Fort Worth, Texas: Bigger, Better Tourist Attractions

There's plenty of places a person could go for a fun, safe summer outing. This year, why not try something different, though? Instead of heading to the same beach resort again, or the same campground with the same old camper, how about a trip to Texas, where you can get a nice dose of history, as well as some new stories to tell the kinfolk at home?

While the Fort Worth Museum of Science and History is getting a bigger and better facility that will open in 2009; it's still business as usual at the Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame, where the Fort Worth museum is temporarily housed. All of their most popular programs are still going strong: you will find Discovery Lab on wheels with field trips, a summer school, and a host of exhibits including dinosaurs that showcase paleontology from across the Texas region.

If you find yourself sweltering in the Texas heat after walking some of the sites, you should make a detour to the Fort Worth Water Gardens where rushing water and small fountains amongst 500 species of plants and tall trees will surely cool you off in no time.

Sundance Square is simply full of summer events, from live jazz performances to outdoor sit-on-a-blanket movies. With free parking and plenty of food available what more could a family ask for? And for the more charitable, there may also be blood drives.

And don't forget, Fort Worth can trace its history all the way back to early America's Westward expansion. The city is rich in historical detail and architecture.

If you're into a little more adventure, you might want to mosey on over to the Stockyard Ruins, where there is some mystery. A large expanse of land has several buildings that are in a ruined state; crumbling and falling apart. Apparently there is no real record of what happened to place the buildings in this condition, but the site is interesting enough to warrant a pass, with its winding stairways and mysterious paintings of the letter "S."

Quite simply, things are done bigger in Texas; from bigger hats and boots to bigger events for tourists. Texans take their history seriously and with a heavy dose of pride. Fort Worth is only one of many locations you could go for the big Texas treatment, but those other places get all the attention already. Fort Worth is that nice in-between place, not so small that you can't find anything to do, and not so large that you can't find your way around and all the venues are clogged with other tourists.

And don't forget, if you happen to walk past a former Texas Ranger law-man, tip your hat to him, he helped make Texas the safe place it is today.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Worth_Water_Gardens, Wikipedia entry

http://www.fwmuseum.org/home/index.html, Fort Worth Museum home page

http://www.sundancesquare.com/events/default.aspx, Sundancesquare.com

http://www.fortwortharchitecture.com/courthouse3.jpg, Fortwortharchitecture.com

http://www.durangotexas.com/eyesontexas/fortworth/ruins.htm, Durangotexas.com