La Grange Texas

Since we were driving within an extra 15 minutes of the town, we decided to check out La Grange. The subject of perhaps the most infamous ZZ Top song ever, and the location of the original Chicken Ranch brothel that inspired Dolly Parton’s movie The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, La Grange was founded in 1854 and is a typical old Texas town. Sadly, the Chicken Ranch is long gone, and there is no roadside bling to let you know where it was, and no larger than life statues of ZZ Top. But we enjoyed our visit anyway, and now I can honestly say I have been there!

Talk to you soon!

More Katy

The Woman enjoyed her time with Kendy and Mike, as did I. We hit a bunch of local gems, including the Museum of Natural Science in Sugar Land Texas, another upscale suburb of Houston. Housed in the old Central State Prison Farm building constructed in 1939, the museum is an interesting mix of dinosaur remains and other prehistoric fossils combined with mineralogical and hands on exhibits.

We also visited San Filipe, a booming town in the early 1800’s. Sam Austin was an activist in San Filipe, and actually spent two years imprisoned in Mexico City for having the audacity of establishing a local government in San Filipe. 

In 1836 as Sam Houston and his Texas troops fell back after the defeat at the Alamo, he came through San Filipe, not wanting to accidentally provide Mexican General Santa Anna any supplies or materials, he ordered the town of San Filipe burned, and it was. We visited the J.J. Josey General Store there, the longest continuously operating general in the state. Built in 1847 after the end of the Mexican American War, it was continuously operated as a general store until 1942.

We also visited a Texas landmark, Buckeyes. A truck stop on steroids, Texans love Buckeyes. We drove through the stop, and found gas pump number 260 – can you believe 260 gas pumps! Our daughter Karen, a Texan at heart, told us to be sure to get one of their kolaches, which we failed to do. But we did gawk at the Guinness World Record holding longest car wash in the world. Great fun!

Talk to you soon!

Katy Texas

Our only reason for being in Katy Texas was so the Woman could give thanks with her good friends, Kendy and Mike. Kendy was the first friend the Woman made in Las Vegas back in August of 1995 when we moved there, so she holds a very special place in the Woman’s heart. Not far from Kendy and Mike’s house is Katy Lake RV Park, and we get to have this view out Colectiva’s windshield all day, every day.

The Pooch really likes his strolls around the small lake in the middle of the RV park. We actually enjoy them as well, not in part as a result of the abundant birds that seem to enjoy the lake as well. Every day we take in Cormorants, Egrets and a host of other aquatic and non-aquatic birds. It’s a real treat!

Talk to you soon!

Beaumont Texas

We visited our first National Preserve. In fact, it turns out that Big Thicket National Preserve about 20 miles North of Beaumont, was the first National Preserve established in the US. Often described as one of the most biodiverse areas in the World outside of the tropics, Big Thicket has been designated as a Biosphere Reserve by UNESCO.

We learned that the way the Big Thicket looks today is not that different than it looked 10s of thousands of years ago. During the ice age, most species anywhere North of Arkansas could not adapt to the sheet of ice. Moving South as they could, many of these species ended up in the Big Thicket, which was never covered by ice. Accordingly, many species that would never be found anywhere else in the World in the same area could be, and still can be, found in the Thicket.

Since the ice age, and into the early 1800’s, the Thicket covered nearly 4 million square acres. The Thicket is characterized by forest sized trees of all sort (various pine, various oak, beach magnolia, etc.) and very thick ground cover that made it almost impenetrable by man. We hiked many trails carved out as logging access in the mid-1800’s when White Europeans did their best to harvest the wealth out of the Thicket. By the time some conservation minded clear thinkers got involved to try to preserve this wonder, nearly 97% of it had been plundered. Thankfully, the 3% that remains is pretty impressive.

While the wildflowers are missing in November, we did manage to find an immense grove of Water Pitcher Plants. We’d never seen these guys before and they were very interesting. They emit a sweet scent that attracts insects into their tube-like flower. When the insects get caught in their hair like cilia they fall into a pool of digestive fluid at the bottom. While I had seen carnivorous plants before, I had never seen them growing wild in such huge quantities. Cool!

