Civilization at Waco, Texas

Location: Midway Park Campground (COE); Waco, Texas

I'm still trying to get caught up on the blog after being deprived of reliable internet access. I arrived around 2:00 p.m. on last Sunday with a weather advisory for high winds (40 mph gusts) beginning at 4:00 p.m. and lasting through the night. They weren't wrong this time. The winds hit sometime during the night and buffeted Liberty2 enough to wake me up. She handled it well and after a few minutes she rocked me back to sleep.

This is a nice little COE campground right on the edge of Waco. About three years ago, I stayed at the COE campground on the northern part of Lake Waco. Of the two, I prefer this one since it is much closer to all the stores and restaurants. Since I saw all of the sites that interested me in Waco back then, I won't be doing much exploring here. I have a few modification projects to Liberty2 and this is a good place to get the supplies I need. I have a four day stay in a small town in about two weeks so if I get everything now, it will give me something to do then.

I got stopped at a red-light in a small town on the way to Waco. It must have been the county seat because there was a nice courthouse waiting for me to take a picture. One of those nice, unexpected surprises.

The landscape picture. A little different, but not much.

Campsite at Midway Park. A nice pull-thru with two big fifth-wheels on either side. I heard soft, muffled talk and realized the two fiver's were picking on Little Liberty2. Well, she told them all about her "big sister", Liberty, and they quieted down. 

Since Comanche disappointed me about the Reuben Sandwich, I decided to make my own. I was headed to H-E-B to buy some tortillas to see if they tasted as good as I remembered. They didn't. I was counting on them to be good but they were "gummy". There are at least three HEB's here in Waco, so I may give them a second chance at another store. But I wasn't disappointed with the Reuben Sandwich I made in Liberty2 with the fixing I bought along with the tortillas. It was good. But I also made an impulse buy at Walmart in preparation for fixing the Reuben. Although I could use one of my skillets and gas stove to fix it, I was thinking out of my head out of the box and thought a small electric skillet would be nice. That way I wouldn't have to move everything off of the stove cover to do a little cooking. Somewhat ashamedly, I bought a 12 X 16 electric skillet with a hinged lid. I'm not sure where she is going to be stored while underway, but I'll adapt. If it doesn't work out, I'll give it away when I get back to home-base in a couple of months.

The sunset, before the winds blew, wasn't too bad. The best part was the cool breeze blowing in off the lake. It was one of those perfect weather moments combined with a pretty view. It took a while to let it all soak in while the stress floated away on the wind. It was nice.

Ya'll take care of each other. I'll Cya down the road.

 

 

Comanche (La-la land) Note: Pics Added

Location: Copperas Creek Campground (COE); Comanche, Texas

I'm in Internet La-La land here. I go from one bar on my cell signal to no signal. Back and forth. Since I use my cell phone as my internet hot-spot, I can't get online unless I have a reliable signal. This is now the third place in all my travels where I can't get a reliable cell signal. Strangely, all three places are in Texas. The three places were Seminole Canyon State Park, Junction, Texas and now here. There are also no over the air TV stations. It's like a complete electronic blockade. I don't like it. I'm not one of those people who look to get totally off grid. Oh well, I've reduced my stay here from four days to three days, so today will be moving day. 

There isn't much to see here in Comanche. I visited the courthouse which is a much simpler design than most in Texas. I had also planned on getting a Reuben Sandwich from a restaurant across the street from the courthouse. I had read the reviews, which were good. The menu said it was made with in-house made sauerkraut and corned beef. I couldn't pass that up since I'm always on the look out for a good Reuben Sandwich. But, as if it was falling in line with the bad mojo of this place, the picture of the menu was from several months ago and there was a note in small letters saying the menu items changed monthly. Oh well, go with the flow and roll with blows. I then went to the Ford dealer to see about an oil change for Freedom, Nope,,,, no openings until late next week. That was strike three.  

