically or the gesture is accompanied by a honk and yell this is normally a very friendly gesture. Try it out for yourself (just make sure to use the correct finger – index versus middle) and you’ll be amazed at how many waves you get back!
2. Strange Passing Rituals: If you happen to be traveling along a two lane highway and find yourself quickly gaining on a car in front of you, please do not panic if you see that car suddenly veer off to the right and drive on the shoulder. Texans are very considerate for the most part and the person in front of you is giving you the opportunity to pass them so that your travel is not slowed and you are not inconvenienced. Granted this can be a bit disconcerting when you are driving at speeds in excess of 70. Your best bet is to get past them quickly before a curve appears or they veer just a tad bit too far and gravel begins flying up at your car. Is this legal? Who knows! But it is a fact of life on Texas two-lanes. Now you will also understand why that car that just flew up behind you is flashing their lights, tailgating, and honking. They are expecting you to pull over so that they can pass.
3. Do Not Run Out Of Gas: Pay very close attention to your map and know the distances your car can travel…even when sitting on empty. It is entirely possible to go hundreds of miles on country roads and not pass an open gas station. If you are driving late at night the odds double that the stores will be closed in the little towns that you are passing through.
4. Make Sure You Have In-Car Entertainment For The Kids: Do not count on the passing scenery to entice your little ones for very long. If you are in West Texas you will find miles and miles of flat country with little to no variety in the scenery. Texas has a wild and beautiful feel to it but it is also a wide and long state and it literally takes hours to get from one location to another.

Well those are all the tips I have for now, hopefully it will be enough to make you feel like a Texas native while you are traversing our rugged countryside. Have you ever driven across Texas on a trip? If so, do you have any additional tips you would like to see here? Or possibly something happened while driving that you did not understand at the time and still puzzles you? If so, just let me know and I will do my best to take the mystery out of driving across Texas!

Until next time . . .

Paige aka PJsTravelinTexas

I don’t surf. I just wish I did. I grew up on Puget Sound and any surf above my head intimidates me. That may explain my fascination with Mavericks, a world famous big wave surf contest, where the waves really are killer. Mavericks is taking place again this weekend in Half Moon Bay, Ca. As one surfer said, it is the ultimate rush. Media is given notice 24 hours prior to the event. It is all based on when the waves are ready. The science behind wave prediction is amazing, starts with Arctic storms traced across the Pacific Ocean. For awesome photos, click here. Read More »