We were coming back from San Angelo and saw the signs for this and decided to stop. Sooo glad we…read moredid. It is an actual fort/museum. It started with a 20 minute film where you can sit on a bench or on a real saddle. Very cool! It explained about how the fort came to be and all about the Comanche Indians whose land we took. A family has owned the land and it has been passed down from generation to generation. They have quite the gun and arrowhead collection. Very interesting. It's free but they do ask for 10$ a person.

Okay, this place is different. It's a family run site seeing tour of an old fort that was…read morediscovered on their family's land long ago. They have a lot of memorabilia and a huge selection of old guns. It is suggested that you watch a short video before taking the tour...it was interesting but slightly graphic if you have a sensitive child (our 7 and 8 year old are not so they did not care). The kids were able to get inside an old stagecoach and learn that nine people used to ride in them 24 hours a day which was cool. Then you take a tour on an ATV of the different ruins and restored barracks. It was interesting to myself and my husband and they let our little dog come....but the kids were BORED. It was a beautiful day and the grounds were gorgeous, it might have been nice to walk around at our leisure a little. I understand because of the sanctity of the grounds why they wouldn't want to allow it. Maybe if they put a roped off spot where kids could burn off some steam before or after the tour it would be more enjoyable for the younger crowd. The staff here was a TINY bit overbearing and we felt kind of rushed with someone always hovering around trying to be helpful. We wanted to take our time and talk to our kids about all the things. But they meant well. All in all, if you're just a couple of adults looking for something historic to go see it's worth a look but I can't say I recommend bringing your children just because there really wasn't much to captivate them and so they ended up dragging around bored and antsy. It is free though there are signs saying they recommend a donation of $8 per person.

Stopped here on a road trip across Texas and I'm glad we did! The people who own this place have…read moredone a great job rescuing different buildings from around the area, preventing them from being torn down or lost to time as cities and towns continue to expand. We grabbed our tickets at the visitor center and then used the pamphlet they gave us to do a self-guided tour which worked perfectly! It was easy to follow the map and match it up to the descriptions so that we could learn about each building as we walked through it (or peeked inside if it was closed for renovation). A great place to stop and stretch your legs!

Interesting step back in time. The audio available on the tour is very helpful. Nice stop while in…read morethe area.

Are you in Texas and looking for something fun to do? Not far outside Abilene is the Merkel Area…read moreLocal Museum. The Merkel Area Historical Museum has 13,000 square feet. Examples of exhibits include Pioneer Days, the military from the Civil War to Iraq, Fire, EMS, Farm and Ranch, Quilts, Indians and a Windmill. Also featured are Sadler Hospital, the bank, the barber and beauty shop, schools, Merkel Drug, Taylor Electric and many others. Featured vehicles are a Vietnam jeep, 1930 Chevrolet, 1953 police car, and tractors from the 1920s, 1930s, 1950s, and 1960s.

This historic fort doesn't have a visitor center, it's fully self-guided using the pamphlet that's…read morelocated under the covered area connected to the bathrooms. I didn't know what this place would be like, I just know that we like stopping places on long road trips and walking around historic sites is always fun, and I was actually pretty impressed with how easy it was to guide ourselves around Fort Phantom Hill. A lot of the buildings have been lost, mostly due to the fire that the last commanding officer of the fort set on his way out (a wild story that's in the pamphlet!), but a lot of the stone foundations remain and it was cool to walk around and see them. The paths aren't paved, so in warmer times of the year make sure you watch out for snakes, but it's a great place for a quick 30 minute walk around to learn a little history, see some cool ruins, and stretch your legs before you have to get back in the car. It's not far off the highway, and doesn't take long to walk the whole loop!

there were some signs in the front and map. the old buildings were cool but not accessible to look…read moreinside of them.

Looking for a wedding venue? There truly are not enough…read morewords to thank Thomas for everything he did for us during our wedding. From the moment we started working with him, we felt supported, cared for, and completely at ease. Planning a wedding can feel overwhelming at times, but Thomas had a way of making everything feel manageable and calm. On our wedding day, he was everywhere we needed him to be without us ever having to ask. He handled every detail with so much professionalism, kindness, and genuine care. Because of him, John and I were able to be fully present and soak in every moment instead of worrying about logistics. That is such a priceless gift on a day you can never get back. What stood out most was how much heart he put into his work. We never felt like "just another event." He truly cared about us, our families, and making sure our day was everything we hoped it would be. By the end of it all, Thomas didn't just feel like our venue coordinator -- he felt like part of the day itself and honestly became a friend. He danced with me and our guests, celebrated alongside us, and brought such a fun, positive energy to the entire evening. Looking back, I can honestly say I had the BEST team ever, and Thomas was such a huge part of that. We are beyond grateful for the role he played in one of the most important days of our lives. Thank you, Thomas, for helping create memories we will cherish forever.

