Showing posts with label gadget cache. Show all posts
Showing posts with label gadget cache. Show all posts

Saturday, February 13, 2021

2019-05-11: Geocaching Counties in SE North Carolina Finding Some Creative Caches and an Abandoned Amphitheater

Welcome back friends, geocachers, road trippers, and fellow backroad explorers. If you remember back from last weeks blog post, I had arrived in North Carolina to start building a new solar farm here in Beaufort County near the town of Wilkinson. After working all week, now it's the weekend and time to go geocaching and exploring! And time to fill in some of those empty spaces on my North Carolina County map! 


My first stop was at a Bojangles for breakfast and also a quick geocache (GC381EA) in the parking lot to claim Pamlico County. Further down the road another quick parking lot geocache (GC7BY75) in Craven County. Then down in the town of Maysville in Jones County, there was small library with my next geocache (GC6WW4B). My next geocache was in Carteret County at the Hadnot Creek (GC1NEZK). Over in Onslow County by the White Oak River was the Bridge to Stella geocache (GC7R2VB).

Still in Onslow just a few miles away are my next three geocaches. Placed on Riggs Road, by a cacher named RiggsNC, the first was at the Riggs Family Cemetery" (GC6CFJP). And this really cool "Riggs Farm - TB Bed and Breakfast" cache (GC6JB0Z).


A travel bug hotel cache is large enough to hold lots of swag and and trackables. This one is themed like a farm. It very creative and well done. It had a lot of favorite points. (Unfortunately this cache has been archived since I had found it. The Riggs have moved away and since this was on their property, it went with them to be relocated as well.)



Then there was the "Meet Me at the Corner" cache (GC6F5BJ). Another creative cache by RiggsNC. Now if a photo is worth a thousand words, then I guess it's best if I describe this cache with a short video clip:



Driving south on US-17 on the way to the next county, I stopped in Holly Ridge for a bite to eat. While eating I was looking up the geocaches close by. Then I saw this puzzle cache called "Elite Bling Series #7 Geocaching Daily News" (GC74AGJ) with some favorite points. I don't usually do puzzle caches because most of the time I can't figure them out. But this one had potential. First the coordinates take you to a war memorial where you had to answer questions for clues...



Then drive over to the final location where you'll find this:


Moving on next door to Pender County, I make a quick stop for a virtual cache called "I See the Light" (GCEFA7) at the Topsoil Baptist Church. I gathered the information I needed for the lighthouse and continued on my way.



It was a short drive to the next roadside attraction. This next geocache was called Hooper's Tale (GC24PPT), perhaps in reference to a 70's movie. It was located near this giant shark. Not too scary as it didn't have much for teeth. Unless maybe you're afraid of it gumming you to death.



Moving along into New Hanover County, I make a quick stop for another roadside geocache (GC1TZ41).

Driving north on up to the town of Kenansville in Duplin County are my next four geocaches. The first was a virtual cache called Cowan Museum (GC9BBC). The Cowan Museum of History and Science was founded in 1981 within this historic 1800's house. Also on the grounds is a historical park which includes many buildings and a botanical garden. The buildings include a general store, blacksmith shop, log cabin, smokehouse, schoolhouse, and a tobacco barn.



The 19th century general store and Natural Wells Post Office was once operated by James C Boone, who was postmaster from 1892-1903. The structure was located about four miles west of Rose Hill. The building was renovated in 2018.



This schoolhouse building was originally a corn crib from the 19th century. Now used as an example of an 1800's one room schoolhouse, it is made of hand-hewed timbers chinked together. 



A few blocks away is the "Kenansville Spring Earthcache" (GC178NW) and "The Spring" virtual cache (GC9BBE). According to tradition, a sea captain by the name of Capt. Benjamin Beverett had arrived in the area in the 1740's with his wife Barbara Gastor Beverett and son Jacob. He settled his family near present-day Kenansville, returned to sea, and never returned. The legend continues that Barbara was walking with downcast eyes when she saw a goldpiece. Hoping for buried treasure, she began hurriedly scratching the earth with her bare hands, and she uncovered the spring.

Over time the spring was walled in with brick. Concrete steps and an approach area was installed in 1909. Then once again refinished in brick in 1971. Even though the water became contaminated in 1994, the county turned the surrounding area into a small park and gave the spring enclosure a facelift. The water still flows from its original location, but it is no longer drinkable.



