Okay. Skip this post if you don't want to see the many highlights of the Buckhorn Saloon and Texas Ranger Museum. I was so excited to visit this place! There are taxidermied animals EVERYWHERE and the Texas Ranger museum has all kinds of bullets, guns, and badges as well as a replica of the Bonnie and Clyde car. So many cool things! The Buckhorn Saloon started out decades ago and survived through the financial ups and downs by accepting odd animals, shed antlers, rattlesnake rattles - anything of interest - in exchange for food or shelter. There are so many cool things here! Odd-colored animals, souvenirs from foreign soils and so many other things. I wish we had something like that in Dallas. Still, it was a highlight of an awesome trip.
Derek and I thought this horse-drawn, flower-covered carriage was so cool!
A so-called chupacabra - looks more like mangy young coyote or other kind of canid. Look out, Derek!
Aunt Bella posing with my favorite of the rattlesnake rattle art.
Aunt Bella and Bryce
So. Many. Antlers. A veritable cloud of antlers!
Crazy antlers - 47 point buck
A throne made from cow horns
Derek loooooves longhorns. He was thrilled to see one on display
We went into the Texas Ranger part of the museum next. Derek was impressed by all the rifles and handguns on display.
I loved these hand-tooled leather belts and holsters. Texas Rangers had good taste.
A collection of 254 sheriff badges from each county in Texas. Every badge was actually worn by an officer in the county it represents.
We live in Collin county right now
I was born in Hidalgo county - the gold badge. :)
Derek and Bryce posing in front of a replica of the Bonnie and Clyde car. There were bullet stickers placed in the corresponding locations on the original car. From the display, "May 23, 1934: Clyde Barrow and Bonnie Parker are killed in an ambush laid for them on a lonely road near Gibsland, Louisiana. Members of the posse are former Texas Rangers... and Louisiana officers. When the bodies are examined, the coroner says each has been hit 'more than 50 times' counting both entry and exit wounds. The car bears 167 holes, according to a count at the time."
Derek loves his little sister and he loves to cuddle her
A stuffed movie star! Calico was the horse of the first silent screen cowboy, William S. Hart. Bryce was a little concerned about the horse at first. Aunt Bella helped him get close so we could take a picture. :)
Calico (in real life) with William Hart
"This East African Mountain Gorilla has a long, storied past... this formidable specimen stood watch in the front window (of the Buckhorn Saloon). Known to scare small children as they passed by, the Silverback earned the nickname 'the Guard.' As the first gorilla on display in the state of Texas, he became a landmark for those making their way downtown. 'The Guard' left an indelible mark on native San Antonian and famed comedian, Carol Burnett. In her autobiography, she wrote of her many visits to the Buckhorn as a young girl just to see this amazing gorilla."
Bryce knows what the gorilla says (he's pounding his chest.)
This giraffe died of natural causes at the San Antonio zoo when it was three days old.
Bryce was really excited about this lion
Nothing like brotherly bonding in front of cape buffalo horns
This was one of the coolest displays for me. Check this out... "Mr. Bill Negley generously donated this vertebra from the fourth cape buffalo he took with the bow and arrow. It has one of Mr. Negley's steel broadheads securely locked within. It was September of 1984 when Mr. Negley, at seventy years of age, bowhunted his fourth and final cape buffalo." DUDE!!!
Stuffed cobra fighting a stuffed mongoose. Cool.
This buck was found with another buck's antler wrapped up in that barbed wire. Guess the other one was luckier.
Yee-ouch.
The Friedrich's owned and operated the Buckhorn Saloon. Emilie (the wife) made lots of artworks out of the rattlesnake rattles she collected. Neat hobby.
That's a BIG rattlesnake!
This was my second favorite rattlesnake artwork. Emilie Friedrich collected over 32,000 rattles during her lifetime. She put them to good use.
The barnacle buck
Wolves always surprise me by how much bigger they are in real life
Antlers of an Irish Elk (now extinct)
Derek's hand compared to a grizzly bear paw
Bryce was sad that he was too short to reach, so Derek instantly grabbed his little brother and helped him reach. Awwww!
Derek thought this big polar bear was really cool!
Bryce had no idea the alligator was behind him... hehehe!
MOOOOOOOOSE!
This kid is such a ham. :)
Bryce loved this giant saltwater crocodile.
This "River Raptor" reminded me of Derek when he tucks his arms in and sticks out two fingers on each hand to pretend he's a T. Rex. Hilarious!
I thought this was kind of cool. Certainly not real, but this was a really cool forgery.
Plinky Toepperwein was a markswoman who shot this drawing of an indian... she used bullets for art! Cool!
Hanging out in the slanted house!
Derek found this sharpshooter game and Bryce insisted on helping his brother shoot the skeet. Love these boys!
Derek also found a dinosaur footprint that he insisted I photograph. This kid totally loves dinosaurs!
Albino Leopard! According to the sign next to it, there have been only 11 noted instances of albinism among African leopards between 1905 and 1965. I love genetics. :)
