I’ve learned never to turn your back on a (potentially) pretty December weekend, and after almost an entire week of being “iced” in, we couldn’t wait for a road trip! I was able to get a reservation for a yurt at the state park, which I have been wanting to do for a while, and we set off early Saturday morning for an Adventure in Abilene!
Our first stop was Frontier Texas!, a historical museum in the city’s downtown.
Know Before You Go
Save Money with a Round Up, which gives you access to 6 Abilene locations for just a little more than admission to Frontier Texas alone! Click HERE to visit their website.
We easily spotted the “flying buffalo” that are suspended above the parade grounds. By day, they seem to charge across the sky, changing direction with the wind, and at night the buffalo are illuminated!
After sitting in the car for a couple of hours, my kids wanted to run around before we headed into the museum. Luckily, Frontier Texas!, which is a partnership with the city of Abilene and the Texas Forts Trail, has a “parade ground” in front. A parade ground is the area at a fort where the flag was raised and the troops would practice manuevers. For my kids, this meant a large area where they could run and play! A huge bison skull sits under the flying buffalo, which children can climb through and on! I was able to sit in the sun at one of the many outdoor tables and watch them. We had just had lunch, but I asked and picnic lunches are permitted. There is no food served at the museum.
I would have never guessed that my daughter would look good with a moustache. We never pass up one of these photo props (I did google it to find the correct term for these photo boards with holes for your head) that we often come across at tourist locations. One day I want to put together an album of just them!
Once inside, we watched a short, 12 minute introductory film about the settling of the Texas frontier, then enjoyed displays and video storytellers.
My kids enjoyed the finale of the museum, a theater with swivel seats and 10 screens. We did lots of turning to keep up with the excitement of wolf and Indian attacks, as well as stories of the life on the frontier!
Frontier Texas! also has a gift shop with Texas items. I asked the kids a few questions of things we heard during our tour, and for each correct answer they got a dollar to spend in the shop. My six year old purchased a little rubber snake with his money that gave me a horrible fright later that night at our campsite!
To continue reading about our Abilene Adventure, click HERE!
Things To Do in Abilene
Play
The Abilene Zoo is a fun zoo with plenty of great animals, and you can feed the giraffes in their new zoo habitat, which opened April 2016! Click HERE to read more!
Eat
The Beehive. Click HERE to find out why.
Stay
The Sayles Ranch Guesthouses. Click HERE to read more.
Frontier Texas!
625 N 1st St, Abilene
Click HERE to visit their website.
Keep Having Fun in the Texas Sun!
Michelle
Having Fun in the TEXAS Sun is on PINTEREST! Use it as a quick resource to find activities in different Texas towns! Click HERE!
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