2021-06-17: Summer Road Trip to Buy Our "New-to-Us" Home and Geocaching Through Texas, Arkansas and Missouri

Hello Friends! Well some of our regular readers may recall that the primary reason that we are able to go on so many geocaching roadtrip adventures is because we work in construction. We travel from project to project across the country and had to find short term rentals in each town to live in while there working. My wife has been traveling and working with me for about two years now, though this last solar project we just completed near Fort Stockton, Texas she didn't work on it.

When we arrived in the nearby small town of McCamey at the beginning, the choices for rental accommodations were old rundown houses from the 1940's. My wife took one look and decided she'd stay with her daughter in Killeen, TX for the duration. Now that it has completed, I have three weeks before starting at the next location in North Texas. So what to do but go on a roadtrip to Indiana where I found our "new to us" home to buy! Finally after a year of looking... a wish comes true!

 

My last day on the project was a Tuesday. I had packed up everything in the Jeep that morning and I made the 5-hour drive to Killeen after work that evening. On Wednesday, Candy and I packed as much as we could into our little 2-door Jeep for us as well as her teenage grand-daughter who rode along with us on this roadtrip adventure.

So we left Central Texas and our first stop wasn't until Texarkana, Arkansas or is it Texas? Or Arkansas? Actually it IS in both! The courthouse sits right on the state line. Now that's a divided court and was a virtual geocache, now archived (GC829D).

After 450 miles of driving, we stopped at a hotel in South Hot Springs, Arkansas for the night. Waking up Thursday morning and checking out, we grabbed a quick geocache (GC1KGXN) right there in the parking lot before hitting the road.

But not before taking a quick drive into the historical Hot Springs National Park and Bathhouse Row. Hot Springs, Arkansas, gets its name from the naturally 143 °F thermal spring waters found here. Flowing out of the ground at almost one million gallons of water each day. Native Americans called this area “the Valley of the Vapors,” and it was said to have been a neutral territory where all tribes could enjoy its healing waters in peace. Spanish and French settlers claimed the area in the mid-1500s. In fact, famous explorer Hernando de Soto was the first European to visit Hot Springs in 1541.

While it is true that President Grant designated Yellowstone as the first "National Park" in 1872, it can also be said that Hot Springs, Arkansas was technically the first national park when President Andrew Jackson designated Hot Springs a "Federal Reservation" in 1832 for public use. Hot Springs didn't officially become a National Park until 1921.

Bathhouse Row has evolved over the years from it's rustic beginnings to the modern spas of today. In the 1830's, Hot Springs earliest facilities were make shift shelters perches over individual springs. Later elaborate Victorian bathhouses flourished along the avenue. But those wooden structures were susceptible to rot and devastating fires. The present mix of Spanish Mission to neoclassical architecture date from 1911 to 1939, the Golden Age of bathing.

Medicinal bathing peaked in 1946 and many of the traditional bathhouses have closed or converted into the modern spas. Traditional bathing remains at the Buckstaff Bathhouse. The National Park Service has landscaped many of the exercise paths that were considered essential to good health. Like earlier visitors, you can still stroll the brick Grand Promenade behind Bathhouse Row or hike mountain trails throughout the National Park.

Walking among the shops there on the row, I spotted an iconic Zoltar fortune teller machine made famous from the 1988 movie "Big" starring Tom Hanks. Hmmm, what should I wish for?

Also spotted this restored antique Harley-Davidson motorcycle. Not sure about those white tires though!

And then there's this statue standing outside of Diablos Tacos and Mezcal restaurant. Still too early for lunch so just took a photo.

While walking down Bathhouse Row, we did find three geocaches and completed an Adventure Lab. Along with what I've already shared with you, they also highlighted Hot Springs history with Babe Ruth and baseball (GC2ZDMJ), the cemetery (GC3JFJ9, GC92RGD), and Al Capone and organized crime in the 1930's.

Time to get back on the highway heading north. Since I've already gotten the geocached counties along the way from previous trips, I tried to make up some time and skipped a lot of the geocaches I had picked out. Got back to I-30 into Little Rock to US-67 towards the northwest.

