This audio tour tells entertaining tales along the popular I-20 route, between Abilene and Fort Worth. It has been anxiously awaited since the production of the original Windshield History CD that brought the wide open spaces between Fort Worth and Abilene to life in July 2006.

Enjoying the newest edition is simple. Travelers can continue to pop in the same quality CDs into their vehicles and entertain and educate themselves with dynamic stories about the Texas Frontier. The audio CDs are an ideal way to explore and comprehend parts of Texas in a whole new way. Passengers in your car will not only be entertained by the colorful characters, but will come away with a realization that so much history has occurred right off the highway—in places they may have passed several times! Just like its counterpart, Windshield History: Audio Tour II is educational, entertaining and appropriate for all ages—it is sure to keep everyone occupied while driving those long Texas miles. 

Abilene’s Castle Sound Productions produced the CD, with owner Michael Henry Martin voicing the narration, creating original music and adding sound effects. Many local professionals volunteered their time to voice the historical characters featured in the script.

Abilene’s own Mayor Norm Archibald plays the part of actor and philosopher, Will Rogers, who describes where the “west” begins. Texas Rep. Susan King, lent her voice for the role of a Weatherford gal named Ellen Bowie Holland, who is sure to bring smiles and laughter all around. Additional educational and entertaining routes include: Buffalo Gap and the “Future Great” Abilene; Conrad Hilton and Santa Bandits; Ranger Booms with Oil; Thurber Home to Miners and Cowboys; Crossing the Brazos; Fort Worth: Cattle, Cowboys, and Culture; and much more!

Windshield History: Tales of the Texas Frontier Audio Tour II Abilene to Fort Worth Interstate 20 is available for only $6 at the Abilene Convention and Visitors Bureau, Frontier Texas!, the Texas Store at Buffalo Gap Historic Village and Texas Star Trading Co. or online at www.texasstartrading.com. The original production, Windshield History: Tales of the Texas Frontier from Fort Worth to Abilene, An Audio Tour of the Immigrants Trail West, tells tales along the back routes—U.S. Hwy 180 and TX Hwy 351. It is still available for only $6 at the locations listed above.

Windshield History: Tales of the Texas Frontier Audio Tour II Abilene to Fort Worth Interstate 20 is the subsequent audio production produced through the Cultural & Heritage Tourism Program, an initiative of the Abilene Convention and Visitors Bureau and the Abilene Cultural Affairs Council. Don Frazier, Ph.D., executive director of the McWhiney Historic Research Foundation, served as chairman of the project. Frazier, along with Robert F. Pace, Ph.D., scripted both versions.

Next time you set out to travel the trails of Texas, don’t leave home without the Windshield History CDs. Get your copies today! For more information about the Windshield History CDs, please call (325) 676-2556. For more information about all of Abilene’s attractions and events, log on to www.abilenevisitors.com or call (325) 676-2556.


Shanna Smith is the Heritage Tourism & Special Projects Coordinator at the Abilene Convention and Visitors Bureau. Contact at shanna@abilene.com