 When I realized I was in La-La land, I checked for availability at my next campground which is Midway Park in Waco. Wow, talk about a "sign", there was one day available for my campsite at the beginning of my four day reservation. I jumped on it and waited for my escape.

This is the road picture showing the changing landscape

A picture out the side window. This is a good representative picture showing the cattle and crops.

This is the campsite at Copperas Creek Campground. The dam is in the distance but this is as close as you can get to it. That area is gated off, not sure why. Pretty nice looking for La-La Land uh?

Even being in la-la land doesn't keep the sun from setting and me getting a descent picture.

Comanche Courthouse. It is much less elaborate than most courthouses in Texas. it appears more like a fortress than an architectural building.

Only RV'ers will appreciate or understand this picture. I've stayed at nearly 400 different campgrounds in my travels and have seen all kinds of dump stations but, I've never seen one like this. Apparently it was unusual for other people also because the Corps had to paint arrows to the dump outlet. Although strange, it worked out just fine. 

I better post this quickly while I have captured a cell signal. I'll add the pictures when I get Waco. OK, I'm at Waco and have added the pictures. Hopefully, I'll make a post in the morning. 

Ya'll take care of each other. I'll Cya down the road.

Random Thoughts

 Location: Lofers West Campground (COE); Whitney, Texas

This post is for my grandchildren to read in the future. One of the regrets in my life was not having deep conversations with my parents. Conversations that would reveal what their dreams were when they were young, why did they do certain things in their life, what instances changed their life, who were influential people that may have changed the direction of their lives, etc.

Well, since today is moving day and I have a couple hours before I need to start the hitching process, I thought maybe I'd fill the grandchildren in on a few things that I believe and a story about their great-grandfather. Obviously, this won't be a complete list or even the most important things I believe. It will just be what comes to mind, as of now.

My next campground will be near the town of Comanche, Texas. The name got me to thinking about Native Americans, American Indians Indians. I honestly do not use the word Indian in a derogatory or disrespectful manner. I'm not sure what the latest term is or who voted on it so I'll just use the term that was used as I was growing up, Indian. 

The Comanche started out in the Northwestern part of the country in what is now Wyoming and was part of the Shoshone tribe. They split from the Shoshone and started migrating south where they defeated and claimed territory from every Indian tribe they met. When they entered what is now New Mexico and Texas, they had almost wiped out the Apache tribe. This type of invasion and conquering occurred with all of the Indians throughout the Americas. It was no different than what the Non-Indians did when they arrived. The British and French in North America with the Spanish and Portuguese in Central and South America invaded and conquered the Indians that were in their way. I'm not saying it was right, but it was the way things were at the time. Atrocities were done on both sides and the true truth may never be know since as I've said before, the winner writes the history. This type of conquering is still happening today in parts of the world. 

One of the worse things the U.S. did to the Indians was to place them on reservations without an easy path for them to leave and assimilate into the general population of the country. They became trapped in a system that kept them dependent on the government for just about everything they needed to survive. I'm not sure if that was the original intent but it is what it turned into. Heck, the Indians weren't even allowed to become citizens and vote until 1924. 

This same type of dependency is what happened to the slaves after the Civil War. Cheap labor was still needed in the south after the slaves were granted freedom so the "sharecropper" system was set up. Freed slaves still did the same work they had done before they were freed, but now they got a share of the profits. Sounds fair, uh? However, most of the time, their share was just enough to cover their living expenses that they paid to the landowners. Again, very hard for them to escape the economic chains put on them. These economic chains were also worn by the coal miners of the Appalachian region of the country. The mine owners built towns, stores and schools for their workers. When payday came, the living expenses were deducted from their pay. Those two examples were headed up by land owners and mine owners, both of which were private while the Indians were controlled by the government. Later on, the government did the same thing to a large group of its citizens by making them dependent on the government for money (welfare), housing (HUD), health care (affordable care act), etc. Its the same thing, just a different group of people but with the same economic chains and no easy path to escape. 