When we get to the town of Walnut Ridge, I make a right turn onto US-412 eastbound. It didn't take long before I thought it was a big mistake. CONSTRUCTION TRAFFIC!! My next target cache was still over 40 miles. While waiting for the lane to open back up to proceed, I thought I'd check the nearby geocaches. What do I see but a new geocache hidden on my birthday (June 11), published on the 13th, and STILL yet to be found four days later! I guess it was just waiting for us to pass by! I knew exactly what it was just from name "Dollar Skirt" (GC9CMGQ). Found and stamped the blank log sheet! WOHOO a First-to-Find! Thanks for construction traffic!

Then we crossed over into Dunklin County, Missouri and made a quick roadside geocaching stop for the county (GC3ABN5). Next door in Pemiscot County we found a very large geocache with a LOT of favorite points (GC1REX7) to complete the "heal" of Missouri.

Also in the town of Hayti was this restored one-room schoolhouse. The Hayti school building was built in 1874 and was used until 1895. There was a geocache there too but we couldn't find it, as well as several previous geocachers too. It has since been archived.

Jumping onto I-55 northbound a few miles into New Madrid County, we soon exit into the town of New Madrid, Missouri. There were three geocaches on my to-do list in town to be found. The first one was at the Byrne-Howard Cemetery (GC2M4Q4). The cemetery was established in 1833 with the burial of Morgan Byrne. He was joined by his wife Jane just two years later. This small cemetery has acquired 29 permanent residents between 1933 and 1947.

We also stopped by the Hunter-Dawson State Historical Site (GC47ZVN). William and Amanda Hunter owned a successful dry goods business in New Madrid as well as a floating store selling goods up and down the Mississippi River. They built their antebellum mansion with Georgian, Greek Revival and Italianate features popular during the period. The mansion took nearly a year to build and was completed in May of 1860. Unfortunately William died in 1859 before the house was completed.

In 1874 Ella, the Hunter's youngest daughter, married William Dawson. Upon Amanda's death in 1876 Ella and William moved into the mansion. Dawson served three terms in the Missouri State Legislature. In 1884 he was elected to the US House of Representatives. In addition, he served on the planning committee of the 1898 World's Fair in Chicago.

The home did suffer damage during the Great Flood of 1937. (There is a spot in the house where you can see the water mark on the wall.) Descendants of the Hunter family occupied the home until 1958. In 1966 it was purchased by the city of New Madrid. A year later the city donated the site to the state to use as a state historic site. The home now stands as a testimony to the grand lifestyle of the successful businessman prior to the Civil War.

Speaking of the Civil War, while the Union troops occupied New Madrid, the Confederates controlled passage of the Mississippi River just around the bend upstream on a large island in the middle of the river. This prevented supplies from reaching New Madrid or any Union troops further south. In March of 1862, Colonel Josiah Bissell, commanding the "Engineer Regiment of the West," surveyed land north and east of New Madrid. Bissell found swamps and bottomland inundated with early spring floodwaters and suggested to Brigadier General John Pope cutting a canal from north of the island going west into New Madrid allowing steamboats and other ships to bypass the Confederate forces. Pictured below is a submergible saw used to cut down trees below the waterline allowing boats to maneuver through the thick swamps.

Island #10 in the Mississippi River

Backing up a bit for earlier history, New Madrid was the first American town in Missouri. Founded in 1789 by George Morgan, Princeton graduate and Indian trader, on the site of Francois and Joseph Le Sieur's trading settlement. Named for Madrid, Spain, the town was to be an American colony. Morgan was promised 15 million acres by the Spanish ambassador, eager to stop U.S. expansion with large land grants. In 1800, Spain traded the territory back to France in the Third Treaty of San Ildefonso. After trying to regain control of Saint-Domingue (the present Haiti), where a slave rebellion was underway, Napoleon gave up on his North American colonies, agreeing to sell this territory to the United States in 1803 as part of the Louisiana Purchase.

