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.