Probably my most favorite location of the day is the "Amp It Up" cache (GC29FE2). Constructed in 1976, The abandoned William Rand Kenan Jr Memorial Amphitheater was once said to be the finest amphitheater in the state. Music reviews and musical dramas were presented July through August and at Christmas by the Duplin Outdoor Drama Society. Long abandoned, it is now in the process of being reclaimed by nature. Sitting there in the peaceful quiet of emptiness, you have to wonder why it didn't have a very long life. The photo below is from the stage area looking up. The first photo at the top of the blog page is from the top looking at the ticket window and entry.



Moving on up to Wayne County, I make a quick cache stops at the Pineview Cemetery (GC5DWAR) which dates back to 1900 and the Grady Family Cemetery (GC5JDB7) that dates back to 1911. Continuing on my way back, next up is Lenoir County and another quick roadside geocache (GC1ADD8). And finally one last stop in Greene County (GC3Y888).

Well that was it for Saturday. Eleven counties and a little bit of history later and I make it back to the rental house in Blounts Creek. Join me back here again tomorrow for a Sunday county caching run. See you soon.

Saturday, January 23, 2021

2019-05-03: Moving Day Roadtrip from Texas to North Carolina Day 1 in TX, LA, & MS Cemeteries, Historical Sites and an Old Church

Well it's that time again. I finished up on the wind farm down in South Texas and have to be in North Carolina on Monday to start a solar project. So another roadtrip is ahead of me. Supposed to be 2-3 months there in NC. Unfortunately the wife will still be here in Texas working. But hopefully the time will pass quickly and the next project will be back in Texas. But for now, lets hit the road and see what kinda cool places we can find.
 


My first stop, after Duncan Donuts for iced coffee and a bagel of course, was just outside of Waco, Texas. "Sleepy Hollow" (GC3D0BB) was a cemetery and the location of a geocache. Unlike the typical cemeteries I visit, this one is a pet cemetery! I think I've only encountered maybe one or two pet cemeteries before. This one had a doghouse and a fire hydrant as headstones. One thing I didn't see were any zombie cats or dogs that have been resurrected!



Also a little further east outside of Waco was the "Shootout at the Double EE" (GCGM3X) Ranch Road is a virtual geocache. On April 19, 1993, the FBI and ATF raided the compound of the Branch Davidian Church. After 100 canisters of tear gas being deployed over a 6 hour period, a fire broke out and the compound was engulfed in flames. David Koresh and 75 of his followers, including 25 children, perished in the blaze. Only nine managed to escape. The church has since been rebuilt.



My next two geocaches are in Corsicana, Texas at the Oakwood Cemetery (GC3EXG7, GC4G8EJ). There are nearly 14,000 burials dating back to 1833. There are several historical markers throughout the cemetery as well. One of the caches highlights a native of Huntsville, Texas, Samuel R. Frost grew up in Navarro County and in 1863 enlisted in the Confederate army. After the Civil War, he studied law and was admitted to the bar in 1870. In the years that followed, Frost served as Navarro County attorney, county judge, district judge, and state legislator. He and his wife, Mary (Winkler), were the parents of nine children. The town of Frost (20 mi. W) was named in his honor.

Another interment, and a more recent one, is Aaron Dale Allston (1960-2014). He is the author of 13 Star Wars novels as well as many other science fiction, game based fiction and mystery novels, short stories and technical guides for writers.

But the one historical marker that caught my attention was by the grave of David Reed Mitchell. Like myself, he was also a surveyor. From the historical marker: "Born in 1797 in North Carolina, arrived in Robertson County, Texas in 1845. He was a surveyor by trade, and had surveyed the upper Trinity and Brazos river areas in 1844. He became surveyor of the Robertson County land district, as well as the original land of Navarro County and Corsicana.

Mitchell was also a land speculator of sorts, and by 1847 he owned a large amount of land in Navarro County. With two partners, Thomas I. Smith and James C. Neill, he donated one hundred acres on which the town of Corsicana was founded. For a time he operated an inn in the town, sometimes referred to as the "lower hotel" because of its location in proximity to another hotel run by pioneer Hampton McKinney.