And finally, the New Madrid Earthquake (GC1DRVR), made up of a series of monstrous and lessor shocks, which began December 16, 1811, and continued for over a year. One of the great earthquakes of the world because of severity and length it caused little loss of life in a thinly settled region. Some of the shocks were felt as far of 1100 miles.

So that's it for today. Tomorrow we see a little more of Missouri before getting into Illinois and Indiana.

To follow along on our travels and keep up with my latest blogs, you may do so here of course by clicking the "Follow" button to the right. And there's also my main website at AwayWeGo.US for the complete index of my traveling adventures going back to 2005. But also by using one or more of your favorite of these social media platforms: Facebook, MeWe, Gab, Reddit, Twitter, GETTR, Instagram, and TruthSocial. These all link directly to my profiles. Again, please feel free to comment and / or share.

2020-10-20: Forget Graceland, We're Going to the Grotto! From Memphis and Geocaching Across Arkansas Counties

Welcome back everyone. This was Day #3 of our roadtrip from North Carolina to Texas. Last night we ended the day just outside and east of Memphis, Tennessee. And what is the first thing you do in Memphis? Forget Graceland. We going to The Grotto!! Not widely known but something that you must see if you're ever in the area. But until then, come with us for a virtual tour of this nearly 100 year old creation.

The plan was to start the day visiting Elvis's Graceland. But when we arrived at the entrance there were signs everywhere about masks being required. While I've been here before, Candy has not. Plus neither one of us are Elvis fanatics. It's just one of those places that you at least have to visit once in your life. However we just weren't up for touring this house during a "pandemic" wearing these silly masks. Which was a good thing because "Plan B" turned out to be a much better choice!

The Crystal Shrine Grotto is located in the Memphis Memorial Park and is also the coolest cemetery cache I've ever found! (GC9CBB) In 1924, E. Clovis Hinds purchased 160 acres of land on the outskirts of Memphis and transformed it into a tranquil graveyard he would call Memorial Park. A cemetery brochure describes his dream: “He sought not merely a pleasant, peaceful place of repose but an atmosphere steeped in tradition, linking the ancient past with the eternal future.”

Dionicio Rodriguez was born outside Mexico City in 1890 and immigrated to the United States in the early 1920's. He perfected a technique for chemically tinting concrete and then carving or molding it into naturalistic forms that closely resembled stones, logs, tree branches, down to such details as artificial worm holes, cracks in the wood, and peeling bark.  Rodriguez met Hinds here in 1925 and under Clovis’ guidance began the construction of what many would consider his masterpiece — the Crystal Shrine Grotto.

Words and pictures don’t really do it justice; only a personal visit shows the full scope of this endeavor. Using tons of tinted concrete, Rodriguez recreated scenes from the Bible and ancient literature. The Cave of Machpelah overlooks the scenic Pool of Hebron. Nearby are Abraham’s Oak, the Ferdinand IV Sunken Garden, Annie’s Wishing Chair, the Fountain of Youth, and other works — all made of cement. Perhaps the most unusual feature is the Grotto itself, a large manmade cavern carved into a hillside, with the high ceiling studded with thousands of quartz crystals. Inside, visitors can stroll past 10 panels depicting scenes from the life of Christ, which have been enhanced in more recent years by wood figures sculpted by Memphis artist David Day.

How did he carve out this grotto, or form these remarkable things, entirely alone? No one today is quite sure. Few photographs exist showing Rodriguez at work, because he was so secretive about his techniques that he often shrouded his projects in canvas until they were finished. After working at Memorial Park for several years, he left for other projects in other cities. He died in 1955 and is buried in San Antonio, but his remarkable creations live on. That’s because Dionicio Rodriguez took the time to make sure they were built to last. A marker at the Grotto explains that his artwork was “reinforced with steel and copper bar so as to ensure its existence for many centuries to come.”

Looking at some of the gravesites in the cemetery next to The Grotto, we noriced these two musical celebrities. The first headstone shaped, like a park bench, belonged to Marshall Grant (1928 - 2011). Buried there with his wife, he was the bass player for Johnny Cash and the Tennessee Two.

