An organization west of Uvalde is using retired war-time weapons to create one of the ultimate outdoor experiences.
Drive two hours west of San Antonio, and you travel much farther back in time.
Drivetanks.com is far more than its name. It's a living museum dedicated to the greatest generation, the men and women who fought and won World WarII.
“Well if you noticed here, we have no barricades. If people want to take a gun from our cadre, they can take a picture with a gun. They can go inside the tanks, these are fully operational vehicles so they can actually see how the crews and what they were inside," Todd Degidio, CEO, Drivetanks.com.
The 18,000-acre ox ranch, outside Uvalde is home to more than a dozen tanks, and other military equipment, that once fired at one another... Including the only fully operational Sherman "easy 8" tank in existence.
What makes this place so different, and totally worth the drive itself is you can not only get up close and physically touch things, you can literally climb inside history.
"And everything in here works?"
"Yes, sir! The radio, the co-ax machine guns to your left, the main gun. Everything in here is fully functional," said Degidio.
But it's not just weapons. It's a fascinating walk through a very dark chapter of history, including both sides... Even artifacts from such horrible places like Dachau and Auschwitz.
"We started collecting tanks several years back," said Degidio.
Degidio and his stepson run and own the ranch. Being defense contractors, what began as a hobby quickly became a business idea.
"When we made out Sherman, which is a very iconic tank for World War II live, and we started developing loads and firing it was an actual, amazing, hair on the back of your neck stand up thing and we thought people would love to do this," said Degidio.
Now they have people come from across the world to drive tanks or shoot every kind of fully automatic weapon you can think of...even use a flamethrower.
If you're interested in checking it out, go to their website, www.drivetanks.com.