David Reed Mitchell married Mary Ann Higgins, and they were the parents of five children. Mitchell continued to live in Corsicana until his death on Oct. 7, 1853. He was buried in Oakwood Cemetery, and the citizens of Corsicana erected a monument at his grave in 1899. Of the three partners who donated land for the city of Corsicana, Mitchell is the only one buried here."



Before leaving Corsicana, I had to stop and get one more geocache here. "The Fruitcake Factory" (GCF11B) is located at the Collin Street Bakery. Yes, that dreaded fruitcake that usually makes an appearance around the Christmas holidays. The Collin Street Bakery is the largest producer of fruitcake in the world. They have been baking since 1896 and are shipping to almost 200 countries around the globe.



Another goal of this roadtrip is to pickup new geocaching counties. I've already completed my Texas counties. Now that I've crossed over into Louisiana it's time to pick off a few more of those. Bienville Parish was the first one with a quick roadside park and grab geocache (GC5BQVX).

My next geocache and county was in Quachta Parish in the town of Calhoun. "Breaker 19" (GC1V79Q) was a creative cache at a CB shop. I posted a photo below and also my first attempt at bringing you a video. Hopefully it works.





Just up the street in Calhoun was the Mount Zion Cemetery. There wasn't a geocache there, but it's still hard to pass up an old cemetery. There are over 500 interments that date all the way back to 1852 belonging to an eight year old boy named Robert Simmons Gaston who died in 1852 while visiting this country with his mother.



Located in Richland Parish, Holly Ridge was established in the early 1900's as a sawmill town in the middle of a large farming area. The company started with making barrel heads and later changed to the lumber industry. The company that owned all the timber land was Chess and Wymond out of New York state. Mr. Franklin leased all the land and cut all the timber. After the timber was gone it became a large farming area owned by the Franklin family. A quick roadside geocache (GC29MH5) in Holly Ridge off of I-20 to claim that county. Some dark clouds overhead isn't very promising though. I did get some heavy rain along the Louisiana / Mississippi state line.



After the rain and crossing over into the state of Mississippi, I jump off of I-20 and drive up into Madison County and the town of Annandale. There I find my next virtual geocache at the Chapel of the Cross (GC29MH5). After John and Margaret Johnstone arrived in Mississippi from North Carolina in 1840, they lost two of their sons that same year and buried them on their land, which would become the Annandale Plantation. John had the idea to build the chapel but died in 1848 before he accomplished it. The Gothic Revival chapel was erected in the 1850's by his wife Margaret L. Johnstone as a memorial to her husband.



Behind the chapel is the cemetery which now contain over 250 interments, the oldest being the two sons from 1840. The geocache page mentions one grave in particular as a question from which you need to answer in order to claim credit for the virtual geocache. But it doesn't give you the history of the grave. Henry Grey Vick was killed in a duel at age 23, just days before he was to marry Helen Johnstone, the daughter of John and Margaret. Helen was said to have worn her wedding dress to Henry's funeral. And legend has it that the "Bride of Annandale" continued to love Henry the rest of her life, even after marrying George Harris, and that her ghost is often seen sitting on a bench near Henry's grave.





Now that the sun is down and it's dark out, my plan is to keep going as long as I can find the geocaches. If I can't find a cache and need the county, then it's time to find a hotel and wait for daylight.

But next up is another virtual cache in Canton, MS. "Casey's Intended Destination" (GCF5FE) was located at the old train depot, now a museum. Canton was the destination of the famous train engineer John Luther "Casey" Jones when his train derailed after colliding with a stalled freight train 15 miles up track. He was traveling at about 75 MPH when he noticed the broken down train cars still on the track about 300 feet ahead near a side track switch.

While he could have jumped off the engine to save his live, as did the fireman on board, he stayed with the engine pulling on the brake and reversing throttle to protect those on the ground and passengers of the other train. He managed to slow down to approximately 35 MPH before colliding with the caboose and 3 of the freight cars when his train derailed. He died upon impact and time was recorded at 3:52 AM by his cracked watch.