And not too far away from him was the legendary Isaac Hayes (1948 - 2008). A singer, songwriter, actor, composer, and producer, he was most known for the song "Soul Man" and the theme from the movie "Shaft."

We didn't spend much time looking throughout the remainder of the cemetery. There were probably many more graves of interest considering that there are almost 80,000 people laid to rest here. But we got to keep moving...

Crossing the Mighty Mississippi River over into Arkansas, we drove south of Interstate 40 into Lee County. A quick parking lot LPC geocache (GC1GE11) was requirement enough to fill in that caching county map.

Driving south into Phillips County, we found our next geocaching stop and more musical history (GC7KM9T). The son of an Arkansas Farmer, Levon Mark Helm was born May 26,1940, In Elaine Arkansas. He died April 19, 2012 in New York city. Lavon grew up listening to the music of the Arkansas Delta region west of the Mississippi River and Radio from Memphis, Nashville, and the King Biscuit Flower hour show from near by Helena Arkansas.

Helm started up his first rock group, The Jungle Bush Beaters, while in high school. In 1957, he joined Ronnie Hawkin's band as drummer. The group ended up in Canada where new musicians signed on. Levon and his fellow backing musicians split off from Hawkins, becoming Levon and the Hawks and then the Hawks. In 1967, he rejoined his bandmates in West Saugerties, New York. The group started calling themselves "The Band" and began to create and record their own songs. 

The house where Levon grew up, was moved from it's original location, Turkey Scratch five miles north, to its current location in Marvell.

Passing through Monroe County because I already had it, we arrived in Arkansas County. Just south of the town of DeWitt was a cemetery geocache (GC2C14A). I found the cache quickly and took a quick look around. Nothing really caught my attention and I didn't want to spend too much time there. Gotta keep putting the miles behind us.

Moving right along into Desha County, Arkansas, outside the town of Dumas, was a pioneer village and museum (GC3EYQ4). This collection of old buildings from around the area give you an example of what life was like for those seeking a new opportunity on the western frontier. Like this restored pre-1850 log home with the open breezeway in between two rooms to help with ventilation.

Or how about this old country church...

Not exactly luxury, but after working a long hard day on the farm or ranch, even the most meager thin beds would be welcome rest. Most bedrooms were multi-purpose rooms for sitting, reading, or even spinning wool or cotton into yarn or thread.

The next county over was Lincoln County and another quick cemetery geocache (GC1NY24). On the west side of Star City, Arkansas was the Leek-Drake Cemetery. With over 1500 permanent residents here and a lack of time, it was a short find the cache visit and a quick glance around. Nothing jumped out to peak my interest further, so down the road we went.

The same thing happened again in Cleveland County in the town of Rison. The Rison Cemetery geocache (GC1YE4B) was a quick find, a glance around, and move on down the road.

Now usually on my road trips, I have the targeted geocaches planned out so that I can get the needed counties to fill in the blank spaces on my geocaching map. And on occasion there's the unexpected sites that make traveling the back roads worth while too.

Passing through Kingsland, Arkansas, also in Cleveland County, we see the "Welcome to Kingsland" sign with the added "Birthplace of Johnny Cash." Well I'm not a country music fan but I do know who Johnny Cash is. And I've got some friends who are fans, one of which named his two dogs Johnny & Cash. So after a quick Google search we find the location and drive to the neighborhood. The house is gone and is now a community park. There's a church next door too. Along the street is this simple memorial. I kinda expected it to be in better condition than it was and was a little disappointed. But we can say now that we stopped at the "Birthplace of Johnny Cash."

Stopping in the town of Fordyce for a geocache in Dallas County, we come to the First Presbyterian Church (GC7WCDF). The church was first organized in 1883. As the congregation grew, this was their third building and was erected on this site in 1912. Now on the National Register of Historic Places, funds are being raised to restore this old church building.

Continuing our drive westbound, US-79 cuts through the northwest corner of Calhoun County. And finding a quick roadside geocache (GC8FZ1A) at the Welcome to Thornton sign filled in another empty spot needed on our geocaching counties map.

