I thought Texas was all about cowboys - but this 'Crazy' stuff blew me away

At Billy Bob's Texas, the world's largest honky-tonk, they have 9300 square metres of entertainment space under the one roof. That's just as well - I've got two left feet ... and the nightly one-hour, free line-dancing lessons have started.

The "Texas-size" dance floor fills quickly, the music starts and our instructor assures us that everyone can do this. And things start out okay. We're tapping toes, stomping heels. But soon there's a move called a "grapevine" and another called a "jazz box" and did all these neon lights just get hotter in here?

We're mostly all beginners. Stumbling, bumbling, laughing and trying not to achy, breaky someone's ankle.

The hour is soon up and the boards again belong to those who know what they're doing. It's thirsty work. Fortunately, Billy Bob's has more than 30 bars. In 1983, country singer Merle Haggard earned himself a place in the Guinness Book of World Records for shouting the largest round of drinks - 5095 Canadian Club whiskies for the entire club. It cost him $US12,737.50, an estimated $US40,000 in today's money.

Food and drink prices in the US take some getting used to but $US20 ($28) for two cold Modelo beers doesn't sound so bad.

Billy Bob's is in the heart of Fort Worth's Stockyards district, a living tribute to the American west, and we're in the middle of our five-day taste of Texas - from the famed Dallas, to its "metroplex" neighbour Fort Worth to a little country town called Mineral Wells.

I expected to suck at line dancing. I expected cowboys and cattle and country music. Texas barbecue, Tex-Mex and margaritas. I expected big blue skies, warm days and warmer hospitality.

But I hadn't expected ancient sculptures, artistic masterpieces, beautiful gardens and exquisite dining. I hadn't expected to sit on a 770-kilogram longhorn steer, to sit in a (replica) Oval Office or to soak it all away in "Crazy Water".

Everything might be bigger in Texas, but the little things are just as captivating. Here's a list of the things we did, discovered and loved in the Lone Star State.

The Dallas Cowboys aren't just the biggest show in town, they're the biggest sporting show on the planet. The NFL superpower is the most valuable sporting franchise in the world, according to Forbes' 2025 rankings, worth an estimated $US13 billion. The 35 teams in our AFL and NRL were this year valued at $2.6 billion.

The Cowboys have been No.1 for about a decade, even though they've had little on-field success and too often, like tonight, disappoint their fans, going down to the Arizona Cardinals 27-17.

But the NFL experience is about so much more than football. We start at Texas Live!, an entertainment precinct packed with bars, restaurants and fans in white and blue Cowboys gear. It has a 100-foot LED TV screen and calls itself "the living room of Texas". From the courtyard, you can see AT&T Stadium looming like a space ship against the setting sun.

Built in 2009, it's an awe-inspiring sight and the atmosphere is electric as "America's Sweethearts", the Cowboys cheerleaders, launch into their Thunderstruck routine. A giant American flag covers the entire field, former US President George W. Bush tosses the coin, and The Star Spangled Banner brings 92,000 fans to their feet.

Tonight, the game doesn't live up to the expectations. The fans are dismayed but it doesn't stop a group inviting us into their tailgate party in the car park on the way home. We share their sense of disappointment about the result, they share their beer and hot dogs. Just our first taste of the famous Texas hospitality.

After the hype and hoopla of the night before, the Dallas Arboretum is the ideal way to come back to earth. The seasons are changing and there's a canopy of colours across the 27-hectare gardens. The place is buzzing, not only with visitors but staff and volunteers, packing up after Halloween - they had 110,000 pumpkins here - and getting ready for Christmas. The only ones unhappy with that are the squirrels.

"I saw one the other day come out of a pumpkin, and his cheeks were so full, he looked like one of those cartoon squirrels," says our tour guide Paul.

As we line up for lunch at Pecan Lodge, one of Dallas's top Texas barbecue joints, I get the feeling I'll end up like that squirrel. The queue stretches 30 metres or so, giving you plenty of time to read about their awards - including "Best Barbecue in Dallas" - and work up an appetite. The wait here can be long but the line moves quickly.

I order a two-meat combo plate with brisket and beef ribs for $US25. Juicy, smoky, absolutely delicious. Deep Ellum is a historic neighbourhood, a former warehouse district now known for live music, bars and street murals.

It's more than 60 years since the assassination of US President John F. Kennedy but the fascination remains.

After an easy walk from the Fairmont Hotel in downtown Dallas, we arrive at opening time and already the foyer is full as we wait to go up to the Sixth Floor Museum, in the building from which Lee Harvey Oswald shot and killed Kennedy in November, 1963. There's an undeniably spooky feeling as you walk through the museum, which explores the charismatic president's life, death and legacy.

You can see the sniper's nest in the corner window from which the shots were taken, you can see the white Xs on Elm Street below where JFK was hit during the motorcade through downtown Dallas.

Outside you can walk along the Grassy Knoll, where some believed at least one shot came from. The world changed right here. A president died and the Big Conspiracy industry was born.

