Told to diversify its economy, the state did just that, targeting 21st Century growth industries such as call centers, telecommunications, international trade and high technology. A state known for cowboys and cattle has earned a new label: Silicon Prairie.

Once again, the state is building new trails -- not to drive cattle, but the new commerce wrought by NAFTA that has cities from Houston to Dallas competing to build international trade superhighways from Mexico to Canada.

Even its astronauts are no longer content to boast about once conquering the moon. The new frontier to explore from the state's Johnson Space Center as Texas approaches the 21st century is Mars.

Texas, to quote a favorite Texas tune, is back in the saddle again. The state's economy continues to outpace national growth by about 1.5 percent, according to the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts, with a 3 percent annual growth rate forecast through the beginning of the next century. "Things are going very, very well in Texas. The state is No. 1 in job creation and has been since 1990," said Texas Commerce Department director Brenda Arnett. "We're resilient."

The Port of Corpus Christi, the sixth largest in the country, is undergoing a $38.3 million expansion. And, the city of Corpus Christi, now second only to San Antonio as a Texas tourist destination, recently has welcomed four major call center operations to the Texas Gulf Coast.

Even as Texas sets new records for economic diversification, it hasn't changed its cowboy boots and "howdy, ma'am" culture, which still fuels tourism -- what Arnett describes as "the precursor to economic development in our state." But cowboy clothes and culture is not what best impresses outside business and industry.

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