Crossing into Quachita County, the geocache in the Salem Cemetery (GC8TN20) gave us credit for that county. There are almost 2000 interments here in Salem, but no time to look around as it is getting late in the day, dinner time, and we're both hungry.

Our final geocache for the day was at the St. Matthew Cemetery (GC37P88) in Columbia County. About 400 interments, this cemetery dates back to 1867 and still serves the community.

Well we still have not yet made it to Texas. I'm sure we've all heard of "football time." Like the "two-minute warning" actually takes 10-15 minutes of real time. Or when a woman says they'll be "ready in a minute" when getting dressed up for a night out, turns into an hour later. 

Well the same goes for geocachers and road trips. According to Google maps, we should have crossed the Texas state line in about 5 1/2 hours from our start this morning. Here we are 10 hours later and still in southwest Arkansas. But we got to see a lot and had fun too. I mean what's the point of traveling for work if you don't get to enjoy the trip?

Time to finally get some dinner and find a place to stay for the night. We got one more Arkansas county to get to in the morning. Then finally back in Texas. I hope you enjoyed the ride. Post a comment to let me know you were here and feel free to share our blog with your friends. See you again real soon.

To follow along on our travels and keep up with my latest blogs, you may do so here of course. But also by using your favorite of these social media platforms: Facebook, MeWe, Gab, Reddit, Parlor, Twitter, RVillage, GETTR and Instagram. These all link directly to my profile. Again, please feel free to comment and / or share.

2018-01-02: Driving Home From Maryland to Texas Days 5, 6, and 7

Well I made it back to Texas. Making sure that I made it back today so that I can be at work tomorrow, I made fewer Geocaching stops. After waking up Sunday morning and making sure my wife had everything she needed, I said my goodbyes and packed up the GeoDogs into the car.

Day #5: I drove just over 700 miles from Baltimore to the western outskirts of Nashville. Only one quick cache (GC4MH5D) at a truck stop in Tennessee for gas, food, and dog walking.

Day #6: Yesterday I'm up early and hit the road on I-40 westbound. I finish Tennessee, through Arkansas, and into Texas. In Texarkana, I turned south down to Atlanta, TX  for my first cache in Cass County. A virtual geocache called Old Texas Rails (GC7EF2) at the old railroad station. The town was established in 1871 when the Texas and Pacific Railroad made a stop here and named after Atlanta, GA where many of the early settlers were from.

Continuing west on Hwy 155, I get to the small town of Avinger, also in Cass County.  At the Mt. Plymouth cemetery was my next cache (GC13TKN). Most of the cemetery was well kept. But there was this one area off to the side that was in bad shape. It's sad to think that the church next door wouldn't take better care of it.

My next county was Upshur County and the town of Ore City. The cache was called Twisted Chimney (GC69QAP). It was down the hill from this unique chimney which was the only remains of an old house. The name Ore City comes from the ore deposits found here prior to the Civil War. Only small amounts were extracted until 1910 when a large scale operation finally materialized.

Camp County was next on my list and a stop for the Life of Riley cache (GC17BXV). From the historical marker: "The oldest documented grave in Riley Cemetery, that of Louise Gillum, dates to 1859. The land was acquired by John Riley Sr, in 1875, and became known as Riley Cemetery. Early settlers buried here include John and Elizabeth Keeling Riley and their five children; Confederate Captain George W. Keeling, a former member of the Georgia State Legislature; the family of M. H. Couch, whose name graces that of Couch Mountain, Camp Counties highest elevation point; and many area pioneers whose decedents continue to live in the area and maintain the historic graveyard." 

Also in the Riley Cemetery is this marker which tells another story. "First Grave Riley Cemetery; Unknown Child; Oral history tells of a family migrating west on the Old Pitt-Jefferson Road, who requested and were granted a site to bury their child. From several historical sources this was the beginning of the Riley Cemetery circa 1850's."

