Showing posts with label labyrinth. Show all posts
Showing posts with label labyrinth. Show all posts

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.


Friday, February 5, 2016

2015-06-20: Road Trip Day#1 Geocaching Georgia and Tennessee

YIPPEE! It's Vacation Time!! Time for another week long road trip! This year the destination is Mackinaw Island, Michigan. We left Orlando last night after work driving I-75 all the way to Valdosta, Georgia where we stayed the night.

This morning after breakfast, we continued up I-75 and stopped in Macon to start Geocaching. Macon, GA is in Bibb County which we needed to complete our Geocaching county map. While we're traveling, I try to find caches of interest in a county instead of just getting the first one we come across. This allows us to do some sightseeing too. A quick way to figure out caches of interest is to look for virtual caches. Macon had a LOT of virtual caches too!

The first was this statue on a bench of Jesse Mercer, the Baptist founder of Mercer University.

Not too far from there was the Rose Park Labyrinth. They say labyrinths are a way of finding yourself through meditation as you follow the path to the center. I don't know about. I have a GPS.


Next stop was the Holt House, built in 1853 by Judge Asa Holt. It's more commonly known as the cannon ball house because it was hit with a cannon ball during the civil war.


Then we went over to Gateway Park to find this statue of Otis Reading. It was a pretty cool place with benches facing the statue and speakers in the ground playing music.


From there we took a nice stroll along the Ocmulgee Heritage Trail along the Ocmulgee River front. It was a lot of fun! But by now it was getting just past noon and we were not getting very far. So we skipped the rest and jumped back on I-75 northbound.

We picked up a few more caches in new counties on the way up to this historical Confederate Cemetery located in Jonesboro, GA. There are several hundred unknown soldiers here.




The next historical site and virtual Geocache is located in Calhoun, GA. This Cherokee Indian Memorial was erected in honor of the Cherokee Nation in 1931 on the site of New Echota, the last Capital of the Cherokee Indians east of the Mississippi River. At the time, it was recognized by the U.S. Supreme Court as an independent community and was the only group of American Indians to adopt a Republican form of government based on a written constitution.



Crossing over into Tennessee, another historical virtual cache is another Confederate Cemetery. Less than a mile off of I-75 in Chattanooga, TN, an almost forgotten cemetery with many unknown soldiers buried.


Our next stop heading north was in Cleveland, TN. On October 18, 1871, Dr. Gideon Blackburn Thompson was taking his 7 year old granddaughter for a buggy ride when the horse got out of control and took the buggy into the path of a train. The Dr was thrown from the buggy and survived. However the little girl Nina had died. The entire town was saddened by the news and many came to the funeral. The girls father was a devout Episcopalian and because Cleveland Episcopalian's did not have a church building, he vowed to build one in Nina'a honor. Three years later the church was completed and dedicated on the anniversary of Nina's death. Not long after he had the mausoleum constructed behind the church and her body was laid to rest inside, which you see below.


By now it's getting late in the afternoon. We had dinner and found a hotel for the night. What a busy day! We ended with 20 virtual caches, 7 traditionals, and 1 web cam cache for a total of 28. We saw and learned a lot of history. What's in store for tomorrow? Come back and see.