Over our spring break, we were able to visit the Chilsholm Trail Museum in Duncan, Oklahoma. It was the nicest little museum I’ve been to in a very long time. Maybe ever. It was only about a forty minute drive, reasonably priced and very entertaining. My favorite part was the film presentation. Most museums have these type of presentations. The one at Mt. Vernon, Virginia, was a dramatic reenactment about (obviously) Washington. It didn’t hold a candle to the one in Duncan, Oklahoma! I hate to give away the fun, but I just have to tell you about it! It was shown in 4-D. That means you can not only watch the movie on a screen which sort of circled around you, but you can smell the grass, the dirt, and yes, even the cattle! You can feel the wind and the heat from the fire. And…wait for it…you can feel the water when the cowboys splash through the rolling river with their herd. It was excellent. I can’t wait to take our family the next time they visit us!

They have a small area where kids can dress up in hats and vests, and practice cattle-roping. They have a mock-up general store and a wagon, loaded and ready for the trail. They also have an animatronics presentation featuring Jesse Chisholm and a cowboy out on the trail. These robots were designed by the folks at Disney, and they are top-notch. They also have a small art museum featuring local artists and their renderings of the wild west.  Outside the museum, they have a scale-model of the renowned trail that you can walk, noting the most famous landmarks.

Anyway, I’ll quit jawing about it and let you see some photos of it! Hmm…I feel so western all of a sudden.

We had already been to Geronimo’s grave, so it was fitting to see what he looked like.

Laci liked this statue of an Indian woman and her papoose.

The little ones enjoyed practicing their cattle-roping skills. Yeehaw!

I’m not sure if you can tell in this photo, but this faux food looked incredibly real.

For Oklahoma’s centennial celebration in 2007, some men decided to go on a round up on the Chisholm Trail. They did everything just as the cowboys did it. This cow, Blackie, led the herd.

The man after whom the trail was named, and who reportedly *hated* beef, Jesse Chisholm.

They have stamps with which you can design your own brand. This is Terry’s attempt to make “TBII” for Terry Basham, II.

Our final stop was the gift shop. Mitchell bought this scorpion sucker. Yes! It’s actually edible! *shudder*

#OnlyinOklahoma?

I stayed away from the extreme items in the gift shop and came away with some cute cookie cutters in the shapes of the state of Oklahoma, a boot, a Texas Longhorn, and a cowboy hat. I want to do some Oklahoma state history over the summer and, of course, cookies would be a good place to start.

Happy trails,