Day #7: This morning I started out in Decatur, Texas in Wise County. I was planning on just grabbing the quick airport cache. I still had 400 miles to drive today and didn't want to arrive late in the evening. Well I turned down the wrong road and I figured well I'll take a quick look at the Oaklawn Cemetery. After about 30 minutes of looking at headstones, I realized I'm spending way too much time here. So as I'm exiting through the gate to grab the other cache, I though well I'm already here lets get this cache (GC6CMT2). But then there's a BUNCH! OK, just one. Yeah right! I find this one and then decided to get another since I'm already here (GCXT4X). Finally deciding the rest will have to be skipped in order to get back on the road again. I got 3 more counties to get before making my way back to I-20 Westbound. Ugh so depressing to skip caches.

Moving on my way to Jack County, I grabbed a quick roadside cache fittingly called "Traveling" (GC6AE23). Following US-380 to Young County to find the "Saints Alive" geocache (GC1T3V6) near a church. Then over to Stephens County for my last geocache (GC2WEA7) of the day.

That finished off most of my NE Texas counties that I needed to get. Now I made the 260 mile beeline back to Monahans to end the week.  Time to unpack, do laundry, and prepare for work tomorrow. And start planning my next trip.

2017-12-28: Surprise Road Trip: Texas to Maryland Day 2

So welcome back and a quick recap of where I'm at. Because my wife was pulled from our Christmas vacation and sent on a business trip to Baltimore, I decided to drive there from Texas to surprise her. Yesterday I drove over 500 miles and stopped just west of Memphis, Tennessee, over on the Arkansas side. Along the way the GeoDogs and I are stopping for caches in needed counties to fill in those empty spaces on the map. In case you missed it, you can read all about Day 1 here before continuing to fill you in on the Why, Where, and Wohoo!

Waking up at dawn this morning in Brinkley, Arkansas, I loaded up the GeoDogs in the car and we began Day 2 of our Surprise Road Trip. Brinkley is located in Monroe County and one that I needed. Not far from the hotel was a park with a simple and quick cache, Best Park Ever (GC1XC5F), I could easily grab and be on my way. And not to worry about muggles this early in the morning.

Back on the road and a long stint before the next scheduled cache county. Eastbound on I-40, across the Mighty Mississippi River, through Memphis after 105 miles we arrive in Shelby County, Tennessee at a town called Arlington. It wasn't right off the exit, but the NoWhere Road cache (GC3RYBG) was pretty easy to get to and I thought it wouldn't take much time away from traveling. Found it quickly but the container was empty. Added a new log sheet and was on my way.

Taking the backroads back to the interstate, I passed by this old abandoned spooky house. It would have been cool to go exploring inside. But it was beyond the fence on private property. So just photos for now.

Just twenty-six miles down the interstate was my next stop in Haywood County and a quick cache called Koko Moto (GC2GAB3). A quick find right off the exit and return eastbound quickly.

Forty-seven miles later and I find myself in Henderson County at the Independence Cemetery. A small unincorporated community in Tennessee just a few miles from the interstate. The cache was called Earn Your Independence (GC111HB). Cemetery caches are among my favorites because of the stories and history that could be found in them. With the small church and graveyard it was hard to resist not taking a quick walk among the headstones. The cemetery was well kept with the exception of the space between these two headstones. Husband and wife headstones. I've heard about some people who don't want their burial site to be well mowed grass because they like gardening, trees, vines, etc. Could this be the reason? Or perhaps turmoil and chaos in the marriage? Hmmm. I guess we'll just have to imagine what truth has been confined to the grave.

Continuing east and across the Tennessee River, I arrive in Humphreys County and grab a quick off the exit cache. Pond Bottom at Cuba Landing (GCX8NR) was a quick cache with a view of North Fork Blue Creek. A quick stop for the cache and to let the Chihuahuas take care of their business.

A short 14 mile drive later and I'm in Hickman County at another unincorporated community called Only, TN. Here was an Earthcache called Lee & Gould Furnace (GC15QK3). Samuel Lee and James Gould built the furnace in 1833 as part of an ironworks that employed hundreds. They located here due to the proximity of the raw materials needed to produce iron. The furnace stands as a reminder of an early industry.

