Fort Stockton is a small town sitting conveniently on Interstate 10, which runs from the southern US through California. The city is located in a rather bleak yet unusually beautiful area of Texas. If you have never been to Texas, the landscape is what you would expect if you'd only seen images of Texas from Hollywood western flicks. The area features miles upon miles of gently rolling and desert-like hills. The arid ground can support little more than small brush, with an occasional mostly leaf-less tree poking up on the landscape sporadically.  

The draw for visiting the city is largely as a stopover on your way to one of  the major cities or beautiful natural areas surrounding the area. Yet with the next major city, El Paso, almost three hours away by car, and even small and mid-sized cities a long way down the interstate, Fort Stockton is the ideal place for travel-weary tourists to rest overnight. 

To the south of Fort Stockton, you can take a scenic highway past the beautiful Glass Mountains until you arrive at Big Bend National Park. Big Bend is a national park unlike any other. The park itself butts up against the meandering Rio Grande River, set against towering cliffs. There are numerous hiking trails, scenic drives, and beautiful campsites that draw visitors to the area each year. 

To the north just a few hours is Carlsbad Caverns National Park just outside of Carlsbad, New Mexico. This massive cave system is largely popular for the thousands of bats that display an amazing mass exodus of the cave each evening. You can also tour the cave system, as well as enjoy hiking and camping. 

About an hour farther north of Carlsbad Caverns sits the famed city of Roswell. This city is known for its impressive extra-terrestrial encounter in 1947 that still draws thousands of tourists a year to the area. The city is decked out in alien décor, with even the Walmart and McDonalds featuring a space-green alien color scheme. There are several museums in Roswell that make for an interesting day trip. 

About 200 miles west of Fort Stockton on Interstate 10 is El Paso, by far the largest city in west Texas. El Paso sits right on the Rio Grande River. In fact, from many areas of the Interstate, you can actually look across the Rio Grande and see El Paso's sister city, Juarez. El Paso is a major city, with the University of Texas El Paso (UTEP), major businesses, theme parks, major shopping destinations, and more.  

Driving to the east from Fort Stockton, there are a few small cities located along the Interstate. However, the next major city is San Antonio, over 300 miles away.  

If you are looking for a decent place to stop on your Interstate 10 route, consider staying at any of the many hotels and motels in Fort Stockton