2016-03-11: A Canceled Appointment Means Geocaching Through Cemeteries

So this coming weekend was to be moving day. Candy's term at the facility in Lubbock has ended and she's transferring down to Monahans, Texas. The office for the next apartment complex was closed on weekends so today I was going to drive down and pickup a key to move in on Sunday. Well above halfway down, I received a phone call from them and we would have to wait until Monday. So I made a u-turn back to Lubbock.

But not all was lost. Might as well do some Geocaching on the way back! I stopped by the O'Donnell Cemetery (GC4X8H7) just south of the town of O'Donnell. Couldn't find much information about the cemetery itself, but did see some interesting headstones. The earliest dates back to 1920 and J.C. Paul. There were a lot of babies and small children, many of which were undated like the photo.

The next Geocache and cemetery was the Hancock Cemetery in Dawson County (GC5HGW3). Again not being able to find the history of the cemetery except the date of 1925 on the overhead entrance gate. There were some interesting headstones in there as well.

In the town of O'Donnell, Texas was another Geocache (GC509PA) next to this abandoned food store. An interesting old building and on the front facade you could still make out the partial name of "O'Donnell Food." Possible a grocery store, but looking inside I saw a lot of cages and written on the inside wall the statement: "NOTICE ALL PROCESSING CHARGES MUST BE PAID WHEN MEAT IS PICKED UP!" Could it have been a butcher or meat processing place? I'm not sure.

The next stop was at the Plain View Cemetery (GC5MB7G) and my next Geocache. Again I wasn't able to find any history of the cemetery, but there were some headstones dating back to the early 1900's. The one of most interest is that of PaNaTa "Netty" Alford Gregory (April 29, 1937 - August 29, 1912). Daughter of Puchethi and Fernaty Alford, Granddaughter of Shawnee Chief Tecumseh and Manete, great grand-daughter of Chief Pucksinwah and Methoataske.

My last cache for the day was at the Plains Community Center GCN5VB). Plains, Texas, which is not to be confused with Plains, Texas the Yoakum County seat, is a tiny community located in northwestern Borden County to the northwest of Gail near the small ghost town of Mesquite. It was an old farming community that was once home to a functioning school. That school house is today a community center. Though looking in through the windows, probably hasn't been used in a long time. Still has the old style steel swings and slide in back, definitely not safe by todays' standards!

Across the street was another old abandoned building in deteriorating condition. I didn't see any signs or anything giving away its long ago purpose. Taking a peak into the windows, there were a couple of old appliances, pallets, and wood piles. The ceiling and pieces of the roof had fallen and laying on top of everything so it just looked like a pile of debris inside. But based upon the layout, I'd say this was once a church. But once again, I couldn't find any information on it.

Enough Geocaching for today. Time to get back home.

2016-03-10: Geocaching and GeoArt Getting an "A" For My Effort

Today I had to drive up to Clovis, NM to take care of some business and on the way back decided to go Geocaching. But first I had to grab one cache in Clovis since it was 100 miles away from Lubbock. Gotta keep my cache-to-cache distance miles growing. Last I checked it was over 411,000 miles! So a quick LPC next door to where I was and headed back.

Just south of Littlefield, TX was this GeoArt that I've had my eye on. A few days ago, I solved all the puzzles so I could get the correct coordinates to the caches. Driving down the rural dirt roads through farm land with rarely a muggle in site, after about an hour and 30 caches later, I spelled the letter "A" in Geocaches. Most of them were fairly easy with a couple of difficult nano's in the mix.

That was it for today. Hey it's a weekday! See ya next time.

2016-03-06: Geocaching Through a Few Cemeteries and a POW Chapel

Today was a day to go Geocaching and to finish up some of the caches we had planned for yesterday but ran out of time. Candy was also sick with the cold, but didn't want to sit around the apartment. So we got a late start and will try to get as many as we can.

One of the unknown graves.

Our first stop was at Springlake Cemetery (GCMV7E), the only remains of the Springlake ghost town. Well maybe not a ghost town per say. The whole town just moved. This burial ground served the original residents of the Springlake community. The area was opened for settlement in 1908 by the George C. Wright Land Company. It was named for the nearby Springlake Ranch. D.B. Shiflet donated the first two acres for the cemetery. The first burial took place in 1909. Of the 356 known graves, five are unmarked. The community of Springlake was relocated in 1935, 4.75 miles southeast. The town once had a hotel, supply store, school and post office. But only the cemetery remains at the original site. As for the cache, well it must have relocated also. It hasn't been found in almost two years.

A few caches later and we arrived at the next Geocache of interest (GC38T16). The old Waggners Grocery Store located on US-385. Located just south of Dimmitt, TX, I could not find any history of the grocery store or when it closed down. But this is what remains today. 

A few miles up the road is this long and almost forgotten Flagg Cemetery (GC4XKVM). I couldn't find any other history on this cemetery other than what's on the monument. Used between 1920-30 and the cache page states that a local farmer mows it every once in a while. Most of the graves are marked with just a cross without any name. There's only two headstones with names and dates.

