Living in a town of just over 200,000 people out in the middle of the Llano Estacado, I'm often reminded of how far away Lubbock, Texas is from other places, and yet how close it is to other places.
Lubbock is at an elevation of 3,256 feet above sea level. That can be hard to believe considering it's flatter than a pancake on top of the Caprock, but we are also just a few hundred miles east of the foothills of the Rocky Mountains. For comparison's sake, Fayetteville, Ark., in the Ozarks Mountains is at 1,400 feet above sea level.
I've seen ice storms in the morning in Lubbock and dust storms in the afternoon on the same day. There has been drought in West Texas that could rival the desert, but I've also seen it rain 10 inches in eight hours. Just this winter, we've had four to five snows that measured over 3 - 5 inches here in the LBK and nights in the single digits, but we've had summers where it stayed above 100 degrees for weeks.
To reiterate, Lubbock is as far away from places as it is close to places.
I'd like to begin with the spacial awesomeness that exists in Texas. From Dalhart to Brownsville, it's 900 miles and approximately 14 hours by car. Texas Monthly recently did an article outlining a "bucket list" that every Texan should complete before they die, and it included making the drive from Dalhart, in the extreme northwest corner of the Panhandle, to Brownsville, which is at the extreme southern tip of Texas on the Mexican border. While I've only driven portions of the trip on seperate occasions, I can still attest - it's a long darn way and this is a big ol' state!
Likewise, it's 950 miles from Texarkana, Texas to El Paso in the far western edge of the state.
For comparison, a person could leave Fayetteville, Arkansas and nearly reach the Canadian border in the amount of distance and time it takes to travel this length of Texas.
I've seen ice storms in the morning in Lubbock and dust storms in the afternoon on the same day. There has been drought in West Texas that could rival the desert, but I've also seen it rain 10 inches in eight hours. Just this winter, we've had four to five snows that measured over 3 - 5 inches here in the LBK and nights in the single digits, but we've had summers where it stayed above 100 degrees for weeks.
To reiterate, Lubbock is as far away from places as it is close to places.
I'd like to begin with the spacial awesomeness that exists in Texas. From Dalhart to Brownsville, it's 900 miles and approximately 14 hours by car. Texas Monthly recently did an article outlining a "bucket list" that every Texan should complete before they die, and it included making the drive from Dalhart, in the extreme northwest corner of the Panhandle, to Brownsville, which is at the extreme southern tip of Texas on the Mexican border. While I've only driven portions of the trip on seperate occasions, I can still attest - it's a long darn way and this is a big ol' state!
Likewise, it's 950 miles from Texarkana, Texas to El Paso in the far western edge of the state.
For comparison, a person could leave Fayetteville, Arkansas and nearly reach the Canadian border in the amount of distance and time it takes to travel this length of Texas.
It's actually about the same distance for me to drive to Arkansas as it is to drive to Houston (575 miles, 9 hours) in the same state. Also, in the same amount of time and distance as it takes to get to PG from the LBK, I could go west and be in Flagstaff, Arizona.
Lubbock is approximately 600 miles from my hometown of Prairie Grove, Ark. And, that's if you go the route that goes through Amarillo and east on I-40. If you take the more scenic route through Wichita Falls, then north to Oklahoma City, then it's roughly 560ish miles to PG.
I've been asked if I'm close to San Antonio.
I'm actually much closer to ski resorts than I am to San Antonio. Lubbock is 407 miles from San Antonio, which is approximately 6.5 hours by car. It's only 250 miles from Ruidoso, New Mexico, where they currently have a 60" base at their ski resort.
Lubbock is 347 miles and 5.5 hours from Dallas. Fayetteville is 333 miles to Dallas.
Lubbock is 382 miles and 6.5 hours from the capitol city of Austin.
Lubbock is 545 miles and 9 hours from Denver, Colorado. Fayetteville is 810 miles and nearly 13 hours from Colorado's capitol city.
I say all of this not to boast, but to marvel at the size and geographical amazingness of the state of Texas. It's huge. It's diverse. It's like no other state in the Union. It is home to five different types of ecosystems from tropical to desert. There are beaches, canyons, prairies, swamps, mountains, and the list goes on.
It really is "like an whole other country".
I say all of this not to boast, but to marvel at the size and geographical amazingness of the state of Texas. It's huge. It's diverse. It's like no other state in the Union. It is home to five different types of ecosystems from tropical to desert. There are beaches, canyons, prairies, swamps, mountains, and the list goes on.
It really is "like an whole other country".
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