Waking up in a new city is an exciting feeling. I look out the window and see a different view from the comfort of our RV home and the day is full of adventure ahead. It is a blank slate of new experiences and I can’t wait to soak it all up with my family at my side.
With all the fun and excitement a unique city has to offer, I quickly have to think about what is most important for us to visit. As a “tourist” in a new area we want to go and see all a town has to offer, but on the other hand with a traveling “lifestyle” you can’t be a tourist all the time.
You would go through a lot of your funds that way and if you are like us, you are on a budget. The answer for us is to plan out all we would like to do and see in an area and decide what is most important to us as a family. This makes it very difficult to say NO to some of the fun things a new place offers, but there are always free alternatives to check out.
Arriving in Dallas, I had a full list of stuff to do in this beautiful city. We narrowed it down to what would be a fun experience the whole family could enjoy and what meant the most to us during this stop along our journey. Here is a look at what Dallas has to offer for this traveling family and yours.
Sometimes the best things in life are free. Walk around and enjoy the views our beautiful cities ad towns have to offer. Parks are usually a great place to start if you are looking for fun and free things to do around the city. Here are a couple to check out if you catch yourself in Dallas.
Pioneer Plaza is a large public park located in downtown Dallas, Texas. This park contains 49 six feet high bronze steer and 3 trail rider sculptures that commemorates the 19th century cattle drives that took place in Texas. Altogether, this makes up the largest bronze monument of it’s kind in the world.
This focal point for the city, is a beautiful way to represent the historical significance of the trails that brought early settlers to Dallas. This unique park is the second most visited landmark in downtown Dallas runner up to Dealey Plaza. Together with Pioneer Park Cemetery, which features a Confederate War Memorial and is next to the plaza, this is the largest public open space in the Dallas central business district. We had a great time strolling through this beautiful park and Hensley loved “feeding the cows”.
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I would suggest researching the history and significance of this park prior to your visit and not while walking through the park. With your head down in your phone, you could run into the horns of these huge bronze cattle.
I am not admitting this tragedy happened to me, I am just suggesting it could happen to you like it did to someone I know. Okay it was me and it didn’t feel good so just a heads up….literally. If you mess with the bull you get the horns people!

Dealey Plaza, which is just a 15 min city walk from Pioneer Plaza, is the location of the assassination of JFK. It was named a National Historic Landmark meaning nothing can be torn down or rebuilt in the immediate area. It is almost as if the area is standing in time just as it was when this event took place.
One of the buildings is the former Texas School Book Depository, which is now know as the Sixth Floor Museum, and is the concluded spot that the rifle was fired that killed President Kennedy. You can purchase tickets to this museum which is located at the very spot the shot was fired according to sources.
Also located in this plaza, is the “grassy knoll”, a term to describe the sloping hill that became famous following the assassination of our President. This place is located on a very busy street. However, it still has a quietness about it even with the noisy traffic flowing by the “X” that is painted on the road representing where the tragic shot took place and ended the life of a former leader of our country. As always, this is one of my favorite spots in Dallas.

Klyde Warren Park is a public park located on the edge of the Art District in downtown Dallas. This a beautiful park providing fun for children with a playground and an area for reading and games. Not to mention, it has a common ground for us grown-up children with jogging trails and amazing scenery.
This park is only a few years old and is very well maintained. Lined up along the street is assorted food trucks that rotate daily giving you a new experience every time you visit. We had to check out one of these trucks giving us a great local experience and the convenience of not leaving the park to enjoy lunch. Can’t beat that.
Perot Museum of Nature and Science – This place was recommend by just about everyone in the Dallas area and was our family splurge for the area. This is a beautiful building with tons of interaction for children and adults of all ages. I am going to be honest here and say with a 21 month old we were not able to explore this museum to it’s full potential. It was a little above her level (and possibly mine if I am being completely honest).
This place had some amazing displays and I can see how people love this place, but we were exploring this museum at the attention span of a toddler and didn’t quite get to give it as much focus as it deserved. She did love exploring after discovering the children’s museum in the basement, which was more age appropriate for our daughter.
In the end, we had a great time! The dinosaur bones at this museum are AMAZING and the highlight of this stop for sure. Although this place can be a little pricey after tickets and parking, it was a neat family stop and we had a good experience.
Living a traveling lifestyle gives us such an amazing experience of exploring new territory. In the end, it doesn’t take fancy restaurants or expensive attractions to have fun as a family. It’s all about being together and spending time with the ones we love. You can travel and spend a lot of money or spend very little money. It’s all about the personal experience you choose and the best route you decide is best for your family.
Lots of state parks offer budget friendly camping and the chance to explore nature at it’s finest. We have found that we like to save money on where we park our RV in exchange for allowing our funds to be put towards more excursion type experiences of exploring the area. Whatever route you choose, just go out and makes some new family memories!
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