I would liked to have gotten some more photos of the outside and down the side with the tracks in view. It was lit up enough. But there were some shady characters hanging out across the tracks on this Friday night. So a quick photo of what I needed for answers and moved on. (answer covered)



From here to the Alabama state line, I found several quick parking lot geocaches in Leake County (GC3CMVJ), Neshoba County (GCV8ZT), and Kemper County (GC7KCNW). Then I continued over into Alabama where I already had the next  few counties. Getting close to midnight I found a hotel in Birmingham for the night.

A long drive today, but I did get to pick up some new counties and see some great places. I especially like that old chapel in Mississippi and wish I got there just a little earlier to get some better photos.

Anyway, tomorrow is another day and another adventure. Do I make it all the way to NC or stop short. Guess you'll have to come back to find out. See you next time...

Tuesday, October 27, 2020

2019-02-06: Finally Completing the Texas Counties After 13 Years!

YAY!! It only took me 13 YEARS to complete!! Being a Florida resident, we were traveling around in an RV and when we got to Fort Davis I remembered my sister telling me about this Geo treasure hunting game. Well our DataStorm satellite gave me coordinates wherever we were parked. So without a GPS, my son an I made 3 attempts hiking the trail before finding the cache on April 18, 2006. You can read all about that in a blog post here: http://awaywego.us/adventure_archives/04-19-06.html



Continuing West to California, north to Alaska, east to Maine, and then back to Florida, I would not see another Texas cache until July 2007 when I became a truck driver. Picking up some caches here and there as long as I can find Big Rig friendly caches, my last Texas cache as a truck driver came in April 2010. That started a dry spell as I would not step foot in Texas again until November 2015. (That's all in my original blog linked above.)

When I first arrived back in Texas this time, my wife and I were in Jasper (East Texas) for 6 weeks until her company transferred her to Lubbock. We were there for 3 months and then transferred again to Crane for 18 months. From there she went to Killeen. My new job had me working in West Texas, then down to the Rio Grande Valley. So I pretty much covered the state! (You can read all about that in this blog.)

I had the final 3 Texas counties: Hood, Dallam and Sherman. Hood was SW of Fort Worth and just a few hours away. But Dallam and Sherman Counties were WAYYY up in the top west corner of the panhandle. We just did not have time for them on that caching run while we were in Lubbock. I knew they would be haunting me and I almost had to leave them behind.

I finished surveying the wind farm project in the Rio Grand Valley (yeah my work involves a GPS also!) on January 25th and they wanted me to start in Missouri last Monday on the 28th. YIKES! No way I can grab those unless I took the REALLY long way around. Well as luck would have it, the last minute they told me to hold off on going to Missouri. So I decided I'd better run up there quick while I have the chance before they assign me my next project location.

A couple days ago I hit the road. Going north up I-35, I stopped for gas in Alvarado, Texas. Nearby was a large cemetery with two geocaches. I found them both (GC5ZMG5, GC5QRGJ). I mean you can't pass up a cemetery cache when you're that close right!

Then I finally arrived in Hood County and Acton Cemetery. Acton had four caches, one of which was for a famous resident; Elizabeth Crockett (GC6XKHC). Acton Cemetery is also the location of Acton Historical Site which is the smallest Texas State Park. The park basically consists of the grave of Elizabeth P. Crockett (1788-1860), widow of Alamo Hero David Crockett, and two of his children. In 1911, a statue and monument were erected to her memory and made a state park.






Acton (formerly called Comanche Peak) was named in 1855 by C. P. Hollis, the first merchant in town. In spite of the early name, Acton had few Comanche raids. After erecting a building for church and school, early pioneers selected this plot for a cemetery. The first person buried here was Mrs Wash Hutcheson in 1855.

A few more quick caches along the roadside before arriving up in Dalhart, Texas for the night and checking into the hotel.

Yesterday morning I'm up and out just before dawn. Dalhart has some creative caches in town and I wanted to get to them before the local muggles would hinder my search. The geocaches were called "The Valve of Life" (GC4YDEY), the "Denver and Rock Island Switch" (GC55P4B), and the "Dalhart Volunteer Fire Department" (GC58BMN). Combined they have well over 1000 visits and over 600 favorite points! And they get me one of my last two remaining counties!