It was a nice afternoon in Abilene when my girlfriend and I explored the historic Grace building…read moreand visited the Grace Museum. We got in a little after noon to see new exhibits that had genuinely just opened for the season that day. The museum is very quiet and, thanks to road construction, a little confusing to get to, but it is worth the drive and adventure. As we arrived, we noticed that a wedding was being set up in their courtyard and event space, and we were in awe of how cute the space was for a wedding. On the first floor was the Gail Norfleet collection, where we were amazed by these multi-layered plexiglass paintings that added depth to her floral pieces and recreated rooms. It is such a unique style. Gail's use of color is quite impressive. On the second floor sat the other two new exhibits. The first was Focus on Photography: Selections from the Permanent Collection, which includes a diverse and vast collection of still images printed on numerous materials such as gelatin, inkjet, tintype, and metal, giving each image a unique display. As a photographer myself, this was my favorite exhibit. My girlfriend's favorite was the Cindi Holt collection showcasing colorful, prairie-inspired pieces. Other areas included the play zone that has the tower challenge and the history exhibits on the third floor focusing on downtown Abilene and the Texas railway. I'm excited to return to the Grace Museum next time I'm in Abilene when new exhibits are on display. What a cute and small museum! RIYL: The Tower Challenge or feeling so much cooler than everyone else because you're being enriched at a museum

Love this place. Price is crazy low. 8$ for two of us. Drive for us was 2 hrs but the drive was…read morebeautiful. The gentleman that greeted us was very informative and friendly. We were able to have our dog with us on a leash as long as we picked up after him. He of course couldn't go in any buildings and they stressed not to tie him to anything. Easy. It was a great walk with lots of information posts. The buildings you get to go into a such a great look into the past. Easily would go back here. We took it easy and it took about 1 1/2 hrs and could have spent longer but we were right at closing time. That said they did not rush us out.

Really enjoyed this park. Ok, not a park - "Historic Site". That's semantics in my book. Or…read moreactually another way to pay since my annual Park Pass doesn't work. No big deal. At $4 to visit, you will spend more on gas to get there. Most of the fort is still around in one form or another. Original, decayed buildings. Restored and refurnished. Rebuilt in situ. All lend to show what it used to look like. If this were closer, it would be MUCH more popular. It really was a gem and worth a visit if you haven't seen one of the frontier forts. It really was only a short time in use during the Texas history, but boy do we still revel in those times. Here's a way to get back in touch how it really looked.

It was a rainy and windy day in San Angelo. Perfect for visiting a museum. But this visit was kinda…read moredisappointing! From the outside, the San Angelo Museum of Fine Arts looks really nice! Modern architecture, nice patio outside, etc. I had no idea it would be so snoozy. Admission was $2 per adult, and honestly? It should be free! There's really NOTHING to see. The museum is only 3 floors, and the first floor consists of administrative offices. The second floor hosted a gift shop (small), a permanent exhibit (very small, 1 room) and a non-permanent exhibit, Sacred Visions, which was essentially just a bunch of creepy religious relics. There was a pretty fountain in the middle. The third floor hosted a permanent exhibit, which also consisted of religious relics. The entire time we were there, a docent followed us around creepily. I know docents are common in museums...but seriously? We were the ONLY people in the museum, and she was watching us like we were going to steal something. Not cool. It's a shame that this museum isn't more interesting. It seems like this neck of the woods would have a lot of old culture to it.

A great 1 hour stop to see some great art. Ask about the painting in the entry that has a hidden…read moresurprise. Great ceramic show while I was their end June 30 3018. This is must stop for art fans. It has a great patio and near the river walk. I wish they had food or drinks. I didn't see any of that while I was there. It would be great to sit out on. Upper patio and enjoy a meal and have some water or tea.

To quote the Texas Highways dot com website: "A stop at this…read morehistorical marker that's as close as the public can get to the exact geographic center will make anyone appreciate the majesty of the Lone Star State. It's important to note that the marker was not placed at the exact center of the state. That's 5 miles northwest on private property, the marker points out. So, if you visit the marker, you'll also want to drive about a quarter of a mile south and pull into the Heart of Texas Park, complete with a few picnic tables and a small observation tower you can climb to see the true center amid the rolling hills, oak and mesquite trees, round hay bales, and cattle." Make sure you also visit the picnic area known as the Heart of Texas Park. There is an observation tower so you can see 360 degrees above the tree tops. The stairs have 18 steps. The picnic tables are in shelters. Enjoy!

Kind of out of the blue one day, my partner in crime said he wanted to go to the Geographic Center…read moreof Texas. I'll admit I was half listening and responded, "Oh yeah?" Of course this was a segway into telling me how he read about it on a couple of different websites, how it wasn't too far away from us, and how we could probably incorporate it into one of our weekend drives. We decided to go for it one particular weekend and missed the GCoT. The GCoT is about 135 miles N/NW of San Antonio and we found out later we were off by about 10-12 miles to the east on 190 vs staying on 377 but we didn't know that since cellular service doesn't exist in this area (at least it didn't for our service). And Waze was almost useless in this area especially since the address on there lists Rochelle which is on 190. My partner in crime even loaded his offline Google maps on his phone but we still couldn't get straight as to where we were at in reference to the marker. We finally 86'd our mission and decided to try again another time. After getting our butts kicked the first time, we went overboard and super prepared for the next trip. Btw, can you super prepare? Maybe I meant over prepare. At any rate, we finally found it the second time! It almost felt as though we were back in our geocaching days. At a certain point after we left the city limits of Brady, we saw cell service drop off but we kept pushing and after a moment we finally saw the marker! We did pass by it at first and noticed the Heart of Texas Park not too far from the marker. We decided we'd stop there once we got our pics of the marker. And yes, my partner in crime was satisfied. I, on the other hand, was half smiling through sweat as the temperature gauge read it was 114 degrees. After we left, my proud partner in crime said, "We did it. I'm glad we stuck with it this time." "Yep. Me too." "Now I want to go to the Geographic Center of the US." I think I slowly died inside after that.

Scenic view , of historical Regency Bridge . Beautiful views of the Colorado River from the bridge.read more

This was an awesome side trip. Growing up you had to cross a swinging bridge across a river to get…read moreto the house on our farm. Those were fun times. Same thing here but you get to drive it! Pro tip: Bridge weight is 5,000 pounds. Check your vehicle or don't cross. Pull outs on each side let you park or turn around. 5k pounds is a little less than a Chevy Tahoe.