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Event: 1952 La France Firetruck at Brookshires Wildlife Museum

April 10th, 2012

1952 La France FiretruckThe Brookshires Wildlife Museum is having a big event of family fun Wednesday April 11at 10am.

There will be a free concert, free ice cream, and a free T-shirt for each person who comes.

The event is in celebration of the dedication of the 1952 La France Firetruck. You’ve probably seen the firetruck in the playground.

It has been given a fresh coat of paint and looks nice. If your children are interested in firefighting like my son, you will want to bring them.

The actual original firefighters that drove this firetruck are dedicating it in person.

They are from the Dallas fire department. They will be telling some personal stories from when they went to fight fires in this 1952 firetruck.

I can imagine that it will be quite inspirational and educational. Come visit the Tyler Brookshires Museum tomorrow. Admission is free.

Great Wolf Lodge verses The Villages indoor waterpark

January 23rd, 2011

When deciding on family vacation destinations indoor water parks are becoming more of an option especially in east Texas.

You no longer have to wait until the summer time to go for family fun at Splash Kingdom Water Park as The Villages indoor water park in the Flint TX area is now open.

One problem with The Villages water park, it’s tiny inside there, super crowded, and very expensive. A positive about The Villages water park is that they are very close to Tyler TX.

Now looking at Great Wolf Lodge water park in the Grapevine TX Dallas area you have a much larger all inclusive kind of thing going.

Great Wolf Lodge is in the Dallas TX area so it is a small drive from Tyler TX. The drive is a definite negative but if your spending a weekend somewhere for vacation is a 1 1/2 hour drive that big of a deal?

Great Wolf also has a really nice connected hotel and restaurant and you don’t have to worry about being hit up with a sales pitch for buying a vacation time share.

Finally with Great Wolf water park you get more elbow room, water rides and a generally more friendly professional atmosphere to experience a great family time.

Tyler State Park

September 24th, 2010

If you are looking for some good family fun that does not include a man dressed up in a giant mouse, or sitting in a dark room glued to a giant television screen, I recommend spending the day at Tyler State Park.

At Tyler State Park there is so much to do for the whole family. If you love to spend time on the water, here you can rent a canoe, or paddle boat, or bring your own. The park has an area that you can swim. Usually the beach area and swimming area are pretty crowded. The swimming area is roped off but it is easy to get to the rest of the lake, so you have to watch your kids closely while they are swimming. If you enjoy biking and walking, Tyler State Park is known for their great mountain bike trails. Some of the trails are pretty hard to ride and some trails are much easier. The walking trails are great for family hikes. It is great to have a place that is fun to take family walks and enjoy the out doors.

On a nice cool night there really is not anything that compares to sitting under the stars and around a warm camp fire. Tyler State Park has some really nice camp sites that include camp fire pits and grills so you can cook hamburgers or hotdogs. The camp sites are either shelter, areas where you can park your RV, or areas where you can put up a tent. The sheltered area is basically an empty building with screen windows, and cement floors.

At the park there are all different animals. The last time I was out at one of their camp grounds we were visited by a very curious fat raccoon. It was pretty scary that the raccoon would not run away after people chasing it away and throwing things at it to get it to get off our camping area. It is against park rules to kill the park animals. The raccoon was use to people and was really well fed. I recommend that you keep your trash bags off the ground while you are sleeping or away from your camp grounds, or else animals like raccoons will get into your trash and make a huge mess that you are responsible for.

So instead of putting your kids in front of the television, enjoy time with them playing on the playgrounds, camping, cooking marshmallows over the fire, or having a picnic at Tyler State Park.

Brookshires Museum in Tyler Texas

January 31st, 2010

The Brookshires Wildlife Museum is a great place to go for some family fun. It is located past the Brookshires warehouse on Old Jacksonville in Tyler Texas. As soon as you enter the facility you will be greeted with a smile and a friendly receptionist.

Polar Bear at Brookshires Museum

Polar Bear at Brookshires Museum

Sign the guest book and enter the museum for free. When you turn the corner you might want to brace yourself for the animals look like their alive and just about to get you. You will see wild life from all over the world. I particularly like the bears at the beginning.

Zebra at Brookshires Museum
Zebra at Brookshires Museum

My son liked the zebra. If you have a toddler like myself you might want to bring a stroller because there is a no touching rule.

Lion Chasing Animal at Tyler Brookshires Museum

Lion Chasing Animal

The animals and the scenery around them really made me feel like I was in Africa or some far off land. Adults and children are sure to love the Brookshires Wildlife Museum because of all the real stuffed animals and antlers.

Read more about Brookshires Museum

Faulkner Park Tyler Texas

January 8th, 2010

If you are looking for some family fun in Tyler Texas check out Faulkner Park. There are two Faulkner Parks, both which are free and open to the public. Both parks are located off of Highway 69. One Faulkner Park is on the far North end of Highway 69.

It is actually past Lindale. If you live near interstate 20 in Lindale, Tyler, or Van this would be closer to you. If you live near Tyler Pipe, the north Faulkner Park is a straight shot. This park features a large beautiful pond with a trail going around it.

You can bring your kids out and fish from the small bridge on the far side of the peaceful pond. This park also features several baseball fields, soccer fields, tennis courts, sand volleyball court, basketball court and concession stand that is open on some occasions.

The playground and large pavilion make this park an ideal place for a picnic. Past Lindale but not as far as Mineola, the north Faulkner Park is right in the middle of the quiet country.

The Faulkner Park on the south part of Tyler has amazing new playgrounds. Probably the most exciting activity for kids to do in Tyler Texas, that’s free, is the Spray ground at Faulkner Park.

As you drive into this park you will be blown away with how clean and big it is. There are several baseball fields at the entrance if you drive further and take a left at the sign “spray ground” you will see a large playground and a fun spray ground which is like a water park.

I love this playground because it is fun and safe. It is away from traffic. It has clean green grass and picnic tables surrounding it. It is in a safe part of town. The spray ground doesn’t have a pool, which for little ones can be great. Small children can learn to have fun with water without the fear of drowning. It also puts parents at rest mentally and physically.

The parents can play with their children or sit back on a bench or on the grass and watch the fun. The spray ground features two rotating water guns, buckets of water that fill up and spill out, rings and pipes with water shooting out and much more. You must check out the spray ground at the Faulkner Park in Tyler. If the water is turned off you can reactivate it by simply pressing a large black button on the fist pipe in the spray ground.

If you drive further into Faulkner Park in South Tyler you will see a large pond surrounded by wooded areas that has “secret” trails through them. There are many frogs down the trails, which may interest you if you have any boys in your family. The pond isn’t ever over populated with people. You can always find a quiet place to fish.

If you haven’t checked out Faulkner Park in Tyler I highly recommend it. Grab a fishing pole, put on your swimming trunks, lather up with sunscreen, and spend the afternoon at this wonderful park.