It's day three in Abilene and it's our last day in this charming town. Daylight savings set in on this day making us even more exhausted than we were the night before. This town had so much to offer and we spent every minute of our weekend taking it all in. It may be considered a small town, but there has been nothing small about the amount of things to do and see.
On our last day, we are "walking" the Cowboy Art Trail. And no, it's not really a walking tour. However there are several cowboy boots and murals within walking distance, but to find the majority of the pieces, we drove to their locations. And the printable map was the perfect guide to get us there. Let's start with the Cowboy Boots. For those of us here in Kansas City, it's much like the Cow Parade or the Parade of Hearts. However, the boots are permanent. The Cowboy Boot project was developed to pay homage to T.C. McInerney's Drovers Boot Store from the 1870s. They used an ad for inspiration to design the boot itself. Check out the ad here.
(Rose Garden Cowboy Boot)
(Moooo Cowboy Boot)
(Patriotism Cowboy Boot)
(History of Farming Cowboy Boot)
(Crazy Quilt Cowboy Boot)
(Sister City Cowboy Boot)
(Mud Creek Cowboy Boot)
(Wild Bill Hickok Cowboy Boot)
(Varsity Letter Cowboy Boot)
The World's Largest Belt Buckle, located in Eisenhower Park, was named "Best Roadside Attraction" in 2023! The structure was designed by local artist Jason Lahr, of Fluter's Creek Metal Works, and was unveiled in December of 2022. The buckle features Dwight D. Eisenhower, Wild Bill Hickok, Abilene & Smoky Valley Railroad, Historic Seelye Mansion, C.W. Parker carousel horse, C.L. Brown telephone, a racing Greyhound, and Chisholm Trail longhorn all inlaid with blue quartz. It stands at 19 feet 10.5 inches wide and 13 feet 11 1/4 inches tall. It's massive!
The buckle project was funded by a Kansas Tourism Attraction Development grant and donations from 100 businesses and individuals. Fun note, the buckle earned nationwide attention when Jefferson White, "Jimmy" from the hit show Yellowstone, shared about the project. You must take the time to climb the stairs and checkout the view!
Lastly, the Big Spur is a must see! The spur is 28 feet high and stands on its ends to form an arch. It weighs one ton! Makes for a perfect photo op!! Built by Larry Hourston in 2002, it was certified as the World's Largest Spur by Guinness Book of World Records in 2017.
The spur was the last thing we saw before heading out of town. Again, I can't express how much fun we had in Abilene! It is a must for your weekend getaway this summer! Again, a huge thank you to the City of Abilene for hosting us and to Julie Roller for planning out the most wonderful agenda! We will be back soon!
XO,
Andrea
P.S. This was a sponsored post, but the comments and photos are my own.
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