There are tons of museums in the Beaumont area to the point that we couldn’t possibly take in them all. If we ever get back to the area, we plan to take in the Clifton Steamboat Museum. Although closed the day we could have seen it, the grounds looked Intriguing.

Kona the pooch liked this museum the best. Again, being closed the day we had available we weren’t able to take in the Fire Museum of Texas. But we did get a chance to stop by and see the largest fire hydrant in the World!

We did manage to get a tour of the McFaddin-Ward House. Built in 1905 for William McFaddin, the Beaux-Arts Colonial Revival house (I should say mansion) is nearly 13,000 square feet. Nearly everything about the mansion speaks to the very wealthy ranching family that lived there. In 1919 their daughter Mamie married Carrol Ward, and the newlywed couple moved into the mansion along with the McFaddin family, and spent their entire married life there.

Having lived in the home nearly their entire life, Mamie created a foundation in 1982 to preserve the home. Because of that, nearly all the furniture and furnishings in the home are the originals that the family had used as they lived out their lives here. Not only was the mansion nearly 13,000 square feet, but the carriage house where the family's servants lived was over 8,000. We enjoyed this slice of the past, and would take in this home again if given the chance.

Talk to you soon!

Waco Texas

We headed to Waco for one purpose, to see the National Monument. In 2015, Barack Obama designated the Waco Mammoth site a national monument, and put it under the management of the National Park System. The site is well worth a visit if you ever get anywhere near Waco.

Until the discover of these remains, scientists believed that Mammoths were loners, creatures that lived isolated. They believed that because remains were generally found alone. Here in Waco, they discovered remains of what were clearly a herd of Columbian Mammoth, moms and calves – essentially not unlike the Polar Bear denning site we had witnessed near Churchill Manitoba. At this point, scientists believe that the Columbian Mammoths, much larger than Wooly Mammoths, are the largest land mammals ever to roam North America.

Scientists believe the reason for so many remains here is that the area has been a marshy wetland for thousands of years. Mammoths were likely drawn here by water, but were likely more easily trapped in mud due to their weight and perished. If not for the conditions, a large-scale death event would not likely have occurred here as well.

We also learned that Dr. Pepper soda was originally invented in Wade Morrison’s historic Corner Drug Store in town. Charles Alderton, a druggist, created it by mixing an undisclosed combination of the usual soda fountain flavors in the 1880’s. For a long time, the only way to enjoy a Dr. Pepper was to show up at this Morrison’s Corner Drug Store in Waco.

In the early 1900’s, several investors got together and created the Artesian Manufacturing and Bottling Company to produce and distribute the soda. They apparently picked the site as it sat on a natural artesian spring which provided the early waters for the drink. Today, the Dr. Pepper museum occupies the original bottling plant, and is an interesting collection of all things Pepper, as well as artifacts related to many other non-cola iconic brands, many of which died over the years.

We also found the Waco Suspension Bridge. Built in 1870, it was the longest suspension bridge West of the Mississippi at the time. It was originally a toll bridge as it was the only way to cross the Brazos River without fording it, and folk were happy to pay the freight.

It turns out that the famous Chisholm Trail that brought all the Texas bred steers to the railheads in Kansas in order to get them to East Coast markets actually crossed the Waco Suspension Bridge when it opened. So, now we have walked the entire French Camino de Santiago, a bunch of the Appalachian Trail, the Pacific Crest Trail and the Continental Divide Trail. We can add the Chisholm Trail to that distinguished list.

Talk to you soon!

McKinney Texas

McKinney is essential a Northern suburb of Dallas, but has a rich history and a historic downtown to prove it. Right now, McKinney claims to be the fastest growing community in Texas, and from all the construction we’ve witnessed, we could not challenge that claim.