Williamson County was the next stop thirty miles east. The Flying Alphabet cache (GCX9NE) was at a truck stop near the exit. A nice quick stop that I could park next to it and let the GeoDogs out as a distraction while I made the find.

The next exit down was Cheatham County and another quick right off the exit No Map Needed cache (GC3V7K4) in a busy shopping area. Again I was able to position the car to block the view from muggles to make the quick find.

Thirty-eight miles and through Nashville later, I arrived at Wilson County for my next cache. Wash Day at Belinda City (GC1DVEN) was just the cache needed right off the exit at the edge of a parking lot for a quick find to keep me moving forward.

Next was a nice long stint of 115 miles over to Roane County. The New Years Resolution cache (GC5JHVJ) was so close to the exit it was practically still on the exit!

Sixty-seven miles later and passing through Knoxville, I arrived in Sevier County and the town of Kodak. There I grabbed Scorpio the Scorpion cache (GC3Q3DT) to claim a county find.

Speaking of Knoxville, they have one of my favorite cache finds. I found Knoxville's Fastest Headstone (GCNBF5) way back in 2008. The cache is located near the headstone of A. J. Pete Kreis who was from Knoxville. He was a favorite to win the 1934 Indy 500 race but was killed during practice when his car crashed over the wall and burst into flames. If you've ever watched the race on TV and in the intro do a brief history of the race, they usually show that crash. Well his giant rectangular headstone has the track outlining it and his car going over the wall. Pretty cool to see if you're ever in the Knoxville area.

My last cache for the day was in Hamblen County off I-81 in Morristown. Pull Out #3 cache (GCMJ18) is another one of those quick park and grab at the exit caches for the highway traveler.

Welcome to Virginia! Finally making it through Tennessee longways east to west, I drive another 115 miles to Marion, Virginia. When I got off the exit ramp I'm staring at these signs and begin to chuckle so I just had to take a picture. You got the Atkins (diet) to the right or the Hungry Mother to the left! Well I thought it was funny. Maybe cause I was driving for 625 miles, I'm tired, and ready for a hotel. I should make it to Baltimore tomorrow to surprise my wife. Talking to her on the phone a few minutes ago, she now thinks I'm still in Texas driving around the state Geocaching. With the freezing temps there in Baltimore, she's starting to come down with a cold and not feeling too good. Hopefully arriving with her puppies and myself will cheer her up! Come back tomorrow to see what happens!

2017-12-27: Surprise Road Trip Killeen, Texas to Baltimore, Maryland Day 1

My Wife has a Big Heart and I Love Her Very Much! She's always willing to put others needs before her own. Being a therapist in a nursing home facility is almost like being in the medical profession. Wait, it is a medical profession. What I mean is that the only holidays she gets off is when it falls on the weekend. Fortunately this year, she is between facilities. The new Director has taken over where she was in West Texas but the new facility in Killeen hasn't opened yet. That's why her company has been using her to train others.

My job has shut down for a week and a half for the Christmas / New Years holidays. So we had the entire time off together. NOT SO FAST! She got a call begging her to help at a facility in Midland to cover on Monday, Christmas Day as well as Tuesday the 26th. Her big heart and willingness to help says OK. We'll still have a whole week at the house in Killeen for a vacation.

So yesterday we decided I would take her to work in Midland and drop her off before going back to the apartment in Monahans. There I would finish packing, load up the dogs, pick her back up after a few hours, and continue east towards Killeen. NOT SO FAST!! Just before I picked her up, her boss called to say they're sending her to Baltimore for two weeks to train some more directors there. Oh, and her flight leaves in a few hours! So back to Monahans, repack with scrubs for work, and back to the airport in Midland. I guess it's just me and the dogs for the next week.

Well on the remaining four hour drive to Killeen, I was feeling sad and depressed about our vacation vanishing. But then it hit me! I got a whole week! I'll stay the night in Killeen, but continue driving to Baltimore and surprise my Sweet Wife! I can get there and back in a week easy. So last night I called the hotel she was staying at to see if they allow small dogs but they said no. There was one nearby that did though. But I'll deal with that when I get there.