Now the road to get to the tri-state corner, which I'll get to in a moment, goes into New Mexico before back into Texas. I already had that county for New Mexico, but I didn't want to pass up this cemetery. Clayton Cemetery contains the grave of "Black Jack" Ketchum (GC1KD22). Thomas Edward Ketchum (October 31, 1863 – April 26, 1901), was an ordinary cowboy and cattle driver who later turned to a life of crime. Black Jack Ketchum became one of the most famous outlaws in the region. He was captured when he single-handedly attempted to rob the same train again at the same place and in the same way that he, his brother Sam and others from the gang had robbed it just a few weeks earlier.

The train conductor, Mr. Frank Harrington, saw Tom approaching the moving train. He recognized him, grabbed a shotgun, and shot Tom in the arm, knocking him off his horse. The train continued, and the next day a posse came out and found Tom beside the tracks, badly wounded. He was transported to medical facilities at Trinidad, Colorado and his right arm had to be amputated. He was nursed back to health and then sent to Clayton, New Mexico Territory, for trial. In 1901, Black Jack was sentenced to death and hanged at Union County Court House for all his crimes and his last attempted train robbery. Black Jack's last words were: "I'll be in hell before you start breakfast, boys! Let her rip!"


Next up is a physical cache at the NW corner of Texas bordering New Mexico only (GC2VPKZ). You don't really notice it on most maps because it's just a slight overhang of about a mile where New Mexico goes over top of Texas before bumping into Oklahoma. So you have that marker and then about a mile to the east is the tri-state marker connecting Texas, New Mexico, and Oklahoma. And that is a virtual geocache pictured below (GC9374). I just had to wear the black hat for that one!


So now I'm kinda zig-zagging between Texas and Oklahoma picking off the Oklahoma border counties as well. A quick roadside cache (GC4J62V) and a cemetery cache (GC146NC) for Cimarron County. Then I dive down into Sherman County, Texas for my final of the 254 Texas counties (GC4JYTD)! WOHOO!! My second completed state and it ONLY took 13 years to do so! LOL

Picking up seven more cemeteries and two quick roadside caches in Oklahoma before I get to the Shattuck Windmill Museum virtual geocache (GCGBM4). There are windmills of all kinds dating back to the 1800's. A whole lot smaller than the 300' turbines of today!


A few more quick caches yesterday after that and I found the nearest hotel just as it was getting dark to stretch out and relax.

This morning I grabbed a cache (GCMHHX) here in Altus, Oklahoma for Jackson County before crossing the border into Texas. Continuing southbound on US-281 towards Killeen, TX, I spotted this world's largest rocking chair and a virtual cache (GCGYEB).


One more geocache to show you on my drive back home today. This simple bird house looking geocache was easy to find (GC6Q8PT). The tricky park was getting it open to sign the log. After a few minutes I figured it out this gadget cache and had my hands on the prize.


So I completed my Texas Counties on February 5th, 2019! YAY!! That brings my total counties to 1024 with Texas and Florida completed. Hopefully by years end my job transfers me to a solar project in Virginia where I can work on another state. Stay tuned for what's coming next...

Thursday, December 19, 2019

2018-03-11: Ghost Towns, Cemetery, a Gadget Geocache and More

Well here I go again. Another Sunday and another long drive back to West Texas. With some Geocaching stops along the way to break up the 360+ mile drive. Getting a little bit of a later start, I didn't want to get side tracked and spending a lot of time geocaching close to Killeen. So upon leaving home, I drove non-stop to San Angelo where I make my first stop at Starbucks.

Then heading SW on US-67 a few miles down the road by the Twin Buttes Reservoir, I make my first Geocaching stop at "A Little Bit of Sprinkles in San Angelo" (GC5BPYX). After a little bit of a search I came up empty. This one hadn't been found in nearly two years and had several DNF's. And now I've also added my DNF.

Just down the road was another cache called "Burt's Bees" (GC3XXXE) that previous finders also couldn't find. One of which said there was a damaged container. So I gave it a look because it had a few favorite points. Sure enough, I found what was left of a damaged container and nothing else. So I logged my 2nd DNF of the day and a "Needs Maintenance." Uggh! 0-2 is not a good way to start the day.

Back on US-67 a little ways and I get the smiles again. I guess you could call this one an easy gadget cache or just a very creative geocache. Called "Hickory Dickory Dock" (GC6Q5QC), it's just one of those fun creative caches that someone put some thought into.