Several more caches later and we made it up to Hereford, TX. There was the location of our next historically significant cache (GC1GNK4). According to the Texas State Historical Association's Handbook of Texas Online, during World War II, Hereford became the site of a prisoner of war camp named the Hereford Internment Area or Camp Hereford. Covering a section of land, the camp was constructed in July 1942 at a cost of two million dollars. Italian prisoners occupied the site from April 1943 to January 1946. The first American Military Police unit arrived in 1943. Italian captives arrived in April of that same year. The prisoners were brought to Hereford by train and marched the approximately 4 miles to the camp. The first prisoners were escorted by guards who had no ammunition since it had not arrived yet. By September of 1943, the camp contained 5,000 prisoners. The openness of the flat high plains of Texas served as a deterrent to escape since escapees would be easily spotted. However, one escapee named Luigi Montalbetti traveled 300 miles toward Mexico before he was recaptured by the Texas Border Patrol.

The maximum-security policy was soon replaced by a policy of maximum utilization, and enlisted men were hired out to work on local farms at a rate of ten cents an hour. The officers, however, were incarcerated in separate compounds and not required to work. The mutual regard that developed between the prisoners and their captors was shown at St. Mary's Catholic Church in Umbarger Texas. There, seven Italian officers and two enlisted men made wood carvings, painted murals, and installed stained-glass windows, donating their labors in the spirit of Christian brotherhood. Parishioners reciprocated by providing them with bountiful meals. Each night the Italians smuggled the surplus back into the officers' compound, which was under a retaliatory starvation order from April through December 1945.

In late summer 1945, as the Nons (non-collaborators) recognized that the war was wrapping up and they would soon be leaving, they began to think of the five prisoners who had died while at Camp Hereford. What would become of these men after the war? They almost certainly would be forgotten in the otherwise unmarked area east of the camp designated as the cemetery. They concluded that a memorial was needed, both to mark the gravesites and to serve as remembrance of their deceased friends. Using scavenged bricks, broken glass, surplus materials, and a few purchased supplies, they built a small chapel in just a couple of weeks, complete with an altar, double French doors, stained-glass windows, and a marble-like concrete surface. They dedicated it with a plaque honoring the five men. The men were eventually re-interred at Fort Reno, OK. in 1947.

Rapid repatriation began with the end of the war, and in January 1946 the last 4,000 prisoners boarded special troop trains for their return to Italy. The camp was placed on the surplus list on February 1, 1946. All that remains today is a water tower, swimming pool and the memorial chapel constructed by the POWs. A 13-by-13-foot plaster-over-brick chapel, now vandalized, memorializes the five POWs who died in the camp.

After nine Geocaching finds and two DNF's, we headed back to Lubbock. Probably the best stop today was the POW chapel. If you like to travel and learn about history, Geocaching is definitely the game to play. Where do we go to next?

2016-03-05: From Earth Texas to Billy the Kid in New Mexico

What a day! I think we drove about 400 miles all together. I mean we DID drive to Earth and back! Saw some strange things, learned a lot of history, and met up with Billy the Kid. Geocaching does take you to some pretty unique places.

After several quick roadside Geocaches, our first cache of interest was at the Halfway Cemetery (GC5NEFE). Now, I'm not sure what it was halfway between but the thing that comes to my mind is a Catholic cemetery for those in purgatory. Or maybe zombies? I don't know...

Actually the Halfway community developed around a school establishment in 1909. The name signifies its location between the county seats of Plainview and Olton. A post office operated in Halfway from 1910 to 1914. In 1945 the community had a school, two churches, a cotton gin, and a population of twenty-five. The school closed in 1952, and the building is now used as a community center. In 1980 Halfway had a gin, an agricultural equipment plant, churches, several businesses, and a population of seventy. In 1990 and again in 2000 the population was fifty-eight.

Since we've gotten halfway there... next stop is Planet Earth! (GC3H4VG) And now we know the question that has baffled scientists for many years. No, the earth is NOT millions and billions of years old. Nope, the Earth was established  in 1924. Everything in the history books before that was just our imaginations.

Earth, Texas was established by William E. Halsell, who laid out the townsite in 1924. Originally Halsell named the city Fairlawn, but in 1925 it was renamed Earth when it was learned that there was already a town in Texas by the name of Fairlawn. In order to find a new name the townspeople sent in suggestions, and the agreed-upon best name was chosen.

They even put the name on this huge tower so all the UFO's and space aliens headed over to Roswell know where they are.

Now our next cache was about 100 miles away across the state line into New Mexico. We wanted to make sure we got to it today, so we skipped all the others between there and will grab as many as we can on the way back. So we continued west on US-70 onto US-84 all the way out to Fort Sumner, NM.

