I’m Looking for 100 Experiences Hiding in My Corner of Rural Texas

What if the best reason to visit a small town isn’t something you can see?

What if it’s something you can do?

That question has turned into a little experiment of mine.

Actually, maybe not so little.

The 100 Experiences Rural Experiment

I’m Tiffany. I live in a town of about 300 people, and I’m on a mission to convince you that some of the best vacations happen in places you’ve never heard of.

And now I’m taking that mission one step further.

I’m looking for 100 things you can DO—not just see—in Washington County and beyond.

Not attractions you drive by.

Not another list of places to take a picture.

I’m looking for experiences.

The kind where you meet the person behind the business. You learn something. Make something. Taste something. Get your hands dirty. Hear a story. Try something you've never done before.

The kind of experience that makes you feel a little less like a tourist and a little more like a local.

And I'm going to try all 100.

Yes. All 100.

Why am I doing this?

Because I think rural communities are sitting on something incredibly valuable.

Experiences hiding in plain sight.

We have farmers, ranchers, winemakers, artists, chefs, makers, historians, shop owners and interesting people with skills and stories visitors would love to experience.

But sometimes we don't think of those things as "tourism."

I want to change that.

I've spent the last few years thinking about what makes someone choose a small town for a getaway—and, more importantly, what makes them stay another night.

A place to sleep is important.

A cute downtown is great.

But give someone something memorable to do, and suddenly you've given them a reason to make the trip.

That's part of why I created Burton & Beyond: to connect visitors with experiences created by the people who actually live here.

The 100 Experiences Rural Experiment is my way of finding out just how many of those experiences are hiding around us.

Experience #1: Making Custom Jewelry

And we're officially underway.

1 down. 99 to go.

For my very first experience, I visited Company Five and stepped into the world of custom jewelry making.

Instead of simply walking into a store and buying something off a shelf, I got to see the process, meet the maker and become part of creating something.

THAT is exactly what I'm looking for.

It's personal.

It's local.

There's a story behind it.

And you leave with more than something you bought—you leave remembering the person, the place and the experience.

EXPERIENCES FOUND: 01/100

Now I Need Your Help Finding the Other 99

This is where the experiment gets fun.

I don't want to create a list of 100 experiences I already know about.

I want to discover them.

So tell me what's hiding out there.

Maybe your grandmother knows how to make kolaches and would teach a small group.

Maybe there's a rancher who would let visitors experience morning chores.

Maybe someone can teach us to make sausage, arrange Texas wildflowers, paint, throw pottery, identify birds, make a cocktail, bake bread, work cattle or learn the history behind an old building.

Maybe there's a chef who would invite six people into the kitchen.

A winemaker who would walk us through the vineyard.

A musician who could teach us a little Texas music.

A gardener who could teach us how to grow something.

A historian with a story that needs to be told.

I'm especially interested in the things that make you say:

"People would pay to do that?"

Because my answer might be:

YES. THEY WOULD.

There Are a Few Rules

For this experiment, I'm looking for something a visitor can actually participate in.

It should have a local connection, involve a person or story whenever possible, and give someone an experience they couldn't simply get by walking through the door during normal business hours.

It doesn't have to be fancy.

In fact, I think some of the best ideas probably aren't.

They just need to be memorable.

And while I'm starting right here in Washington County, I'm calling this Washington County & Beyond for a reason. Rural Texas has a LOT of stories to tell.

Could YOU Be One of the 100?

Here's my challenge:

Think about what you know how to do.

Think about your business, ranch, farm, kitchen, studio, property, history or hobby differently.

What could someone experience there?

Don't worry if it's not currently something you offer.

That's part of the experiment.

Send me the crazy idea.

Send me the person I need to meet.

Send this to the business that should be on my list.

Tell me about something I would never find through a Google search.

Because over the coming months, I'm going to keep showing up, trying things and documenting what I find.

01/100 experiences found.

99 still hiding.

And I have a feeling we're going to discover that rural Texas isn't short on things to do.

We just haven't been telling people about them yet.

Know an experience I need to try? Send it my way.

And follow along as I search for 100 experiences hiding in Washington County and beyond.