Texas Outdoor Adventures

Why does a busy entrepreneur need the outdoors?

I run four businesses. Frosty's HVAC, Frosty's Holiday Lighting, Frosty Homes, and Amor Property Manager. I'm raising five kids with my wife Mariafernanda Jacobo. I'm maintaining sobriety every single day since January 1, 2021. That life requires a release valve. For me, that valve is the Texas outdoors.

When I step away from the phone, the quotes, the service calls, and the invoices — when I'm standing at the edge of a lake or halfway up a trail with nothing but sky above me — that's when I think clearest. Some of my best business decisions have come from moments of stillness outdoors. Not in an office, not on a laptop. Just me and Texas.

What are the best lakes near DFW for getting away?

Living in Farmers Branch, I'm lucky to have some incredible lakes within a short drive. Grapevine Lakeis my go-to. It's right there in the heart of DFW — I service homes in Grapevine all the time for HVAC work, so I know the area well. The north shore trails are great for an afternoon walk, and the lake itself is perfect for just sitting, watching the water, and clearing your head.

Lewisville Lake is another favorite. It's bigger, more open, and the sunsets from the dam are something else. Both of these lakes are within 20–30 minutes of Farmers Branch. When you're running a business that serves Farmers Branch, Coppell, Irving, Flower Mound, Lewisville, Grapevine, it's nice that nature is right in the middle of your service area.

Which hiking trails near Dallas-Fort Worth does Omar recommend?

Cedar Ridge Preservein south Dallas is the trail I recommend to everyone. It's managed by the Audubon Society, the views are surprisingly dramatic for North Texas, and it's free. You get about 9 miles of trails with real elevation changes — not just flat Texas walking. On a clear day, you can see the downtown Dallas skyline from the overlook. It doesn't get much better than that.

Arbor Hills Nature Preservein Plano is closer to where I grew up after immigrating to the U.S. It's a mix of paved trails and unpaved paths through real Texas wilderness. There's an observation tower at the top that gives you a panoramic view. I bring my kids here — it's an easy hike that still feels like you're getting away from everything.

What about road trips outside of DFW?

When I can carve out a weekend — which isn't as often as I'd like — Dinosaur Valley State Parknear Glen Rose is about an hour and a half south of DFW. You walk in a riverbed with actual dinosaur tracks preserved in limestone. Real 113-million-year-old footprints. I don't care how old you are, that hits different. The Paluxy River runs through the park and the swimming is incredible in the summer.

For the big one, Palo Duro Canyonin the Texas Panhandle. It's a 5–6 hour drive from DFW, but it's the second-largest canyon in the United States. Most people don't even know it exists. The first time I stood at the rim and looked down at those red rock walls stretching for miles, I couldn't believe I was still in Texas. That trip changed my perspective on what this state has to offer.

How did growing up in urban poverty shape my connection to nature?

I grew up in Palo Solo, one of the rougher areas of Mexico City. Nature wasn't part of my childhood. When we moved to the U.S. and settled in Plano, Texas, it was still all concrete and strip malls to me. I didn't discover the outdoors until I was already an adult, already a business owner, already a father.

That late start makes me appreciate it more, honestly. Every hike, every lake visit, every road trip to a state park — it's something I never had as a kid. Discovering the outdoors in my late twenties and thirties has been one of the most grounding parts of building this new life. It's not just recreation. It's therapy. It's where I process everything — the stress, the wins, the losses, the sobriety.

Now I make sure my kids grow up with what I didn't have. They know what a trail looks like. They've stood at the edge of Palo Duro Canyon. They've seen bluebonnets blooming along Texas highways. That matters to me more than most people realize.