As I said, the Indians weren't allowed to become citizens until 1924 which was the year my father was born. As I've said before, my father's career was in heavy construction with a company that built large bridges and dams across the country. When he retired he was a Project Superintendent/Project Manager. At this retirement, I met a few people that worked with him throughout his career. Some flew in from around the country. As my father introduced me to the people I didn't already know, he would always include, "who just graduated from college as an engineer". My father introduced me to a man about the same age as him by saying his name, but no sooner than my father finished the name, the man said, just call me "Chief", everyone else does. I could tell he was an Indian and with me being fresh out of school, I took the opportunity to ask him if the nickname Chief was insulting to him. In that plain and straightforward talk of his generation, he calmly smiled and said, "I am a proud American citizen first but am also a leader of my people. Your father helped me escape the reservation in South Dakota when he hired me to work in his concrete crew and showed me many things about concrete and life. He showed me what it would take to stay off the reservation. I have passed those lessons on to many of my people who also call me Chief. So no, the name doesn't bother me at all." After shaking my fathers hand and thanking him, he walked away. I asked my father why I had never met Chief before and he said they hadn't worked together for over 20 years. He told me, from what he had heard, Chief had become one of the best concrete men in the company which was strong praise coming from a man known for his concrete expertise. My father had never talked about Chief before or after his retirement. I guess in his mind, doing what he did for Chief was nothing special. But, seeing the look on Chief's face as he told me about it, you could tell it was something very special to him. It wasn't until many years later that I understood what Chief had meant when he said "escaping the reservation".

With a post like this, you got to have a picture of a "thinking bench". This is the original thinking bench for this blog. It is from Jennings Ferry Campground; Eutaw, Alabama. Around the spring of 2014

Today is moving day and I have to start getting ready. 

Ya'll take care of each other. Maybe I'll Cya down the road.     

Moving Day, Courthouse, & Lake Whitney

 Location: Lofers West Campground (COE); Whitney, Texas

I'm a little late on making this post. Moving day was day before yesterday. It was a very short tow of only 52 miles but the landscape made another change. This campground is basically in between two geological areas. To the south is the Texas Hill Country and to the north is the great plains.

There are two pictures to represent the landscape:

The landscape at the beginning of the trip, closer to Corsicana. 

The beginning of the rolling hills closer to Whitney. 

That's Liberty2 in the parking lot at the Walmart in Hillsboro. My plan was to get groceries and put them directly into Liberty2 and her refrigerator. However, I immediately got a bad vibe from the store when I entered. Instead of turning around and leaving, I continued on. It was crowded and loud. I trimmed my list down and picked up a few things that didn't need refrigeration and left. That is the first and only Walmart I ever got the "heebie-jeebies".  

The main thing that drew me here was Lake Whitney and I'm camped within a stone's throw of the lake. Lake Whitney was created by the U.S. Corps of Engineers (COE) in 1951 with the construction of a hydroelectric dam on the Brazos River. There are 13 hydro dams in Texas, but Whitney is the only one in Central Texas. The powerhouse was completed 70 years ago in 1953 and is still producing enough electricity to power 30,000 homes and businesses. The cost of the dam and powerhouse was recovered from the sale of electricity long ago. Maintenance and upgrade costs are also paid for by the sale of power produced by the powerhouse. It is essentially a self sustaining project that provides recreation, boating, fishing, hiking, camping, flood control and of course electricity. To me, this is the ultimate clean energy. 

The COE maintains 740 dams throughout the country but sadly, only 75 are hydroelectric dams. On the surface, that would seem to be a case of "short-sightedness" with someone being asked "why?". Oh well, I'll jump down from my soapbox.

The face of Whitney Dam with all gates closed. The lake level is 6 feet below normal pool.

The downstream side of the dam showing the gates closed and powerhouse on the left. 

The other thing on my list to see in this area was the courthouse in Hillsboro. Texas has lots of elaborate courthouses compared to other states. But, due to poor planning on my part, I wasn't able to see the inside because I went on Presidents Day and it was closed. I did get a picture of the outside and to ease the pain of my poor planning, I found a Chinese buffet restaurant that was pretty good. Not Taco Bell good, but still pretty good.

