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Located on Interstate 35 between Dallas and Austin, is Waco. This city is full of Texas history and hospitality.

Waco has 18 museums and attractions that offer visitors a chance to learn and relax in a big city with a small town feel.

One attraction is the Bear Habitat. This habitat is located on the Baylor University campus. The habitat has a waterfall, pool, digging holes and trees, all for the bears who live at the habitat. Visitors can learn and watch how the bears live. This exhibit is the most visited attraction on the Baylor campus.

Cameron Park Zoo is a natural habitat zoo. Not all cages and cement like most zoos keep their animals in. Visitors will see tortoises, birds from Africa, and lion cubs.

Another popular attraction in Waco is the Dr. Pepper Museum. Waco is the home of the oldest major soft drink, Dr. Pepper; the soft drink was created in 1885.

Visitors can tour the museum and see the recreated soda fountain where Dr. Charles Alderton first mixed the flavors that make up Dr. Pepper. In the exhibit, a life size animatronic, life-size Dr. Alderton tells the story his invention.

The museum also showcases the original Dr. Pepper bottling company, including the well in which they drew their artesian spring water.

The Dr. Pepper Museum also has the Soft Drink Hall of Fame. A part of the museum dedicated to educating visitors about free enterprise, product development and marketing. The museum also has a gift shop, where every kind of Dr. Pepper memorabilia can be found.

Waco is also home of the Mammoth Site. It is the largest known concentration of prehistoric mammoths dying from the same event.

Texas Ranger Hall of Fame is also located in Waco. This museum is the official State Hall of Fame for Texas Rangers Law Enforcement Agency. For visitors who love history, the Texas Ranger Research Center houses books, archives and photographs related to the Texas Rangers. Visitors can read about Texas Rangers bringing down Bonnie and Clyde and much more.

Visitors can also find collections such as Bonnie and Clyde's shot guns, which were confiscated from the "death car" after the final shoot out. The firearms that the Texas Rangers used are also on display.

Waco is also home of the Texas Sports Hall of Fame. Visitors can learn about Texas athletes who have succeed on and off the playing field. The sports hall of fame includes athletes in Tennis, high school football, high school basketball. Visitors can also visit the Tom Landry Theater and watch clips from some of Texas' greatest sports moments, as well as compare shoe and hand sizes with some of the greatest Texas sports players.

Waco has a variety of golf courses available to play on as well and the city has its own water park. Waco Water Park has two pools, a 22 foot water slide and much more.

Next time you are traveling through Waco, stop and visit and learn some of Texas' history.


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It all began back in 1938; founders were on a mission to promote youth education and preserve the western heritage. Back then, all there was to the rodeo was a baby beef show held at West 11th Street and Congress Avenue.

In 1977, the baby beef show became the Austin Travis County Livestock Show. A lot has changed and grown in 71 years; including its positive influence on the economy.

In 1983 the board of directors sold donated land and raise $4.5 million in donations to build a new and permanent facility. In May of that year, voters approved a 50 year lease on 128 acres of the Walter E Long Municipal Park.

Each year youth from all around Texas come to Austin to show their animals, everything from dairy cows, bulls, chickens, pigs and steer. Scholarships are awarded to students who place in the shows, to help further their education.

In 1985 the livestock show and rodeo held its first bar-be-que cook off auction and raised over $15,000 in scholarships. $54,000 in college scholarships were also awarded to 50 students that year.

In 1998, the board made a decision to only allow students in Travis County's seven surrounding counties to compete in competitive aspects of the show, beginning in the year 2000.

Since then, the Star of Texas Fair and Rodeo has exploded into a huge event, complete with entertainers such as Josh Turner, Kellie Pickler, Eli Young Band and many more including some rock and pop band performers. There is also a carnival, complete with Ferris wheel and cotton candy, and plenty of food.

The Star of Texas Fair and Rodeo organization contributes over $1.5 million each year to the youth of Texas with the help of over 2,500 volunteers.

The Star of Texas superior entertainment and shows, while pumping a whopping $54 million into the Austin economy each year. The fair and rodeo is also the world's 6th largest indoor, regular season pro rodeo.

Each year top cowboys and cowgirls travel to Austin to compete in bull riding, roping, barrel racing and extreme bull riding.

The Fair also hosts a Commercial Food Exhibit. Students bake, cook and create foods that are judged on taste, looks and creativity. The winners are auctioned off to the highest bidders.

The Texas Fair and Rodeo is an important part of Texas and its economy. It also helps thousands of students achieve a higher education by giving away scholarships to colleges and by helping students and families afford to purchase livestock and feed for the next year.

A lot of work goes into the fair and rodeo, as well as the care and showman ship of the livestock.

It is estimated that 300,000 people attend the fair and rodeo each year, with all the proceeds being pumped back into the Texas economy. Restaurants, hotels, stores all see an increase of business during the fair. In addition, to helping boost the Texas economy and providing scholarships its a great way for people to learn about farming and livestock.

Inside Dallas helps buyers in Dallas Texas. Their site is filled with information about Dallas Texas real estate. It also provides information on Dallas real estate blog and a free search for Dallas Texas homes.

The latest statistics for the Dalls real estate market show a decent improvement from last month. The number of sales jumped from 2241 to 2916. While sales usually increase from January to February we also saw an improvement when look at the year over year change. In January sales were down 30.12 year over year. In February we are down 24.59% compared to the same time last year. So while the market is still down its certainly an improvement. The months of inventory is at 6.3 which makes this still a buyer's market but its still considerably better than markets in California and Florida. Inside Dallas real estate helps people looking for properties in Dallas Texas. Their site has a Dallas real estate blog and a search of Dallas Homes

Here are the statistics for the Dallas real estate blog. There were a total of 2241 sales in January. Sales were down 38 percent compared to 2 years ago and total sales were the lowest since 1999. The Median price was down 8.76 percent. The months of inventory is still pretty decent at 6.1 months of inventory on the market. Next month we will be able to see if this was a monthly blip or if we are in for a few more down months.
You can read more at our Dallas Real Estate Blog stats provided by Dallas Texas Real Estate

Dallas ended the year on a relatively sour note. More homes sold in December than in November, but this was a drop from 2007. The loss cemented a loss for the year. Every month, except September, saw a drop from the previous year’s sales. And, every month had a double-digit drop from its 2006 counterpart.



There is a similar picture emerging in average and median home prices. Although these prices went up from November 2008, they are still down from 2007 and part of a trend of loss in 2008. There was a 3.6 percent drop in the average home price, and a 3.25 percent drop in the median price from December 2007. Overall, the average price of home sales was down 2.6 percent from 2007. The median price was down 2.63 percent for the year.
You can read more at our Dallas Real Estate Blog stats provided by Dallas Real Estate