Tour 9: Wine, Art & the West
January 11-13

Look up and see a West Texas sunset that will ease even the busiest mind, a rich Texas heritage that continues to live on and a western culture true to its roots. As you visit Graham, Lubbock and Abilene you will be surrounded by old-fashioned hospitality.

Wednesday, January 11

  • Tour will depart Grapevine at 9:00 a.m.
  • Have your very own “Hands-on Cowboy Experience” at the Wildcatter Ranch in Graham, Texas
  • Arrive in Lubbock, slip into your boots and take a sip of true Lubbock culture at McPherson Cellars. Taste wine that is grown and produced in Lubbock. Be introduced to the history of the Llano Estacado and the family responsible for the beginning of West Texas wines

Thursday, January 12

  • Begin the day at the Silent Wings Museum
  • Listen to the story of the U.S. Military Glider Program, and see one of the few fully restored World War II gliders in existence
  • National Ranching Heritage Center, jump back in time and visit the beginning of the Wild West through the preservation of 48 authentic structures
  • Be blown away at the American Wind Power Center where you will find more than 150 rare and fully restored windmills. Stand before the 6,000 sq.ft. “Legacy of the Wind Mural” and view a landscape of breathtaking windmills of the rolling plains
  • See where Western culture meets modern art at the Louise Hopkins Underwood Center for the Arts. Enjoy a lunch of West Texas favorites followed by a casual tour of the best contemporary art of the South Plains
  • Depart for downtown Abilene, which comes to life the 2nd Thursday of each month for Artwalk. Attractions, shops and businesses are open until 8:30 p.m.
  • Be amazed at the Grace Museum. Here you will find a beautifully restored hotel from 1909, which houses 3 museums: the Abilene Historical Museum, the Children’s Museum and the Art’s Museum
  • Discover why the 12th Armored Division became one of the most feared fighting machines of WWII at the 12th Armored Division Memorial Museum
  • Catch a Star at the Paramount Theatre; Book Time at the National Center for Children’s Illustrated Literature and See Artists in Action at the Center for Contemporary Arts

Friday, January 13

  • Tour Frontier Texas! where you will meet-at least figuratively-some of the real people who lived and died on the Texas Frontier between 1780 and 1880
  • Tour will return to Grapevine and DFW International Airport by 2:00 p.m.

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