Dallas and Houston are more cities for living than visiting.
Think about why someone would go to Dallas or Houston. There are few significant tourist attractions in either city. Neither has as much going on for tourists as Miami.
Most visiting to Dallas or Houston is done for events. There are a wide variety of events.
1. Concerts
2. Sporting Events
3. Business conferences/business meetings
The 4th reason to visit Dallas or Houston would be to see family members who live in Dallas or Houston.
Business travel was very affected by the pandemic. It likely affected Dallas and Houston more than most areas because Dallas and Houston have been more dependent upon business travel.
The hike up Guadalupe Mountain in West Texas is an intense one. Guadalupe Peak is the highest point in Texas and it typically takes 6-8 hours to complete the hike. I like hiking, but I don't think I like it that much.
There are also no hotel rooms near Guadalupe Mountain. Van Horn, Texas and Carlsbad, New Mexico are both 50+ miles away. There's more to do in Carlsbad and there's Carlsbad Caverns, which is a major tourist attraction. Van Horn is more known as a rest stop for Interstate 10 travelers and possibly serious hikers of Guadalupe.
food is a big factor in visiting Texas.
It doesn't have to be. There's so much more to do in Texas than eat. There's good fishing, access to nearly every major recreational activity somewhere in the state, art, and museums.
Palo Duro Canyon. Fly into Lubbock or Amarillo. It’s second to the Grand Canyon. Worth seeing.
This is a good suggestion and much closer to civilization and the nearest airport than Big Bend. It is still isolated. People in the bigger Texas metros (Dallas-Fort Worth, Austin, San Antonio, Houston) need more than a 3 days weekend to go there if they drive. It's much easier to get to with a flight in to Amarillo or Lubbock. People have done trips where they went to The Big Texan in Amarillo and Palo Duro Canyon.
Everybody must be starving from your lean diets trying to get 6-pack abs.
