Once again I did some traveling for work. This time I had to spend the weekend in Oklahoma City. Saturday was spent in the office, but I managed to get Sunday free. The local railroad museum was closed, so I followed up on a suggestion from my buddy Rich to check out the National Cowboy Museum. It did not disappoint!

In the middle of the museum, the generic frontier town of "Prosperity" has been faithfully re-created. The setting is early morning, just before daybreak. When I got there, I was the only person around... essentially, I had the town to myself.

The town, complete with sound effects, is strikingly real. Didn't take much imagination to feel like I was really there and hearing my boots on the wood sidewalks sure helped the illusion!

Inside the recreated Union Pacific Depot

Freight Room in the Depot

Waiting room

Outside the Depot sits a UP Stock Car

Looking down the main street from the Depot

Prosperity Depot

UP Stock Car

Rumor has it that Rich Murray works here when he creates the quarterly newsletter for Friends of the Cumbres & Toltec!

Stables

I half expected to see Raylan Givens walk out...

... or perhaps, Wyatt Earp.

Marshalls Office

Jail

The General Store was WELL stocked

Local Church

Bank

School House

Lots of neat details here

My mother has a sewing machine EXACTLY like this

Inside the church

View from the Pulpit

Hymnal

Main Street looking back towards the Depot

A soundtrack of a train arriving came on that sounded suspiciously like it was recorded on the Durango & Silverton

The greatest US President in my lifetime... at least so far...

US Calvary

Hunting Buffalo

Could almost be my closet... =)

Cowboy camp on the frontier

Native Americans used these to carry infants.

This was especially poignant as I was sorely missing my 11 month old son, Noah.

Map of Native American Lands/Territories

All-in-all, it's an extremely impressive collection and these photos don't do it justice.

I highly recommend taking a look for yourself.