The courthouse at Hillsboro. I wish I could have seen the inside but it was closed. Yeah, I know, I could go back but I don't like backtracking. 

There isn't anything else in this area that I need to see. I'm in a good campsite for relaxing, thinking and planning. Most campers left yesterday on Presidents Day. I only have one neighbor and they are very quiet. The next moving day is day after tomorrow.

Liberty2's campsite on Lake Whitney. 

The picture of her campsite with the lake in the background looked desolate so I took this one looking away from the lake. It shows a little bit more of "civilization". 

While cruising around the area, I found this nice picture at the Marina near the campground. Old Glory waving in the breeze.

 

It's not a thinking bench but it is a thinking place. This is my view while working on my laptop. A good thinking place indeed. I have a feeling a "Random Thoughts" post may be coming soon. 

Ya'll take care of each other. Maybe I'll Cya down the road.   

Oddfellows, Indian Attack and Small Town Cafe

 Location: Liberty Hill Campground (COE), between Corsicana, Texas and Waco, Texas.

The nearest town to this campground is Dawson, Texas. The population is about 800 and has a Family Dollar store and a gas station with a Subway inside. Those are the commercial highlights of the town. But in typical Texas fashion, it is also the home of the Mighty Dawson High School Bulldogs. The bottom line; it's a small town, the kind I like. The town started growing after the railroad came through in 1881 and its population peaked at about 1,500 in 1928. In doing some reading about the town, I read about an "odd" building just off of the main street of town. I found it. It is a large, two story brick building. It turns out the building is a closed lodge of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. I can't find any information as to when this lodge was operating or when it closed but I know their logo is three interconnected rings with the letters, F, L and T inside each ring. The letters stand for Friendship, Love and Truth. Their organization has been around for many centuries. I've also found out they ran/run orphanages and schools. So it's possible this building housed and educated orphans from this area. There is a IOOF headquarters in Corsicana that is open to the public. It originally housed a large orphanage/school. I wish I had known about it when I went there the other day because it sounds like an interesting place. Oh well, maybe I'll go if I'm in the area again, but I will be on the lookout for more of their lodges because I like what I've read about them so far.

The old "Odd Fellows" building. Maybe it was an orphanage and school, but I can't confirm it. The town of Dawson should clean it up and post the history of the building. 

As proof of one time ownership, there is a plaque above the second story, middle window. The letters on top are IOOF (Independent Order of Odd Fellows). The three rings with F,L and T are the Odd Fellows logo. I still would like to know why it was built in such a small town. Oh well, some mysteries remain mysteries. 

Since I went to see the veteran's memorial in Corsicana the other day, I had to see a different type of memorial here in Dawson. This memorial commemorates a fight between Indians and Non-Indians. For the first time, I'm using the term Non-Indians instead of Whites, because the non-Indians included many other races beside Caucasians. History is suppose to be accurate facts without any bias. This fight occurred back in 1838. As it is in most cases, the winner writes the history. So, the "facts" we know about the fight must be taken with a little dose of skepticism. Supposedly, a party of 30 non-Indians were surveying the area to locate property to be given to some of the soldiers that fought in the Texas War of Independence. Meanwhile, a group of 300 Indians were on a buffalo hunt and told the surveyors to leave. Apparently, the didn't leave quick enough so the Indians ambushed the surveyors, killing 25 of the 30 surveyors. About 30 Indians were also killed.This memorial is at the location of the mass burial of the non-Indians. Although the fight was in 1838, this memorial was erected in 1881, the same year that the Railroad came through the area. Nothing is mentioned about the Indians or why they would risk a fight with the Non-Indians knowing retaliation was bound to happen. I couldn't find any information as to what happened after the fight. You can bet "hell was raised" when 18 men employed by Texas was killed in a supposed massacre. Again, the winner writes the history.

