Howdy, and welcome to my blog about Texas.

My name is Omar C. Garcia. I am a native Texan who loves exploring the Lone Star State. For more than thirty years, I have traveled the world—sometimes logging a couple hundred thousand air miles in a single year. That is a lot of time on airplanes! I have traveled to more than fifty countries and visited many of the world’s most iconic destinations. I write about life, faith, adventure, and my global travels at GoBeyond.Blog.

As much as I enjoy discovering new places around the globe, I always love coming home to Texas. There is simply no place quite like the Lone Star State. Wherever I travel, when people ask where I am from, I proudly tell them, “Texas.” Even in some of the most remote places I have visited, people have heard about my home state.

When exploring Texas, I prefer to travel from here to there on a backroad whenever possible. Texas has no shortage of backroads leading to small towns with interesting names, scenic places, and unexpected discoveries. I also enjoy hiking and biking on trails that take me even deeper into the heart of Texas. And, as an ultramarathon canoe racer, I love paddling our beautiful Texas rivers.

In 2018, my wife, Cheryl, and I purchased an off-grid property in Terlingua Ranch, just outside Big Bend National Park. We are having the time of our lives developing our little place in the desert. Along the way, we have fallen even more deeply in love with the wide-open spaces of the Chihuahuan Desert, stunning sunsets, and the darkest skies in the nation.

After years of writing about my global travels, I am delighted to share my adventures in the Lone Star State. I hope something you read here will inspire you to see Texas through fresh eyes—or motivate you to venture down a long stretch of backroad and make a few new discoveries of your own.

Thanks for stopping by. I hope to see you somewhere in Texas.