 

Then I found the nearby "Old House Gone" geocache (GC11J8E). I'm not exactly sure about the real history here. I don't think it was once a real house now gone. But it looked more like an urban outdoorsman camp. There was the remains of a mattress (just the metal springs), an old couch, and lots of old rusty tin cans scattered about.

One more quick geocache "To the Ramp and River" (GC1B6RP) around the Twin Buttes Lake area and I'm finally moving westbound again.

The next two geocaches on my list were for the Arden Community ghost town (GC113HK, GCMJ22). Arden, on Rocky Creek was named for John and Katie Arden, who settled a claim at the site by 1885. The community acquired a post office in 1890 with W.P. Moore as postmaster. A local public school was established in 1892. Two short-lived schools had operated before this in Arden district, one on Rocky Creek and the other at Sawyer. In 1915 Arden had a post office, a school, a church, and a population of fourteen. In 1947, when the community had one business and thirty residents, the Arden School was consolidated with the Mertzon. All of the businesses had been abandoned as of 1966, execept for a polling place used to preserve precinct lines. The passing of the school, low cotton prices, drought, and better opportunities in nearby larger towns were the primary causes for the decline of Arden. The 2000 census listed only one resident remaining. Since 1952 an Arden reunion has been held each Labor Day on Rocky Creek.


The photo above is where the school used to sit. The photo below is of the Arden Cemetery which contains just 44 burials and is still in use to this day.



In trying to make my way back to US-67, I passed by "Middle Concho Crossing" (GCMN76). A low water crossing for a creek but it was dry here today. That one was followed by another "Just Over the Hill" (GC11KTE).

Passing through Mertzon for a few miles to the south I arrived at the ghost town of Noelke (GC15Y5N). From the cache page: "Noelke is on the Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe Railroad and a local road ten miles southwest of Mertzon in south central Irion County. The small settlement began as Monument Switch on the Kansas City, Mexico and Orient Railway when the road built through the area in 1910. The community was renamed Noelke in 1933 in honor of a local ranch owner, Walter Montgomery Noelke. The Monument switch continued in service in Noelke for some time after that, but county maps of the 1980s show only the location of the Noelke community. According to a local resident there was never a town here. Locally it was known as Noelke Switch. The Monument name came from a nearby mountain of the same name. The only building he was aware of was the railroad man's home which is gone. Old cattle pens are all that remain as this was the main place in the area for loading cattle for transport. Today trains pass through the area about twice a week on their way to Alpine. The ranch land for miles around is still owned by the Noelke family."


Around the curve a few miles away was my last stop and another ghost town called Pumpkin Center (GC15Y5Q). Again from the cache page: "According to a local resident, Pumpkin Center consisted of a store where area residents could get basic supplies and pick up mail. It was located at the junction of two county roads and along the Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe Railroad. The railroad switch at this spot was known as Suggs Switch. Nothing remains at the location. With the establishment of Mertzon, Pumpkin Center ceased to be."

That's it for me today. Still had 140 miles to go from here. Better get moving cause it's getting late in the afternoon. I hope you enjoyed the ride. See you next week...

Monday, June 10, 2019

2017-10-13: Cemeteries, a Tank, a Mexican Fort, and a Giant Teapot

Hello again and welcome back. So we spent the last two days moving into the house in Killeen. Now it's time for some fun and exploring. Today's Geocaching adventure has us driving around east central Texas to pick up some new counties.

Our first stop was down in Bastrop County and a town called McDade. There we grabbed a virtual cache (GCFF19) and a cemetery cache (GC41K67). McDade was founded in 1869 in the expectation of the arrival of the Houston and Texas Central Railroad. The town was named after James W. McDade who may have had something to do with the railroad. In the early days it was also called Tie Town or Tie City because ties and logs for the railroad were stored there.

When you think of the wild west and gunfights, you usually think about Tombstone and Deadwood. But this little known town of McDade, Texas experienced more shootings, lynchings, stabbings and 
assassinations between 1875 and 1884 than Tombstone and Deadwood combined! They need to make a movie about the outlaws and vigilantes there. But I encourage you to read more about the town at Texas Escapes.





One more quick roadside cache in McDade (GC6K3KY) then we continue down US-290 towards Washington County. There we stop for a quick Cowboy Wine cache (GC2QX0G) at a winery, but no time for tasting. Gotta keep moving. Then another picnic area cache along Mill Creek (GCNNDN).