We walked historic downtown McKinney, surrounding the 1846 Colin County Courthouse. We learned that when the state was established, they tried to organize the creation of counties to be logical. We learned that they attempted to make counties about 1,000 miles square. The tried not to use natural boundaries like rivers, rather the borders were N/S or E/W. The county seat was required to be within 3 miles of the geographic center of the county. There was no town that would meet the rule here, so a town was established. Colin McKinney was a notable Texan worthy of remembrance, so the county was named Colin County, and the seat was named McKinney.

We strolled all the massive Victorian homes that surrounded the central downtown area. The roads were so narrow that most had to be one-way streets. Parking was tough, but the town worked hard to have lots available with plenty of 3-hour free parking available.

We had a wonderful BBQ lunch at Hutchins, supposedly the best BBQ in North Texas for decades. It was set up like Rudy’s, basically just buying meats by the pound, and all kinds of sides available. The only downside was that they had no Shiner Bock to go with the BBQ.

We visited Chester Square, where a local nonprofit has collected some vintage structures that otherwise would have been lost. We strolled through the oldest home in McKinney, built in 1850. We also saw the birthplace of the mother of Lyndon Baines Johnson, although it was a bit sad to see the status of the property currently.

Our personal favorite was this small sign outside a barber shop in downtown McKinney. We think it speaks for itself.

Talk to you soon!

Continuing South

We continue pushing our way South, heading for less cold. While we appreciate our approach toward warmth, we’re not sure that everything about entering the South of the United States warrants our good impressions.

As we stopped near Broken Bow Oklahoma, I missed the turn into our RV park by a bit. So, I looked for a spot wide enough to turn around a 39-foot rig pulling a car. I found the spot, but it was not particularly level – lots of potholes that I had to challenge while still decelerating from highway speeds. Sadly, once you set a 39-foot motorhome swaying, it only gets worse, not better. We have long ago learned that Corel dishes resist breakage, but when they break, they explode! The mess in Colectiva after my failed venture took a great deal of time to clean up, and we are still finding shards of glass here and there.

Talk to you soon!

More Whispering Giants off the bucket list

I looked and found as many Peter Wolf Toth Whispering Giants as I could along our way South. After seeing the Minnesota Toth in Two Harbors, how could we pass up the only Toth in Iowa. So, we headed to Iowa Falls and scored it.

 Since St. Louis was nearly 5 hours from our path, we decided not to try to score the Missouri Toth. However, Troy Kansas was only about 45 miles West of our route, and so we decided to score the one sitting in front of the county courthouse. As dramatic as any of the Peter Wolf Toth giants we’ve seen, this one had more lips than we were used to.

Luckily the Oklahoma Toth was in Broken Bow, which was not that far off our path. We headed to Broken Bow and scored this one as well.

Sadly, the Texas Toth would have been doable as well. However, originally located in Texarkana Texas, this Whispering Giant is missing and its whereabouts are unknown. While not that many, we are up to 8 Whispering Giants so far.

Talk to you soon!

Joplin Missouri

Joplin was generally along our route South and seemed to have some destinations worth visiting. Our first upon coming into town was Grand Falls. Cascading over a chert step formation along Shoal Creek, it is claimed to be the largest waterfall in the state of Missouri.

Joplin happens to lie along the Mother Road, historic Route 66 linking Chicago with Los Angeles. While there is not a lot of historical architectural remnants from that golden age, Joplinites do honor the history of the route, as well as trying to take advantage of its marketing potential.

In keeping with the Mother Road theme, we stumbled upon one of the hideouts of the famous Bonnie and Clyde. In 1933, Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow holed up in Joplin at 3347 ½ Oak Ridge Drive thinking that they could lie low in this small town. Unfortunately, the Joplin police were alerted to suspicious activity, and on April 13, 1933 they raided the site. Bonnie and Clyde escaped the raid, and sadly they killed two Joplin police officers on their way out. It turns out that some undeveloped photographs found in the hideout eventually helped lead officials to the end of the gang.

