Continued: Going places: Rounding up the cowboy destinations

Eau de cow wafts across the Stockyards District just before 11:30 a.m., and that can mean only one thing: It's time for the daily morning livestock drive down Exchange Street.

Cows and cowboys, both exhibiting a touch of ennui, meander slowly down the street, passing in front of the Fort Worth Stock Exchange building, which houses not Dow-traders but people who actually exchange livestock. This is the city with the slogan "Where the West Begins," and it's the perfect place to start a cowboy tour of Texas.

The Stockyards in the 1800s was the last major stop on the Chisholm Trail before herds headed across the Red River into Indian country. Today it is a mix of real cattle trade and tourist trade. It's at the north end of Fort Worth, and locals still call it the North Side.

At 11:30 a.m. and 4 p.m. daily, the cows come out for the short trail drives. Inside the Stock Exchange is a little Fort Worth Stockyards Museum (131 E. Exchange Av.; $2 suggested donation) with Comanche and cattlemen's artifacts, including a display of different kinds of barbed wire, saddles, arrow points and pottery.

Across the street, check out the Texas Cowboy Hall of Fame (128 E. Exchange Av.; $5 adult), filled with old carriages, saddles and a vast collection of horse bits. There's a row of stalls, each dedicated to the history of a famous Texas rodeo cowboy.

In the same block, at 130 E. Exchange Av., is a Fort Worth Visitors Center where you can pick up a $15 GPS tour that will take you 45 minutes, hit the area's high spots and tell you all about the history of the Stockyards.

You'll want to drop by the White Elephant Saloon (106 E. Exchange Av.) for a beer amid some real cowboys, then later at night check out the live rodeo at Billy Bob's Texas (2025 Rodeo Plaza), where you also can learn to two-step.

One more cowboy, or rather cowgirl, attraction is outside the Stockyards: The National Cowgirl Hall of Fame, in the museum district at 1720 Gendy St. (adult admission $8) profiles famous cowgirls through the ages. The definition "cowgirl" is a delightfully loose one, including not only chaps-wearing cowgirls like Dale Evans and Fort Worth's Pam Minnick but also Willa Cather, Patsy Cline, Sandra Day O'Connor and Sacagawea.

The Mesquite Championship Rodeo (1818 Rodeo Dr.) in this Dallas suburb is in its 52nd season as a major place to watch the bulls and broncos buck.

The rodeo runs every Friday and Saturday night through Aug. 29. Ticket prices have fallen this year; they start at $11 for adults. Go to www.mesquiterodeo.com to find out more.

In the picturesque Hill Country, Bandera calls itself the Cowboy Capitol of the World, claiming it was the first place where ranches took on dudes to help with the cattle in the 1930s.

Everything in Bandera seems to have a bit of cowboy flair. Even Mardi Gras is a cowboy celebration, with a pub crawl on horseback.

The historic town on the banks of the Medina River has a plethora of dude ranches where you can be a cowboy or cowgirl. For example, Mayan Dude Ranch (350 Mayan Ranch Rd. www.mayanranch.com. Adult rates start at $150 a day) treats its dudes to three meals a day, two horseback rides a day and free beer, wine and sodas. The ranch even has real dinosaur tracks.

You also can tour area ranches, dance or sip a cold one in authentic honky-tonks (with live music most nights), watch roundups and parades or simply stroll the streets that many National Rodeo Champions call home. For a list of dude ranches and other activities, visit www.banderacowboy capital.com.

Amarillo became central to the cattle-moving business when the rails moved in during the 1880s, and you can still find a good many real ranch cowboys walking around.

The year's big event, Cowboy Roundup USA, is moving to October (no dates yet) from summer this year. A highlight is the World Champion Chuck Wagon Cook-off.

Amarillo also recently hosted the three-state Will Rogers Range Riders Rodeo at the arena at Washington Avenue and Loop 335 on the south side of town. And the city is home to the American Quarter Horse Museum (2601 E. Interstate 40. Adult admission $6).

Pecos claims to be the home of the nation's first rodeo (127 years ago), and rodeo's still popular here at Buck Jackson Arena, 324 Cedar St. The West of the Pecos Rodeo is the biggest.

Don't miss the West of the Pecos Museum (120 E. 1st St., adult admission $4) in the Orient Hotel, built in 1904. It chronicles the dusty region's history, including cattle, railroads and outlaws. A renovated rail station across the street says it's the Rodeo Hall of Fame, but it's not yet. The project awaits money.

Pleasanton, a little town on Hwy. 281 about 30 miles south of San Antonio, calls itself Birthplace of the Cowboy, apparently because it was a gathering place for cowboys in the early 1900s while they were driving their cattle to Kansas.

Its big yearly event is the Cowboy Homecoming Aug. 13-15, when bulls will be ridden, horseshoes pitched, Texas music sung and Texas Hold 'Em played.

This South Texas town on Hwy. 100 (on the way to South Padre Island) has two claims to fame: It's the worst speed trap in Texas, and it hosts a fine Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association rodeo in winter, the best time to do anything strenuous in South Texas. It'll be Feb. 5-7 in 2010.

While you're in Texas, drop by the famous King Ranch (Texas 141 off Hwy. 77), the 825,000-acre spread founded in 1852 by Capt. Richard King. One of the world's largest ranches, it's now home to 60,000 cattle and 300 quarter horses. You can take a 1 1/2-hour tour (adult admission $8) and learn the history. No, you won't cover all 825,000 acres.

Learn to be a cowboy or just see how it's done. Texas has plenty of places to do both.