Our first stop and next cache (GC8493) is who made Fort Sumner famous. This virtual cache brought us to the grave sight of the wild west outlaw Billy the Kid. Not exactly a good photo of the headstone, but his headstone was stolen twice! The first time it went missing for 26 years before its location was discovered. Within the large cage are three graves belonging to Billy the Kid and his friends Tom O'Folliard and Charlie Bowdre. After Billy the Kid's headstone was recovered the second time, a cage was built around the entirety and the headstone itself bolted down at the foot of his grave.

There are several more gravesites here at the historic Fort Sumner site. Here are just a couple samples.

There were four more Geocaches located in the town of Fort Sumner. One at the Billy the Kid Museum (GC29XY8), the Fort Sumner historical marker (GC1P67K), and two more at the main cemetery in town (GC60CPY and GC60CR4). And now that we've gotten all those, we still had 162 miles and more caches to get on the way home!

On the way back in another old town of Taiban we found our next three caches. The first one was the former trading post, former antique store, and now just former and abandoned business (GC34E7G). The Taiban Trading Post was built in 1915 and was once a thriving business.

The next cache in Taiban was the End of the Road (GCV8MZ). Here sits the remains of the First Presbyterian Church of Taiban. Completed in December of 1908 at a cost of $250, its first sermon was presented by the Reverend John R. Gass. As the towns population dwindled due to the depression and drought, the church held its last service in 1936.

As we arrived here, we see a pickup truck with Texas plates on it and a guy with something on a stick walking towards the church and right into the front door. I thought maybe another cacher holding a car GPS. I walk down the side of the church towards the back looking for the cache and he went all the way through the church and is out back. I ask him if he's Geocaching and he says he was taking a video. We get to talking and it turns out he's on vacation from Germany and traveling through Texas and New Mexico for 12 days. We chat for a little while and wish each other safe travels.

On the eastern edge of town was our next cache at the Watering Hole (GC1RVY1). This once liquor store, maybe even a bar is now half burned down. Once a destination for the thirsty, now only a destination for Geocachers.

Continuing eastbound was our next cache (GC617HR) and piece of history. At noon on November 30, 1944, a World War II supply train hauling 165 five-hundred-pound bombs headed for the Pacific Theater derailed in Tolar. The train caught fire and the bombs exploded. The blast, which leveled nearly every building in town, could be heard 60 miles away. It vaporized 500 feet of track and sent a 1,500-pound axle crashing through a store and rolling out the back. One person, Jess Brown, was killed in the explosion after a piece of iron shrapnel struck his head.

Our last cache for the day just west of Clovis, NM was located at the Blacktower Cemetery (GC61N67). Located west of the Chavez West Housing addition near Cannon Air Force Base, the cemetery is considered to be a lost cemetery and shows signs of not having been kept up for a long time. Tall grass, weeds and stickers guard the entrance to this piece of eastern New Mexico's history, but at one point airman from neighboring Cannon Air Force Base turned out to restore and clean up this treasure. 
According to a June, 2009 article, 25 volunteers showed up to the cemetery to clear away the weeds and shovel away the sand that had blown over the headstones. In the six years since the service project, the cemetery has fallen back into its forgotten, buried state. Railroad tie steps still exist and lead visitors to the entrance of the cemetery where several headstones are visible, but extremely difficult to get to.

According to a May 22, 2009, Clovis News Journal article, the Blacktower Cemetery was originally started as a family cemetery and became the final resting place for 42 individuals. The article cites local High Plains Historical Foundation member Harold Kilmer as saying that Blacktower is unique because research suggests that two Civil War veterans are buried there: Emmett Fulkerson, who died June 17, 1911, and William Brantley, who died Feb. 7, 1908. Kilmer said the cemetery was started by an unknown farmer’s family about 1906 after an infant’s death.

After looking around the cemetery at some of the headstones, we finally arrive in Clovis, NM and a wide variety of restaurant choices! You would think by now we would have learned to pack a picnic lunch for our adventures. Because having past through Clovis heading west out to Fort Sumner, spending time in Fort Sumner, then driving back to Clovis, there's not much for places to eat! By now we're practically starving! 

So we grab a quick sandwich at Subway before driving the two hours back to Lubbock. We ended the day with 16 Geocaching finds and a new county in New Mexico. And another day of adventure through history.

2016-03-02: The Ultimate Gadget Cache!

In my ten years of Geocaching, it's always nice to come across a creative cache. Early on in the years they were few and far between. But these days they're getting more frequent and even more creative. They've even got an "unofficial" category for them called Gadget Caches.

And today I think I have found one of the best that I've come across so far. It's called the Ultimate Gadget Cache (GC5RDMC) and it's located in Clovis, NM. Looks like a simple box right? A regular sized cache. There's a reason there's a bench there. It gives you some place to sit while you figure out how to get it open! It took me about 30 minutes to finally access the log book!

The one end is blank, the other end has a key lock on it, and there's a hidden panel on the side. This was a fun 3-stage, maybe 4-stage depending upon how you look at it. The photos I have below I don't think are spoilers. Upon my first inspection of the gadget cache, I knew these doors had to open. I just had to figure out HOW to open them. What a great, fun cache!