Things To Do In and Around Midland Texas
Whether you're looking for someplace to get in out of the
heat, or a little outdoor exploration, this page will help you
find things to do in and around Midland. Before you go you might
want to check on
the weather forecast. If you know of websites that would fit
on this page, please Email
me with their addresses.
In Midland, Texas
Educational Fun
- Sibley
Nature Center
- If you're interested in the fauna and flora of our area
here between the edge of the Great Plains and the desert,
this site will give you an introduction to what the
Sibley Nature Center does to educate children and adults
on the subject of our environment. I'm helping to build
this site, and we have plans to have it reflect the
displays in the building, as well as provide a calendar
of what-to-look-for in the area. The Center is located on
the edge of Hogan Park, on Wadley between La Mesa and
Fairgrounds. It includes nature trails that cross through
many different environments.
- Marian
Blakemore Planetarium
- Sky shows along with occasional star parties in Haley
Park, behind the Planetarium. (I prefer the sky shows
that actually do constellations to the multimedia
presentations, but my favorites are few and far between.)
From Wall Street, turn south(-ish) on K Street to reach
the museum complex on Missouri (Missouri is between Wall
and Front Streets).
Parks
- Dennis the Menace Park
- On Garfield between Wall and Front Streets. Some shade,
restroom facilities, and brightly-colored play equipment
not of your standard plastic-and-bolts models.
- Opportunity Park
- A privately owned park that is open to the public, with
lots of equipment accessible to the handicapped. It is
located off of A Street just south of Wadley.
Museums
- Confederate
Air Force
- Midland is the home of the Confederate Air Force and the American
Heritage Airpower Museum, a place to find World War
II air planes, many still flying, always in the process
of being restored. There are many displays including
pictoral histories, and once a year, in October, the Air
Show brings pilots and fans from all over the world. This
is a very thorough website representing the CAF, with
lots of pictures, too.
- Petroleum
Museum
- Does not appear to have its own website yet but you can
call them at 683-4403.
- Museum of the
Southwest
- Home of an art museum, the Children's Museum (see below),
and the Planetarium.
- Fredda
Turner Durham Children's Museum
- A favorite place to visit with kids; entrance is free
though a donation is encouraged. A great place for the
kids to play out of the hot summer sun. Computers and
some fixed and some changing displays. It's a small but
friendly museum.
- A
List of Area Museums
- Can be found at this site, including hours and some
details.
Entertainments
- Midland
Community Theater
- A fine theater which presents a wide variety of plays. On
Wadley between "A" Street and Garfield.
- Summer
Mummers/Yucca Theater
- Presenting melodramas with a West Texas twist, in a
beautiful old, restored theater.
- Hollywood
Theaters
- With a new webmaster, this site is back to being updated each week in
time for the Friday changes, which is great. The "Coming
Attractions" page also has links to movie sites so you can get an
idea of what's going to be hot and what you'll want to see. For reviews of
current movies, you can visit the national Hollywood
Theatres site.
- KC's Nutty Roller
- Roller skating rink, right in the same neighborhood with our store.
- Astral Castle
- If you like to play games (card games, board games, miniatures: any game
that uses your mind and that you play across a table from another human),
you're welcome to drop in any time we're open and sit down at the tables
and play (free!). The website has directions to the store, including
images.
- Midland
Rockhounds
- Formerly the Midland Angels, our baseball team.
- A
Midland Calendar of Events
- Sponsored by the Midland Reporter Telegram (our
newspaper), but it does not seem to be working yet.
Clubs and Societies
- Society For Creative Anachronism (SCA)
- The Kingdom of Ansteorra encompasses our humble town of Midland. If the
world of the middle of the last millennium fascinates you, you might want to
check out these folks, who enjoy dressing in period costumes, and recreating
the medieval world. I have had no luck at all contacting the locals through
the website; if you're looking for these folks you'd be better off visiting Astral
Castle and enquiring there.
- Amtgard
- Something like the SCA but for younger folks; here at least the weapons
are padded and the battles are a little less dangerous; the fun is just as
captivating, though. Again, you may want to enquire at Astral
Castle for details, as many of the members come through the store (the
park where they meet twice weekly is just down the road).
In the Neighborhood (Texas-style)
- Odessa
- Our nearest neighbor and sister city, 25
miles west of us. A little outside the city is a
small but impressive meteor impact crater, but the city
itself has a lot to offer, including museums, and the
Ector County Coliseum, which hosts the Permian Basin Fair
& Expo (in September) and many other events
throughout the year. I've yet to visit the Globe Theater but plan
to when my kids are old enough to appreciate Shakespeare.
They now have a hockey team, the Jackalopes, which
means Odessa also has an ice-skating rink (which is open
to the public).
- Big Spring
- is 41
miles east-northeast of us, and is one of our closest
neighbors. It has a very nice State
Park.
