Examine the works and artifacts of literary couple Robert and Elizabeth Barrett Browning at the Armstrong Browning Library at 710 Speight Avenue on the Baylor University campus. The collection includes books, manuscripts, paintings, sculptures and Browning family furniture. The building itself is lavish and features 54 stained glass windows.
Get the kids and go to Cameron Park Zoo at 1701 North Fourth Street. Open daily, this 52-acre space features such zoo favorites as rhinos, giraffes, elephants, lions, tigers, monkeys, exotic birds and reptiles. Its most innovative offering is the Brazos River Country section, which shows visitors the various wildlife and eco-systems in and along the Brazos River, from the Gulf of Mexico to well north of Waco.
Learn everything there is to know about America's oldest soft drink at the Dr. Pepper Museum and Free Enterprise Institute at 300 South Fifth Street. There are exhibits on the history and development of the drink, an old-time soda fountain, collections of bottles and advertisements, reconstructions of buildings associated with Dr. Pepper, a theater that runs old Dr. Pepper television commercials, temporary exhibits on the history of the beverage industry and displays extolling the benefits of the free enterprise system.
Immerse yourself in the history of the state's most famous law enforcement body at the Texas Ranger Hall of Fame and Museum at 102 Texas Ranger Trail. Here you'll learn about such legendary figures as Frank Hamer, Jack Hays, Rip Ford, Sul Ross, Ben McCullough and Bigfoot Wallace, and examine weaponry, badges, equipment and other memorabilia. There's a library and archives on the premises, which is a great place to research Texas history and genealogy, but it's best to set an appointment if you want to use the materials.
Visit the Texas Sports Hall of Fame at 1108 South University Parks Drive to learn all about such athletic greats as Nolan Ryan, Earl Campbell, Rogers Hornsby, Roger Staubach, Lee Trevino, Jack Johnson, A.J. Foyt and Ben Hogan. There are sections devoted to Texas players, coaches, owners and managers, as well as ones for tennis and high school football, baseball and and basketball.
Head out to "Bush Country"--the "Western White House" of George W. Bush in Crawford, Texas. Though several miles out of Waco proper, Crawford is still part of metropolitan Waco. The town is very pro-Bush and features a few gift shops and cafes. If you want to protest, you'd do better just driving through because it won't be appreciated by the locals. To get to the general vicinity of the ranch, go northwest from Crawford on Prairie Chapel Road, make a right on Rainey Road and a left on Mill Road. You won't get onto the ranch itself or even really close to it, but you can get a feel for the region.
Satisfy your morbid curiosity about Waco's most notorious claim to fame by driving out to the former Branch Davidian compound of David Koresh and his followers. Take Loop 340 east of town, exit on Elk Road, follow Elk Road to the left when the road forks, turn left on Double EE Ranch Road and look for the stone marker announcing "The Branch." There's really not much to see apart from a small stone monument to the dead and a wooden structure, a sort of glorified bulletin board, with laminated broadsides and flyers attached. All the other buildings on the property have burned down.
