Credit: Photos by Gerald E. McLeod

The Top 10 list for 2015 of Texas travel events includes, for me, these jewels of social observation:

Credit: Photos by Gerald E. McLeod

1) The Texas General Land Office took over management of the Alamo from the Daughters of the Republic of Texas after more than a century.

2) The Memorial Day weekend flood left 12 dead, two missing, and devastation along the banks of the Blanco River around Wimberley.

3) This year’s most famous last words went something like this, “Fuck the alligat­or. Hold my beer and watch this.” A man in southeast Texas became the first fatal alligator attack victim on record in Texas.

4) The San Antonio missions became the first UNESCO World Heritage Site in Texas and the 23rd in the United States.

5) Texas was officially deemed to be drought-free in July for the first time in five years.

6) The Fulton Mansion in Fulton and Landmark Inn in Castroville reopened after extensive renovations to the Texas Historical Commission properties.

7) Four new access points to the Guadalupe River below Canyon Dam opened by the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department provide additional access to one of the best and southernmost trout streams in America.

8) The golf course at Bastrop State Park ceased operation after 79 years.

9) Sutton County had the most speeding tickets over 100 mph of any county, at 378, according to the DPS and reported in the Houston Chronicle. Collin County registered the top average speed of tickets over 100 mph at 108.57 mph.

10) Fans of “Day Trips” can now get additional travel-related info at the semi-weekly blog “Day Trips & Beyond” at austinchronicle.com/daily/travel.

1,275th in a series. Collect them all. Day Trips, Vol. 2, a book of “Day Trips,” is available for $8.95, plus $3.05 for shipping, handling, and tax. Mail to: Day Trips, PO Box 40312, South Austin, TX 78704.

This article appears in 2015.

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Gerald E. McLeod joined the Chronicle staff in November 1980 as a graphic designer. In April 1991 he began writing the “Day Trips” column. Besides the weekly travel column, he contributed “101 Swimming Holes,” “Guide to Central Texas Barbecue,” and “Guide to the Texas Hill Country.” His first 200 columns have been published in Day Trips Vol. I and Day Trips Vol. II.