The memorial is a simple one located just off the roadway. Apparently, the local garden club maintains the site.

It's a simple stone monument with the names carved in to the sides.

It is a nice location. Under a shade tree with a wide open view of the land.

To end this post on a happier note, I found a great little small town cafe in the city of Hubbard about 10 miles or so west of the campground. I found it online and the reviews were very positive. As soon as I entered the cafe, I got a good vibe. I was given a menu but didn't need it because right in front of the table at which I was sitting was a white board with the special of the day written in dry-erase pen. I ordered the chicken fried steak, mashed taters, pinto beans and side salad. Two rolls, cherry cobbler and coffee was included with meal. It was all really good. I wish I would have ordered the pea salad because it must have been very popular because during my meal, they erased it from the board due to being sold out. Being a small town cafe, I was able to overhear most of the news and gossip in town. I hope the husband gets out of the hospital and recovers from what his wife did to him after she found out what he did. Also, along the news front, a woman at the booth next to mine was telling the waitress and anyone else within earshot, about her trip to Mexico a couple of years ago. She didn't go there for vacation, she went just across the border for laparoscopic surgery to reduce the size of her stomach. She said her weight at the time of the surgery was 280 pounds. It cost $15,000.00 for the day surgery which was half of the quote she received in the U.S. When she stood up to get a re-fill of her iced tea, I could tell the surgery was a success and she looked great. I told her so as I walked past her table on my way to pay my bill. She and the other woman she was sitting with lit up with a smile,,,,, maybe I helped her have a good day. By the way, she isn't the one who "educated" her husband. Life in a small town.

I bet the catfish was good too, but I wasn't that hungry to eat two main courses.

I usually don't take pictures of my food, but I couldn't resist this time.

Things to explore are sometimes found in a small town cafe or abandoned buildings or roadside monuments.

Tomorrow is moving day and I'll be going to another COE campground. It will be at Lofers Bend West on Whitney Lake. 

Ya'll take care of each other. Maybe I'll Cya down the road.  

Vet Memorial, H-E-B letdown and Mystery Sound

 Location: Liberty Hill (COE) Campground; between Corsicana, Texas and Waco, Texas

If I know of a veteran's memorial nearby, I'll make a point to visit it. Most towns in America have one, it's just a matter of size. Sadly, they aren't always highly publicized. One thing that all veterans have in common is that during a part of their lives, they each wrote a blank check to the citizens of their country, payable up to and including, their life.

Corsicana has a nice little veterans memorial on the court house grounds. Although there are a couple benches, they aren't comfortable and are more for show or decoration. I bet if they built a small area off to the side, under the shade trees, it would attract a few veterans that would show up each morning with their coffee and verbally solve all of the problems in the country. I've seen a few places like that in my travels. Any memorial should be a welcoming place to not only remember, but also to rejoice in life, all life, not just your own.

By Texas standards, this is a "plain Jane" courthouse. But I didn't come to see it.

Similar to "The Wall" in Washington D.C., they have recorded the names of the lives lost in action. 

A pretty etching on this stone. Someone has talent.

Another very nice etching emphasizing Homeland, Family, Patriot and Sacrifice.

I had so looked forward to going to the local H-E-B. It had been a while since I visited one of their stores that I guess I had it built up higher in my mind than it actually was in real life. So, after getting a great lunch at a Sirloin Stockade (all you can eat buffet), I went to get some groceries. One a side note: I believe waitresses should not wear overpowering perfume. The waitress I had yesterday must have bathed in her "fu-fu juice" (perfume/cologne). It wasn't good. I'm guessing the only smell a waitress should have is maybe the smell of bacon, yeah that would work. Anyway, the plan was to eat lunch before grocery shopping to reduced the amount of impulsive buying due to hunger. It worked. The main thing I was looking for was the fixings for fajitas. I eventually found everything I needed except for the in-store freshly baked tortillas. That was the biggest, but not only, disappointment. The store must be an old one because it is very small in comparison to similar type stores. She was definitely showing her age. It was a tight fit in the aisles if two people met head on. Although to help offset the disappointment, I found a package of Chuck-eye steaks for $7.00 which were tasty last night. Otherwise, there just seemed to be a bad Vibe hanging over the place. I'll reserve judgement as to all H-E-B's until I go to another one. I really believe this store is an anomaly. 