About 20 minutes East of Joplin is one of the most informational National Monument we think we have ever been to. We both knew the name, we knew the connection to agriculture and in particular, peanuts, but as was usually the case in 1960’s Midwest curricula, in depth education on people of color was weak.

Moses Carver was a white farmer who acquired 240 acres of land in Diamond Missouri under the Preemption Act of 1841. To help him manage the farm, Moses purchased two slaves, thirteen-year-old Mary and Giles, on October 1855 from William P. McGinnis. Mary and Giles later bore two children born into slavery, James and George. As was the custom of the day, the children took the surname of the slave owner. This was the home that Moses and his wife, Susan, lived in during that time. The slave quarters where George Washington Carver was born no longer exist.

We learned that George thirsted for learning, but racial prejudice worked hard to hold him back. Missouri was totally segregated at that time, and no schools existed in such rural areas that would teach black folk. So, with Moses’ permission, he walked 10 miles to Neosho Missouri to attend the grade school, being taken in by Mariah Watkins, a kind woman. When he felt he had learned all he could from his teacher, he would travel to another town with a more advanced black school. Interestingly we were in Winterset a couple days ago. In 1888 he ventured to Winterset attempting to find a college in the North that would accept blacks. He found Simpson College in nearby Indianola Iowa, moving later to Iowa State Agricultural College in Ames Iowa. We had wondered why there was a George Washington Carver Park in Winterset, now we know.

In the mid-1890’s he caught the attention of Booker T. Washington who recruited him to Tuskegee Institute in Tuskegee Alabama. During his agricultural research, he determined that decades long neglect and planting only one crop in the South resulted in land being depleted and very unproductive. His research proved the land could be reenergized using both equipment and methods. However, his people, poor black farmers, could not afford equipment. So, he researched to find hand tools and methods that would bear similar results. Then he actually did road shows in rural areas where he taught the methods to his people, and their production increased considerably. His road shows were so well produced and successful that eventually the US Department of Agriculture copied his methods for their outreach programs.

In 1921 George Carver appeared at a Congressional Hearing to testify on the importance of the peanut and its uses for American agriculture. He so mesmerized Congress that his testimony, originally scheduled for 10 minutes, was extended several times and eventually made unlimited. After his testimony, the Fordney-McCumber Tariff of 1922 was established, including one on imported peanuts. George Washington Carver died in Tuskegee on January 5, 1943 and is buried on the grounds of his beloved Institute. Moses and Susan Carver are buried in the Carver family cemetery now on the grounds of the National Monument.

We found one more gem before we left. Just outside Springfield Missouri is Wilson’s Creek National Battlefield. On August 10, 1861, the second battle of the American Civil War, and the first West of the Mississippi River, was fought here, in Southwestern Missouri, and likely dictated the outcome, although it took 4 more years to conclude this tragic event.

In 1861, Missouri was deeply divided on the slavery issue. Those in charge in Springfield were strongly Union and anti-slavery. Southern Missouri was heavily agricultural, with large farms owning many slaves. Union forces from Springfield lead by Brigadier General Nathaniel Hawthorne met Confederate forces led by Brigadier General Benjamin McCulloch. Confederate forces were further supplemented by the Missouri State Guard, volunteers supporting Missouri’s secession, led by Sterling Price. These combined forces meant that Hawthorne’s army was outnumbered more than 2 to 1. These were Price’s headquarters on that infamous day.

Hawthorne, a West Point graduate, had a career of successes from being bold and decisive. Despite being outnumbered, he marched his army from Springfield the evening of August 9 under the cover of darkness. He did accomplish the surprise, but couldn’t match the Confederate numbers and fire power. After 12% of Confederate forces were lost, and nearly 25% of Union forces, Hawthorne became the first Union General to lose his life on the battlefield. Historians believe that had McCulloch’s and Price’s forces continued to engage Union forces and defeating them, the tides of the war may have changed. But Price and McCulloch argued and couldn’t agree on a next step. Price went on to Lexington where he defeated Union forces and captured the town. McCulloch, however, without Price’s added forces, moved on to Pea Ridge Arkansas, a battlefield and National Military Park we have visited. Here despite having an advantage in numbers of men, he was thoroughly routed by the Union, and the end was now in motion.

