Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta

The Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta has officially come to a close along with the fifth year for Texas on Tour. What better way to celebrate than to say THANK YOU to all of those that have crossed our path on this year's journey.

We've seen many smiling faces at the 2012 Balloon Fiesta, as attendees flocked from many places around the world to be captivated by balloons floating across the sky. Angie B. of Albuquerque, New Mexico had her eye on Texas on Tour because she adores Texas and is hoping to be our lucky winner of the grand prize trip for two. Her enthusiasm for Texas was infectious, and we hope to welcome many visitors like Angie to the Lone Star State this year! If you're feeling lucky, enter to win by visiting TexasOnTour.com and clicking on the star in the bottom right corner.  Hurry – deadline to enter is October 31!

If you visited Texas on Tour this year AND made your way down to Texas, please share your experience with us on the Texas Tourism Facebook page. We can't wait to hear about your travel adventures! Texas is the friendship state, and we want to say thanks again to all of our friends, both old and new. We look forward to seeing you in Texas!

Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta

This weekend we kicked off Texas on Tour’s final stop for the year at the International Balloon Fiesta in Albuquerque, New Mexico. With hundreds of hot air balloons set against colorful sunrise and sunset backdrops, it is clear why visitors far and wide venture to New Mexico for this amazing tradition. As an international event, we welcomed visitors to Texas on Tour from all over the world including Brazil, Canada, France and Sweden!

We were thrilled to welcome lots of neighbors, state neighbors that is, to the Texas on Tour exhibit. Since the Lone Star State is so close to New Mexico, many visitors were curious and looking for advice about planning their next Texas getaway. Luckily, they will receive the 2012 Texas Travel Guide they requested while at Texas on Tour in the mail shortly, which highlights all of the wonderful things to do, places to go and historic sites to visit in Texas. It has all the tips and info you could ever want on Texas destinations and attractions. Anyone can grab their own Texas Travel Guide at TravelTex.com.

Our journey has taken us almost 10,000 miles as we visited 11 different cities throughout the U.S. this year. We're both proud and sad to see our tour come to a close in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Come see the sites at the Balloon Fiesta and spend some time with Texas on Tour before we wrap up for the year on Sunday, October 14th!

Taste of St. Louis

The Taste of St. Louis served up some delicious reasons to come check out the event, and Texas on Tour was happy to bring some music and fun to so many hungry attendees.

Usually, we're the ones testing our guests' Texas knowledge, but this weekend, it was the Texas on Tour staff that was put to the test. Former Texas residents, Mr. and Mrs. Shepherd of St. Louis, Missouri, stopped by the exhibit and quizzed our Lone Star State I.Q. Thankfully, we represented Texas well with a solid performance!

Mr. and Mrs. Shepherd then treated the crowd by serenading them with their rendition of the Anthem of Texas. For all those new to Texas, it was quite a way to share a glimpse of local traditions, and it didn't hurt that they had great voices too!

With our 10^th stop coming to a close, the end of this year's tour is drawing near. We've made many wonderful memories along the way and are excited to keep up our momentum into our final city. This week we take flight to the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta for our last "yee-haw" of 2012. There are many awesome photo opportunities, from hot air balloons and gorgeous sunrises and sunsets to the Texas on Tour exhibit itself. We hope to see y'all during our time in New Mexico from Oct. 6^th through Oct. 14^th.