I also started looking at the route to get there and back. Can't do a road trip without getting a few Geocaches. Especially in the counties I still needed. So this morning I woke up early with excitement, grabbed the dogs, and out the door I went!

My first stop was Italy! Well Italy, TX that is. Nearly 2 hours and just over a hundred miles, I figured this virtual cache right off of I-35E would be a good place to walk the dogs too. Unique Italian Architecture (GCC25B) can be viewed from the Interstate while passing by, but then you can't see all the unique buildings. This is a warehouse made to look like a caterpillar, but the company makes dome shaped houses. There's a whole domed house neighborhood right here too. After a few pics and the dogs taking care of business, back on the road again!

Another two hours and another 120 miles later, I stopped for another quick cache (GC26HV9) right off the exit on I-30 in Sulphur Springs, Texas. This got me a new county, Hopkins County, and the dogs got to do their business as well.

Just 40 miles east on I-30 was Morris County and another quick highway exit cache (GC384YY).

My last Texas stop for today was just 24 miles later in Bowie County at the New Boston Cemetery (GC15NGJ). New Boston was established in 1877 as the result of the railroad being built just four miles to the north of Old Boston in 1876. Didn't spend a lot of time here. Gotta keep moving.

Welcome to Arkansas! Thirty miles later I pull into the Arkansas Welcome Center to grab a cache for Miller County (GC27RNF).

Ten miles later a quick exit park and grab cache (GC4KKN3) near a roadside memorial for three accident fatalities and one for Hempstead County.

Twenty-seven miles after that and I arrive in Nevada County, Arkansas for my next needed county. I chose this cache called The Battle of Gum Grove (GC18ZWR) because it was close to the exit and it had a Civil War history. Officially known as the Battle of Prairie D'Ane (French for Donkey Meadow), it was an open prairie 20 square miles surrounded by dense forest. Having taken place April 9-13, 1864, it was part of the Camden Expedition launched by Union Forces to drive the Confederates down into Texas, which it was unsuccessful in doing so. The cache was placed near an abandoned railroad overpass of I-30 which overlooked the battlefield prairie. Not really much to see related to the battle.

But what I did take a liking to and another reason why I like Geocaching, is finding the old abandoned railroad overpass. I took several different photos and I think I liked these two best and couldn't decide which one to share with you. So I decided to share them both.

OK, after the dogs and I have checked out the bridge enough, I load them back into the car and we hit the road again.

Compared to these previous short drives, this next one was a long 72 miles down the road. I arrived in Saline County in a town called Benton, Arkansas. The cache itself was fairly easy to find, but it was a Challenge Cache. A Challenge Cache is one that has requirements beyond finding it and signing the logsheet. This particular one is called "5 State in a Day Challenge" (GC5FB8A). I think you can guess as to the requirement needed. Well I met that requirement back nearly two years ago on another road trip: "870 Miles, 6 Geocaches, 5 States, 1 Day", when I found a cache in Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida all in the same day.

Twenty miles up the road and I'm now in Pulaski County and Little Rock, Arkansas. There's several good Challenge Caches here that I qualify for, but being pressed for time I had to choose just one. I ended up picking the Arkansas Bakers Dozen Challenge cache (GC395QZ) because I also needed its Difficulty/Terrain rating. It had a D/T rating of 5/2.5 of which I used to have a blank space on my grid. To understand the Bakers Dozen requirements, click on the GC# link and there's a detailed breakdown on the requirements.

Another short 20 miles later and I arrive for a quick exit cache (GC7G6CG) in Lonoke County.

I drove another 50 miles before calling it a night and checking into a hotel in Brinkley, Arkansas. A total of 538 miles today with plenty more to go. My wife still has no clue I'm coming. When we talked on the phone a little while ago, I was somewhere down in South Texas geocaching and picking up the needed caches down there. Gonna be a big surprise in Baltimore! Be sure to check back in tomorrow for more...