Now over in Grimes County in the town of Navasota we find our next 5 geocaches. The first was called Real American Hero (GC23PZ6). March 23, 1999 the United States Department of the Army delivered a model M-60ATTS tank serial number 3757-A to this site. The M-60 combat tank equipped with a 105 mm cannon was deployed in the Vietnam and Desert Storm wars. This tank is dedicated to all members of the VFW Post 4006. The marker is dedicated in memory of Chief Bos n' Mate Sam Corolla Ret. USN who was instrumental in acquiring this tank.

Also in Navasota is the Oakland Cemetery and our next three geocaches (GC23PZY, GC23PZK, GC6KY3J). One of the celebrity burials is that of a musician, Mance Lipscomb Sr (1895-1976). His father taught him the basics of fiddling and was self-taught the guitar. Developed a distinctive finger-picking style that complemented his singing style. Lipscomb was "discovered" in 1960 at age 65. He saw his first album, and first recording, Texas Songster, released a year later. His music and life have been well documented on film, appearing in several 1960s and 1970s blues documentaries including The Blues Accordin' to Lightnin' Hopkins (1968), Blues Like Showers of Rain (1970), A Well Spent Life (1971), and Out of the Black Into the Blues (1972).

Our last geocache in town was a quick park and grab hidden at and placed by the Navasota Police Department (GC77NVV). Before heading out of town, we had to make one more stop. There wasn't a cache there. But when the town is home to the world's largest teapot you just have to pay a visit. Located next to Martha's Bloomers, a plant and garden nursery, it's a free stop for a photo opp.


Continuing north on TX-6, we arrive in Brazos County and the town of College Station. We had a quick stop at an A-maze-ing virtual cache (GCDB0A). What's the difference between a maze and a labyrinth? maze is a complex branching (multicursal) puzzle that includes choices of path and direction, may have multiple entrances and exits, and dead ends. A labyrinth is unicursal i.e. has only a single, non-branching path, which leads to the center then back out the same way, with only one entry/exit point. So is this a maze or a labyrinth? Neither, it's a virtual cache!


Not too far away was a gadget cache (GC5CRV6). Gadget caches are a lot of fun, but can also be frustrating. They're usually easy to find, as this one was. But there's always a brain teasing challenge to figure out how to get them open! Fortunately I have encountered one of these before so it was fairly easy.


Our next Geocache was over in Burleson County at a historical marker for Fort Tenoxtitlan (GC1J60X). Founded by Mexico as a bulwark against Anglo-American immigration, this fort and its nearby city were twice proposed for the capital of Texas. Alarmed by the influx of Anglo settlers into Texas, Mexico in 1830 sought to erect a line of forts to keep out the intruders. The ancient Aztec name for Mexico City (originally pronounced "Ten-ox-teet-lan") was given this site; it means "prickly pear place". So hopeful of the fort's success was the military commandant of the region that he envisioned it as the capital of Texas. But Anglo immigration did not cease. Instead it thrived on the friendship of the local soldiers and incoming pioneers. The colonizer Sterling C. Robertson introduced scores of settlers.

In 1832 the soldiers were withdrawn and the fort finally defaulted to the Anglos. Subsequently it was a supply center and mustering point for expeditions against the Indians. During its brief life many Texas patriots lived here, including 5 signers of the Texas Declaration of Independence, a martyr of the Alamo siege, and 7 soldiers of the Battle of San Jacinto. Tenoxtitlan was again suggested for the capital of Texas during the Republic, but Austin won out. In 1841, after many Indian raids, the site was abandoned.

Unfortunately, there's nothing left of the fort to see.

We finished off the day with one last cemetery cache but unfortunately it had been muggled and we had to log a DNF. It was a fun day with lots to see. But time to get back to the new house and relax.


Monday, November 21, 2016

2016-10-22: A Train Depot, an Old Fort, and Dinner With Other Geocachers!

Hello again and welcome back to another day in our Geocaching Adventures. Today we're heading down to San Angelo for a Geocaching Event hosted by a cacher named mommio. Though it started with brunch, we didn't make it in time for that. We grabbed a few caches on the way and then cached around San Angelo before meeting up with everyone at dinner. But I'm getting ahead of myself.

