San Antonio, Texas: Buckhorn Saloon, Museum, and Texas Ranger Museum

Treasure-filled freak show -- "Five Museums in One" it boasts -- with stuffed animals, horn and antler art, and weird wonders since the 1880s. Enjoy a beer while you admire a cathedral made of 50,000 matchsticks; an 8-legged, 3-eared lamb; and a replica Bonnie and Clyde Death Car.

So many photo ops! A vast collection of taxidermy, antler art, a mosaic made from rattlesnake tails, a freak show, and gallery of optical illusions. Fun place to spend half an hour. The bar is free and is kitschy itself.

Outside the Buckhorn Saloon. Inside they have a "Zoltar" fortune telling machine! Tickets were pricey so we didn't take the tour but still a great stop. Lots to see for free in the bar/gift shop.

The fascinating Buckhorn Hall of Horns is a block from the River Walk and a few blocks from the Alamo. The antler ceiling entrance opens into a tall saloon room; the museums wrap around and continue on the second floor. A hostess assured us that visitors can still stroll the exhibits with drink in hand. Since our last visit, the collection has incorporated the Texas Ranger Museum but the wax figures depicting historical scenes have been retired.

The wax museum is gone now, replaced with a Texas Ranger wing. Still, a great place to see rattlesnake art.