Happy Sunday from Waco. It's not just Magnolia.

I spent the week in Waco. Yeah, I know, first question is "did you go to Magnolia?" Yep, I did, but I gotta say, I don't get the attraction. And that's not why I went. There's a whole lot more going on there.

The Silos on a Thursday! And this isn't even the air conditioned part.

Don't get me wrong, I'm a fan of Fixer Upper. I've watched all the episodes. And while Joanne's decorating style isn't really my cup of tea, the work they did on those houses really looked good.

And what they've done for Waco is impressive. They've made this place a destination, and that's good for the city. A whole lot of folks come here for Magnolia, and some of them want to know what else is there to see and do.

And the other stuff is why I went. I particularly wanted to see two things: The Texas Rangers Hall of Fame and Museum, and the Dr Pepper museum. But I found a couple more cool things.

For years, I've done a "drive by" on Waco. Growing up and living in Dallas for so many years, Waco was just a spot on I35 we blew through on the way to Austin, Corpus, New Braunfels, whatever. Or on the way back, it's biggest contribution was "we're almost to West! Yum, Kolaches." I saw the signs for the Texas Rangers museum, but never stopped. I was in too much of a hurry to get where I was going.

You know what? I missed a lot. And this week I made up for it.

A little on the city itself. Waco is the county seat of Mclennan County. It is on the Brazos river, and get it's name from the Waco (or Huaco) Indians that were living here when Europeans first moved into the area.

Waco is home to Baylor University, the aforementioned museums, and Waco Mammoth National Monument, home of the only mammoth nursery heard in the world. It's also where two of the South's favorite soft drinks - Dr Pepper and Big Red - were invented.

The Texas Ranger Museum and Hall of Fame is dedicated to preserving the history of the oldest crime fighting organization in Texas, having been founded by Stephen F. Austin in 1823, before Texas was a Republic.

The Rangers have a storied history, not all good though. Some of the more famous events include the arrest of notorious gunman John Wesley Hardin and the killing of Sam Bass, as well as the killing of Bonnie and Clyde.

During the range wars, the Rangers were tasked with stopping cattle ranchers from cutting farmer's fences to allow their cattle to roam free. You see, Texas is a pretty dry state. Cattle needed to be able to move from area to area to keep the grass from being over grazed. Of course, farmers weren't fans or cattle destroying their crops.

The problem got so bad that the Rangers actually started working with the ranchers to convince them that fencing their cattle in made it easier to keep track of them, and by using windmills to get water, they didn't need to worry so much about the grass.

They also worked with the federal government during Prohibition and World War II. In fact, by WWII, the Rangers reputation was such that the German army were afraid that the Airborne Rangers parachuting in were actually Texas Rangers!

There have been dark periods in the history of the Rangers. In the early days, because of the vast frontier in Texas, the Rangers were forced hire "irregulars" to perform the protection duties of their charter in the more remote areas. Not all of these men were of the highest caliber. Give authority and power to someone with a less than altruistic attitude, and bad things are bound to happen.

In one particularly horrid episode, Rangers, along with U.S. Calvary soldiers and local ranchers killed 15 unarmed Mexican men and boys near Presidio in 1918. But this is just perhaps the most notorious of actions that occurred during the time of the "Loyalty Rangers", a group that grew out of an attempt to stave off the raids and destruction caused as an offshoot of the Mexican Revolution from 1910-1920.

Then governor James "Pa" Ferguson had ordered a team of Rangers to the southern border to protect the area from raids by Mexican revolutionaries such as Pancho Villa. The response got out of hand, and it was later revealed that as many as 5000 Mexicans had died at the hands of Loyalty Rangers and others.

There are a lot of myths about the Rangers that only go to support their reputation. Probably the most famous is "One Riot, One Ranger."

One story goes in 1896 an illegal prize fight was held on an island in the Rio Grande near El Paso. The attendees started to get rowdy, and the Mayor called for help from the Rangers. When Captain William "Bill" McDonald stepped off the train, the mayor was jubilant to see him, but when he noticed the Captain was alone he asked "where are the rest?" To which McDonald replied "Hell, there's only one fight, all you need is one Ranger."

In reality, the fight was so popular that practically all of the Rangers where there, as was Batt Masterson and Judge Roy Bean, among others.

Ira Aten's "Boom"

One rumor I really liked concerned the range war: At the museum there is a diorama showing a barbed wire fence. In the front of the fence, in a shallow hole are several sticks of dynamite and a rifle. The rifle is pointed at the doynamite, and a string runs from the trigger to one of the fence posts. Nobody knows if Ranger Ira Aten ever actually set one of his "booms" up, but it no doubt would have been effective!

Today, the Rangers act as the official Texas state bureau of investigation. Saddles and horses are still a part of the standard kit, but so are microscopes and fingerprint powder. They act as protection for the governor, apprehension agents for fugitives and investigators of major crimes such as kidnapping and murder.

The museum is open daily from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm except Thanksgiving and Christmas Day. It contains personal effects from Rangers, examples of firearms and investigative tools and there is a 45 minute video on the history of the Rangers.

Also on the grounds are the Armstrong Texas Ranger Research Center and the headquarters for Texas Ranger Company F (no jokes, here guys).

This post is getting long winded, even for me. I'll save the rest of my Waco trip for later.

I've heard from Dynamax. The rig has been cleared for delivery. I talked to the dealership on Saturday, but they hadn't heard yet when they'll get it. I'm headed to Dallas next week, mainly just to rest up and say hey to the clan. Maybe it'll be ready while I'm there (picture me with my fingers, toes and eyes crossed.)

Later, folks.