When he was young, my Dad made a model Sputnik space capsule from my grandmother’s knitting needles and a head of lettuce, all wrapped in aluminum foil,…which probably stunk up his room after a while! My Dad inspired my fascination with space and the space program so Houston was on my definitive list of places to visit while in Texas.
We stayed at Pearwood RV Park, an RV “resort” that was very large and quite busy in late February, but well kept, surprisingly quiet at night, and within easy striking distance of all the activities below. The area near the RV park is not bike friendly because two-way roads are narrow with high-speed traffic and no bike lane, but the surrounding homes are really beautiful so come into the RV park from a few different directions to view them.
ROCKETS AT SPACE CENTER HOUSTON
Whenever we’re hiking, particularly in mountainous areas, I often think about the brass cajones of those pioneering men and women that made the homesteading journey. Similarly, I’m in awe of the men who took tremendous risk in hope of great reward to venture into space. These pioneers are amazing!
From the parking lot of Space Center Houston, you can see a Space Shuttle sitting atop the NASA modified Boeing 747. It’s time to get excited!
We purchased our tickets in advance, but even when you do this, you’ll want to download their free app that allows you to purchase Tram Tickets over to the NASA Johnson Space Center. This quick tram ride takes you to an Apollo Rocket and provides the history of all the Apollo missions which were much more extensive than we had remembered. There were 3 unmanned Apollo test flights (201, 202, and 2013) that occurred before the tragic Apollo 204 fire that occurred in 1967 on the launch pad. Following the fire, the Apollo hardware was modified, and Apollo 204 became known as Apollo 1 to honor the fallen crew’s memory (Gus Grissom, Ed White, and Roger B. Chaffee). No flights were called Apollo 2 or 3 and 4,5, and 6 were unmanned.
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- Apollo 7 was the first successfully manned mission – it orbited the Earth 163 times in October 1968.
- Apollo 8, 9, and 10 tested getting to the moon and using the equipment.
- Apollo 11 was the first lunar landing.
- Apollo 12 was the 2nd lunar landing
- Apollo 13 is the famed “Hey Houston, we’ve had a problem here” (James A. Lovell, Jr. quote) mission. They had an oxygen tank explosion. Unable to land, they orbited the moon and then used the Lunar Module to provide emergency propulsion and life support.
- Apollo 14, 15, 16 supported lunar landings 3, 4, and 5.
- Apollo 17 was the final lunar landing in December of 1972.
Back in the main building there are multiple exhibits, including scheduled presentations by astronauts which should not be missed:
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- Starship Gallery provides the history of the space program including Mercury capsules, Gemini capsules, moon rovers, etc.
- ISS Exhibit is a model of the International Space Station (ISS) which has been used continuously for the last 21 years. Their related talk describes the internal workings of the lab inside and day-to-day life for the astronauts (which had a lot of similarities to RV living, even though it’s the size of a football field).
- Astronaut Gallery provides pictures of the crew, space suits, etc. It’s in this area where you can attend an astronaut talk. We heard from and saw personal photos from Rick Hieb who flew on 3 Space Shuttle missions – a real highlight.
- Main Plaza has seasonal exhibits and we saw information about planned missions to Mars.
Just outside is Independence Plaza, where you can go inside the Space Shuttle and the NASA 905 aircraft (a modified Boeing 747) that transports it to learn all about the Shuttle program.
The displays here and well done and the history is fantastic. Did you know or remember that there were:
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- 135 Space Shuttle Missions between 1981 and 2011
- 5 shuttle orbiters – Columbia, Challenger, Discovery, Atlantis, and Endeavor – each designed and built to make up to 100 flights before needing to be retired
- 157 space walks
- 852 crew members, including 2 female Shuttle commanders (Pamela Melroy and Eileen Collins)
- 24,300 tiles protecting each orbiter from the 3,000 degree Fahrenheit temperature due to friction during reentry into Earth’s atmosphere
- 37,000,000 equivalent horsepower generated by the 3 Space Shuttle main engines and speeds of 17,500mph in orbit and reentry
- 1,323 total days spent in space by crew members and Shuttles travelled 542,398,878 miles through the duration of the program
If you’ve even bothered to read this far in my geeky account of how great this center was…one, congratulations, and two, you are clearly interested in the space program and its history, so this is a must-do in Houston!
RODEO HOUSTON
Rodeo Houston was serendipitous, but I would return to Houston for a weekend getaway just to attend it a second time! We had no idea that this was going to be happening the weekend we were in Houston, but once we heard about it and the fact that they were celebrating 150 years, we saddled up our horse and we rode into the city.
Whether you’ve ever been to a rodeo or not, you’ll want to attend this one. They claim to be the largest livestock exhibition and rodeo in the world!
Rodeo Houston started in 1932 and has steadily grown over time. In 2017 it drew in over 2.6 million visitors during the 20-day event. It currently requires over 33,000 volunteers and includes one of the richest regular-seasoned profession rodeo events. This means the best riders are there to compete and boy-howdy do they!
The roping, bull riding, and barrel racing were top notch!
Plus, for the price of admission, you can stay for the nightly concert.
This rodeo draws in some big-name performers for their nightly entertainment. Gene Autry, Roy Rogers, Elvis, Reba McEntire, George Strait, Dolly Parton, Alison Krauss, Shania Twain, Taylor Swift, Brad Pasiley, and Tim McGraw have all played here. We saw Keith Urban, one of our favorites! Our seats were phenomenal, as was Keith! Best concert deal you’ll ever get!
We weren’t into the carnival but that’s available as well along with tons of animal exhibits and the livestock competitions and sales. Don’t be surprised if while you’re just walking around a spontaneous line dance breaks out when a song comes on that people like.
So cowboy-up and make plans to visit when Rodeo Houston is in progress. You won’t be disappointed.
RIDE TO RARITIES IN THE MUSEUM DISTRICT
Just southwest of downtown Houston lies its “Museum District”. This beautiful section of Houston is home to 20 museums, galleries, cultural centers, and community organizations due to a grassroots community movement in the late 1970s.
We accessed this pretty tree-lined area via a bike path through Hermann Park. This massive 445-acre park boasts a golf course, a children’s railroad, family garden, sculpture garden, a statue of Sam Houston and much more.
We spent half a day in the Museum of Fine Arts and with its underground connecting tunnels and multiple floors it wasn’t enough time to see all the exhibits and rarities it had to offer. It was difficult to fathom that this was just 1 of the 20 museums in the area! Whether you’re interested in natural science, contemporary art, the Buffalo Soldiers, children’s museum, sculptures, Rothko, or American cowboys, there is a museum for you in Houston.
A pretty walk or ride through the park, followed by some art and food in the Museum District is a wonderful way to spend a day in Houston.
Houston is the most populous city in Texas and the fourth-most populous city in the US so there are a multitude of ways to spend your time, but these 3 give you a sense of the city. Its deep roots lie in the rodeo, technological contributions at Space Center Houston, and cultural variety in the Museum District (and, of course, oil – but we’ll leave that for our next visit).
Houston is too large for us to consider retiring here, but it’s a wonderful place to visit. There is plenty to experience outside the walls of its massive airport hub, which is the only thing we’d seen of Houston prior to this visit. Definitely stop if you’re in your RV, consider flying in for a weekend getaway, or even extending your business layover in the area, if you get the chance.