- Monahans
- has the ultra cool Sandhills
State Park, where you can sled down sand dunes and
visit one of the world's largest oak forests right in the
middle of these barren plains (okay so it's the
diminutive"shin oak"). Monahans is 59
miles southwest of us.
- Pecos
- Home of the best cantaloupes ever, and the birthplace of
rodeos.
- Colorado
City
- is 80
miles mostly east of us (a little north). It has the Lake
Colorado State Park where you can fish and cook.
- Sheffield (Texas, that is)
- Even before we moved out here, we had to visit Sheffield,
Texas, since Dave and his family come from Sheffield,
England. Now we've moved (just) close enough to call
them neighbors, in what passes for our neighborhood by
Texas standards. Ninety-nine
miles southeast of us, Sheffield has the Fort
Lancaster State Historical Park.
Further Afield (in order of Proximity)
- San Angelo
- Has the San
Angelo Museum of Fine Arts and its Children's
Art Museum can be found here. San Angelo is 112
miles South East of Midland. There is a quiet,
uncommercial River Walk here, along with many odd and
interesting museums, including one devoted to a bordello,
one on frontier medicine, and another on the history of
telephones!. It also has the San
Angelo State Park, which has rock paintings and
dinosaur tracks.
- Lubbock
- Has lots to offer, and this website has a calendar and
more information about the city. Lubbock is 117
miles due north of Midland.
- Balmorhea
- is 134
miles southwest of us, and has a lot to offer. It has
the Balmorhea
State Park, which has a very unusual "swimming
hole" created by natural springs in the area. You
can even scuba dive, or just swim while being nibbled by
the fishies.
- Carlsbad,
New Mexico
- Everyone's heard of Carlsbad Caverns, haven't they? Visit
the Carlsbad
National Park and go deep into the earth, walk
through some spectacular caves, and stay for the bat
flight. There are lots of other things to do in the
surrounding area as well, including a summer-time
amusement park. (149
miles.)
- Abilene
- One of our favorite places to visit because we love the zoo
with its giraffe bridge where you get to feed animal
crackers right to the giraffes and get a look at their
blue (stinky) tongues right up close. The landscaping
with native plants is also impressive, and we always have
a good time. The whole town is quite pretty and I am
especially fond of the big O'Keefe-ish steer skull placed
on the green next to a railroad track. (150
miles east and a little north of us.)
- Fort Davis
- Fort Davis is located 170
miles southwest of Midland. The Davis Mountains are
gorgeous, there's a lovely state park here, and the
genuine feel of old Texas abounds. The Fort Davis website
has lots of information and links for more information. A
stay at Indian
Lodge is well worth your time. Also in the area: McDonald
Observatory. I've always wanted to visit the
observatory but have never managed it, though I have
observed the stars at the Texas Star Party on the Prude
Ranch.
- Alpine
- On the way to Big Bed, 173
miles from here.
- Lajitas: Big
Bend
- At 231
miles, through lots of back roads and scenic areas,
this is my #1 most recommended destination for anyone
even mildly interested in natural wonders. Big Bend
National Park has to be the most overlooked park in
the national system. The bare bones of the earth show
through here, and there are so many environments
contained in this area it is truly stunning. For more
information about the area, try The Big Bend Quarterly. I
guess if you can't make it you could take a Virtual
Tour but nothing's as impressive as seeing it, acre
upon hundreds of acres, live and in person.
- Amarillo
- We really enjoy camping in Palo
Duro Canyon, which is a sort of miniature Grand
Canyon. They have horseback riding there, as well as the
musical play, Texas,
which I hope to see when my kids are a little older.
Amarillo also has a Discovery
Center filled with wonderful things for kids to do
with bubblestuff and music and other hands-on toys, an amusement
park, and even a small zoo. (241
miles pretty much due north of us.)
- Del Rio
- The Amistad National
Recreation Area includes Lake Amistad where
you can find boat rentals, fishing, swimming, hiking, and
a whole lot more.. (246
miles mostly south, but a little east of us.)
- El Paso
- Isn't exactly close to us (being 307
miles west of us), but it's the biggest city in West
Texas. It has an Amusement Park,
among many other attractions.
- West
Texas State Parks
- (West and south of us) can be found here.
- Panhandle
Parks
- (North of us) can be found here.
- Hill
Country Parks
- (East and south of us) can be found here.
- Other
Events
- Here's a page that offers links to other local places of
interest. Some of these are really excellent to visit.
- Scarborough Faire
- In Waxahachie, south of Dallas, in April and May, folks dress up in 16th
century European costumes and relive the fun of a medieval festival (with
modern perks, like flush toilets and fajitas).
Texas (Some State-Wide Info)
Do you have a website that fits on this page? Please email
me.
Copyright ©1999 Linda Blanchard All Rights
Reserved Worldwide. Date Added: November 21, 1998. Last Update: January 07, 2009.