On a plaque outside, it says the building gained "notoriety when Lee Harvey Oswald allegedly shot and killed President John F. Kennedy". The word "allegedly" is encircled in scratches. Later, at a bar, after I mentioned I'd been to this museum, the man a couple of seats down said, without hesitation, "the mafia did it".

If you're after more American presidential history, the George W. Bush Presidential Centre celebrates the legacy of the 43rd president of the United States. "Dubya" was commander-in-chief from 2001-2009 and you can sit behind his desk at the replica Oval Office.

This neighbourhood is a funky change of pace. About three miles from downtown, it's a postcard setting with tree-lined streets and historic buildings that are now home to eclectic stores filled with the work of local artists. There are boutiques, eateries, bars. A record store and a cigar lounge.

We're off to Written by the Seasons, a Michelin-rated restaurant. It's bright, busy and welcoming. As the name suggests, the seasons call the shots and this fall menu spoils for choice. I want it all but our waiter talks me down from the shrimp entree with New York strip as the main. "How about some shrimp on the side of your steak," he suggests. It's a great call. My wife has the duck confit red curry. It too is delicious.

It's about a 40-minute drive from Dallas to Fort Worth, west along the Interstate 30. We negotiate the stacked overpasses, interchanges and manage to take the right exits to arrive at the Sheraton. After we've checked in to our spacious room, the Orange Line bus picks us up at the hotel's front door and whisks us away to the wild west - the historic Stockyards District, a showcase of Texas cowboy culture and the cattle industry.

The brick-paved streets are lined with more than 40 bars and restaurants, and more than 50 stores with enough Wranglers, boots and Stetsons to fit out every cowboy and cowgirl in the country, and beyond.

There's a two-piece playing On The Road Again as we tread the creaking wooden stairs to a balcony overlooking the street for a beer. Soon it's almost 4pm, so we join the crowds on the street for the world's only twice-daily cattle drive - a team of cowboys leading a herd of Texas longhorns on a parade to the yards.

Their horns can span three metres tip to tip. These steers can weigh more than a tonne, though Shooter is only a little fella, "about 1700 pounds [770kg]", says his handler as I climb into the saddle for a picture. "It's free to get on ... $10 to get off."

For dinner, we head to Joe T Garcia's, a Fort Worth favourite for 90 years. We sit outside in a beautiful hacienda, by a pool and fountain. A singer serenades the tables as we savour sizzling fajitas and salty magaritas.

Fort Worth calls itself "The Unexpected City" and I never expected to encounter a 400-year old Italian masterpiece here. Caravaggio's Judith Beheading Holofernes is the guest of honour at the Kimbell Art Museum. The Kimbell's other star attraction is the Myth and Marble collection - 58 sculptures of Roman gods, goddesses and emperors, some of which date back to the 5th century BCE.

All holidays go too fast. This one has flown by. But at the Crazy Water Bath House and Spa at Mineral Wells, there's nothing to do but lie back and soak ... in Crazy Water, as part of a two-hour therapeutic treatment.

Mineral Wells is about an hour's drive west of Fort Worth. The small town of about 14,000 was founded about 150 years ago after settlers drilled the first wells. Word soon spread about magical mineral-rich waters and long before wellness became a 21st-century trend, it became the town where "America drinks its way to health". Celebrities, tourists and grand hotels followed.

There were 100 wells in town at one point but Crazy Water emerged as the only survivor. The well took its name from the story of a mentally unstable lady who was apparently cured after drinking Crazy Water twice a day.

There are four brands of Crazy Water - named 1, 2, 3 and 4, from crazy to craziest, with different mineral make-ups. I'm soaking in No. 3 and I don't know much about minerals, but it's crazy good.

After the bath, it's time for a Swedish massage, hot rocks, foot scrub, facial and hot towel wrap. Home is 13,000 kilometres away but all our worries are a million miles away.

About a century after its glory years, Mineral Wells was named the Wellness Capital of Texas in 2023, not just for its water and spas but also for its state parks, lakes, hiking trails and the Brazos River.

The town is on its own rejuvenation journey and the Crazy Water Hotel is leading the way, with new businesses bubbling up in downtown and tourists returning since the hotel was saved, restored and then reopened in 2021 after a decade of dilapidation.

The Crazy Water Hotel has 62 rooms and suites. Our suite is apartment sized. The grand ground-floor pavilion is home to Crazy Water bar, the Rickhouse Brewery and the newly opened Oak and Third restaurant, which is a must visit.

Executive chef Stefon Rishel sports a blue mohawk and he talks us through every delicious dish. From the inspired chicken wings, to a reimagined caesar salad to the stunningly tender tomahawk pork chop. "Two things," Rishel says. "I want our guests to say, one, 'holy shit' and two, 'when are we coming back?'."

Hmmm, well holy shit. Is a 15-hour flight and 90-minute drive too far to go for a pork chop? Crazy, right.

The writer was a guest of Travel Texas