The high winds blew all day yesterday which gave a chill factor of near freezing. It seems like they have settled down as I write this post this morning. There were some mysterious sounds coming from the back of Liberty2 when the winds blew their strongest. I was concerned something may have broken loose such as the roofing material or something else as bad. It turned out to be the strap I use to secure my personal ladder to the RV ladder. When certain wind speeds hit it at a particular angle, the strap would vibrate, creating a loud, strange sound. I'm thinking along the lines of a harp, but not as pleasing of a sound. Oh well, the mystery was solved and the problem corrected by twisting the strap. 

As a way to ease the pain of the H-E-B disappointment, I had a pretty good sunset. 

Ya'll take care of each other. Maybe I'll Cya down the road.  

Moving Day, Gun Shop/Auto Parts, 2 Sunsets

 Location: Liberty Hill Campground (COE) on Navarro Mills Lake; between Corsicana, Texas and Waco, Texas

Yesterday was moving day. The 190 miles is the longest tow on this planned trip. It was a little tiring since I'm still not in traveling shape but it was good at easing some of the "silent echoes". This campground is about 40 miles due south of the outskirts of  Dallas which is a little too far to go for Taco Bell. I stayed at this campground three years ago but the area I'm camped in today was closed back then. The area that I'm camped is located on a peninsula jutting into Navarro Mills Lake. I walked around these campsites three years ago and said if I'm in the area again, I wanted to stay in this area. Well, that's what I did. There is only me and one other camper in the ten campsites on the peninsula. A large storm blew through last night which brought a short, but strong thunderstorm. The high winds were the big event and since they hit Liberty2 broadside, they rocked her a little bit, but everything turned out well and now I know what she can handle. Good deal, Lucille.

This is the open road picture showing the changing landscape. A little bit different than the piney woods from a day ago.

Campsite at Liberty Hill. There are no overhanging trees which was good because of the high winds that blew through.

I'll be here for four days and there isn't a lot to explore in this area. One exploration trip will be to H-E-B. For those of ya'll who don't know what that is, it's a grocery store. A really good grocery store that sells just about everything you need at a very reasonable price. There are many things for visitors to see in Texas; two of those are HEB and Bucee's.  

Before leaving Jefferson, I had to find an auto parts store for a blinker bulb for Freedom. Her left blinker started blinking at a very high speed. That fast blinking is one of those fancy electronic indicators that a bulb has blown. Sure enough, I checked and the left rear one was not blinking. So, Google Maps found an auto parts store and off we went. And as it is a lot of times while traveling, I serendipitously found something out of the ordinary. Only in Texas will you find a store that is half Napa Auto Parts and half gun shop. After getting the bulb, I thought about buying some extra ammo, but decided against it. Back at camp, I watched a two minute Youtube on the trick about replacing the bulb and bingo, everything went good, no problem.

Gun store on left, NAPA auto parts on the right. I was smart enough to ask permission before taking the picture so they would know I wasn't an anti-gun person about to freak out because of all the "tools" around me. Only in Texas. :)

I was blessed with a nice sunset on the last night at Lake 'O The Pines and a mediocre one on the first night here at Liberty Hill.

A pretty nice sunset on the last night at Buckhorn Campground. The pelicans were swimming around before calling it a night.

This is the sunset from last night, which was the first night at Liberty Hill Campground. That wall of clouds is the storm that eventually blew through the campground. The sun was able to find a little hole to peek through as if God was winking at me.

I haven't found any "thinking benches" lately, but this one is about 100 feet from my campsite, so I put it to good use. A place to rest you bones and soul.