Built by John Ray in the 1850’s, this house is the remaining complete structure that existed during the Battle of Wilson’s Creek. Ray was the local postmaster, and was a strong Unionist and even stronger when it came to anti-slavery. On the morning of the battle he saw the forces engage right from this porch. He quickly moved his family into a basement shelter under the house, where they were safe from the flying ammunition. After the battle, his home became a field hospital, trying to help injured men in both blue and grey uniforms. 

While it’s now in the mid-50’s, were still pushing slowly South. 

Talk to you soon!

Winterset Iowa

Our first stop on our way to the warmth was in Winterset Iowa. While not a great deal warmer than it was in the Twin Cities, Winterset was the city where the actor, John Wayne, was born, and we had always wanted to visit as we drove by on I-35 and saw the signs.

His home here was a small 4 room (literally only 4 rooms, a living room, an entry, a bedroom and a kitchen) as his parents were of humble means. The home was rented, his father was a pharmacist.

Born on May 26, 1907 as Marion Robert Morrison, John Wayne became an iconic actor always trying to display the essence of America. His movie name came from the industry that cast him as a leading role, John coming as a strong first name. Wayne came from the Revolutionary War General Mad Anthony Wayne. His nickname “Duke” came from his family og named Duke. Local law enforcement and fire fighters seeing Marion walking his dog Duke around town referred to him as “Little Duke”.

We thoroughly enjoyed our visit. We got to see the home he was born to, as well as a considerable collection of memorabilia, stuff that Wayne owned and/or used in his movies. One of the funniest objects was this basic General Motors station wagon that he had modified to raise the roof for his sizable frame.

While at the John Wayne museum we learned that we were in Madison County, the subject of the 1995 Clint Eastwood movie. One of the famous bridges had been moved to the Winterset City Park where we were staying. We learned that the custom in the 1800’s was that any bridge built was named for the family that lived nearest it. Both the Cutler and Donahue family claimed to be the nearest to this particular bridge. The feud was eventually settled when they decided that a hyphenated name would be acceptable. Who knew we would be in hallowed grounds!

Talk to you soon!

Rescue tape

Living in an RV seems to be a series of mishaps that could be a problem, if you let them get under your skin. As we left the Twin Cities, we were making our way South on I-35 when a car pulled up alongside, honking and pointing at the side of Colectiva. I clearly know what this means and pulled over.

One of our bay doors was part open. I had thought I had closed it securely when we left, putting my usual knee against it to make sure it latched. But I must have failed. The bay door was half open – the Woman got out and closed it and said all was OK – nothing had fallen out.

I learned the real truth when we arrived. I pulled out the heavy duty, ribbed with metal, hose that emptied our waste tanks from our macerator. When I turned on the pump, a small spray of waste water emitted from the hose a couple of feet from the end. I stopped it and looked at the hose – it must have dragged a while on I-35 when the bay door was open, and had been worn by dragging on the highway to the point where a couple of small holes existed. I had the Woman call the Camping World I had seen a few miles back to see if we could get an appointment in the morning to replace the hose, fully expecting to be told they were booked up for a week or more. Unfortunately, the Woman found the service center had already closed for the day.

Fortunately, the Woman blurted out “can’t you just repair it with duct tape or something?” Apparently at nearly 65 my mind lacks the sharpness I was used to. I shouted “Rescue tape and Gorilla tape” and headed out with paper towels, scissors, and antibiotic wipes. Rescue tape is claimed to be capable of repairing holes in garden hose, so why not macerator hose. It worked! Our hose is nearly as good as new – no leakage at all – and now I can wait until we get back to Vegas to replace it – yippeeeeeeeeee!

Talk to you soon!