Our first stop of course was the Starbucks in Odessa. Then on to Midland taking the TX158 exit east over to US-87 south towards San Angelo.

Our first Geocache was at the Water Valley Cemetery (GC13P18). The small community of Water Valley, TX dates back to the mid-1800's. The oldest marked graves date to the 1890's, though there are more than a dozen unknown grave sites.


A few miles down the road there's a historical marker and our next cache (GC1XXZ6). In 1911, the Texas Legislature passed a law calling for the establishment of state institutions for the treatment of tuberculosis. Across the street from the historical marker was the first such establishment. Opening in 1912, the Anti-Tuberculosis Colony No. 1 began with facilities for 57 patients on a 330 acre tract of land. The tuberculosis nursing school was founded here in 1915, and by 1961 had graduated more than 500 nurses. It was renamed the State Sanatorium in 1919. Because of the advances in medicine, it eventually closed in 1971 after treating 50,000 adults and 5,000 children.

Not too far away is the small town of Carlsbad, TX. The town began in 1907 and soon began growing. But between a three year drought followed by the lengthy depression, the population declined. Our next Geocache (GC1XY0W) brought us to this old bank building, probably built in the early 1920's. It would be interesting to see this structure restored. The walls seemed pretty sound. The roof and interior have fallen apart. But to leave the look of the exterior, upgrade and modernize the interior and you'd have a cool looking house.

We finally made it to mommio's house and the other cachers have already scattered about town to do some local Geocaching. We found the rather LARGE geocache on the front porch (GC1F8K8) before moving on around town ourselves.

The next few caches were a couple of fun simple gadget caches. Pinball Wizard (GC217N6) was one that we've found several of before. Think like pulling the plunger on a pinball machine to get the ball (cache) to shoot out. That was followed by Puff the Magic Dragon (GC214PD) where you had to blow into a tube to get the cache to pop out the top. Three Blind Mice (GC6Q2Q5) was up next followed by Twist and Shout (GC33RDA).

From there we drove over to The Cowboy (GC4RW35). It was a statue honoring the hard working ranchers in West Texas. We never did find the cache. Turns out it was missing.


We also spotted these wonderful murals on the side of a building highlighting early public transportation in San Angelo.


I finally decided to go over to get the cache located at the San Angelo Visitors Bureau (GC101N0). I figured while there we could also find out some of the more interesting and historical places in town. There we picked up some information on the train depot and the old fort. Since the train depot was closest, we headed over there first.

Train service first arrived in San Angelo in 1888 by the Gulf & Colorado Railroad, which was soon after purchased by the Santa Fe Railroad. But in 1900, the Kansas City, Mexico, & Orient Railroad also built a line through San Angelo. The depot here is the KCM&O depot built in 1910 and serves today as the Railroad Museum.
With the two competing railroads, San Angelo became the most important sheep, goat, and cattle shipping station in the country. The Santa Fe Railroad Company bought the KCM&O in 1928 after the oil boom. But in the 1950's passenger rail service began to dry up with the construction of new roads and highways. And on June 20, 1965, the last train departed from the depot.

After touring the train depot and viewing all the displays, we drove over to Fort Concho. The center of a line of forts extending from the northeastern border of Texas to El Paso, Fort Concho was also the northern point of southern chain of forts extending to the Rio Grande. Established in 1867 (at the junction of the Butterfield Trail, Goodnight Trail, and the road to San Antonio) by 4th Calvary under Captain George G. Huntt to protect the frontier.

By March 1, 1870, the fort buildings were a commissary and quartermaster storehouse, hospital, five officers quarters, a magazine and two barracks; all built of sandstone. On June 20, 1889, the fort was abandoned and the property passed into private ownership.

We toured through all the restored buildings and looked at the displays. One of the officers quarters was even made into a telephone museum where they had just about every type of phone ever made! There were also two caches there, well supposed to be two caches there. We found one (GC46FQX) but not the other (GCKX8T).



By now it was time to meet up with the group at the restaurant for dinner and talk of our Geocaching tales of the day. We had a good time meeting a lot of new cachers as well as seeing some familiar faces from other events.

There's a lot more to see around San Angelo, but as usual they'll have to wait another day. We just need to retire early! Until next time, see you back here or out on the caching trails.