Ya'll take care of each other. Maybe I'll Cya down the road.

 

Exploring Jefferson, Texas

Location: Buckhorn Creek (COE) Campground; near Jefferson, Texas

Jefferson is located in the northeast corner of Texas about 20 miles from the Louisiana border (as the crow flies). During the early 1800's it was a booming little town because steamboats could go from Jefferson to the Mississippi River by way of Big Cypress Bayou and the Red River. It was a commercial gateway for products to and from west Texas, Oklahoma and the midwestern states. This ended when the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers hired Captain Henry Miller Shreve to clear the "Great Raft" on the Red River. The great raft was a 160 mile long log jam on the Red River upstream and downstream of current Shreveport, Louisiana (named after Captain Shreve). Once he cleared the Red River, lakes and bayous upstream of Shreveport, emptied dramatically. One such bayou was Big Cypress Bayou. Once the water level dropped, no riverboats could make it to Jefferson. So, like most things in life, it was a balancing act. Removing the raft helped some while hurting others. This happened around 1840 or so. This was the first of two things to hurt Jefferson. The second was in the 1870's when the railroads were being built in Texas. The final route for the Texas and Pacific went from Texarkana to Marshal to Dallas/Fort Worth. This route bypassed Jefferson, which completed its commercial decline. Today, it is a small tourist town trying to hold on to its previous glory days.

I mentioned in the previous post that I would be exploring a museum in Jefferson although I had become Jaded to small town museums over the years. I said I would keep and open mind. Well, I explored and came away more jaded. It would be a nice one for people who haven't visited these type of museums. One good thing was it was free because I was a veteran. 

It is a larger museum than most in such a small town. They have four floors on displays. The building is an old Federal Building with old Court House and Post Office. This was the old court room that they hung many portraits of mostly unknown people. Some were very elaborate and well done. I enjoyed this room the best.

I took this picture in honor of my mother and the object located at the foot of the bed. Fancy people call it a "chamber pot" but my mother called it a "slop jar". As some of you know, while growing up, my family moved around the country about every year or two. Well, on the trip from West Virginia to Lafayette, Louisiana, the moving van wrecked in the mountains of either Kentucky or Tennessee. When the moving company called to tell my parents about the wreck,,, the first question from my mother was "what about my slop jar???", since she had just bought one from an estate sale before the move. The moving van company told her, "we don't know about a slop jar ma'am, but our driver is alive and well". This humbled my mother, and she never forgot it. Apparently, neither have I.

Notice the small door above the safe. It is where the postal inspector stayed. His job was to literally "over see" transaction down below.

A typical street in Jefferson. The people who convince towns to use bricks on their streets should be "tarred, feathered and run out of town on a rail". They are good for a couple of years, but are very difficult to maintain resulting in problems. Just my personal opinion.

This is the other thing on my list of things to explore in Jefferson. It is a General Store. 

It's a sensory overload when you enter. I was lucky because I was the only one in the store except for the two nice guys that worked there. I took this picture because of the Pearl Beer sign in the top/middle. One of my kinfolks really liked that brand and it started in San Antonio.

Candy everywhere. Some I hadn't heard of or seen since my childhood. Memory flashback.

Ice cream parlor and small cafe. I didn't buy anything except on of their 5 cent coffees.

I didn't know about his building and stumbled on it while driving around. It is a Carnegie Library. There were about 2,500 of them built between 1883 and 1929 by Andrew Carnegie and his foundation. Some say he did this to calm some of his guilt, but either way, he did a good thing for a lot of people before public libraries came along.

 A storm blew through the area today bringing high winds and some rain. It has now passed over which is good because tomorrow is moving day. A second round of rain is expected tomorrow evening but hopefully I'll be set up in my new campsite at Liberty Hill (COE) Campground.

Yesterday morning, just after sunrise. This is looking out the door of Liberty2

This was taken while walking around the campground about 30 minutes before sunset. 

Ya'll take care of each other. Maybe I'll Cya down the road.