2020-10-19: Westbound Roadtrip Through Tennessee Civil War History and a Walking Tall Sheriff

Here we are on Day #2 of our westbound roadtrip. Today's trip took us from the Civil War history in Chattanooga through the backroads along the southern route of Tennessee towards Memphis. There's a lot of sightseeing to do, a lot of new geocaches to find, and new counties to add to my map. So climb aboard and let's go for a drive...

With its railroads and riverboats, the city of Chattanooga was a vital transportation center during the Civil War. Both armies recognized its importance. In the late summer and fall of 1863, several key military actions decided the fate of Chattanooga, and helped determine the fate of the Confederacy.

September 18-20: About 10 miles south of Chattanooga near West Chickamauga Creek, Confederate forces defeated the Union Army in a bloody two-day battle. The Federals withdrew to Chattanooga and fortified the city.

September 22 - November 23: Confederates laid siege to the city of Chattanooga to force the Federals to surrender. Confederates occupied positions along the Tennessee River, Missionary Ridge, and Lookout Mountain. In late October, the besieged and hungry Federals managed to open a supply line through Lookout Valley into the city. With fresh troops and supplies, they were ready to fight by late November. On November 23rd, Union troops stormed and captured Orchard Knob, a hill to the east of their defense line in the city.

November 24: Union forces drove the Confederates from their position on Lookout Mountain. Because the mountain was partially shrouded by fog, the action was also called the "Battle Above the Clouds." The following day, Union forces stormed and shattered Confederate unites occupying Missionary Ridge. The siege was broken and Chattanooga became the Federal base from which Maj General William T Sherman would launch his Atlanta campaign in the spring of 1864.

Point Park preserves strategic high ground captured by Union soldiers during the Battle of Lookout Mountain in 1863. Today it is part of Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park and the location of our first virtual geocache (GC41C9). The New York Peace Monument, the centerpiece of the park, symbolizes the reconciliation of the North and South.

Driving down off Lookout Mountain, I made a stop near the base of the Incline Railway for our next virtual geocache (GCMFYC). The Incline Railway up historic Lookout Mountain is the world's steepest passenger railway. The first Incline up Lookout Mountain opened in 1887. It ran from the 38th Street area in St. Elmo to just below the Point. The second Incline, engineered by John Crass, opened November 16, 1895, and is the Incline that is still in operation today. The success of the second Incline was the primary reason that the first Incline closed in 1899.

The incline, 1,972 feet long and rising 1,450 feet, is superbly designed to suit its location. It makes use of a variable grade, ranging up to 72.7 percent near the top, to compensate for the changing weight of the cables as its cars move. One of the cars has flanges on the inside of its wheels, the other on the outside, allowing the cars to pass midway with no moving parts in the track turnouts. Both cars have self-contained emergency brakes. Originally powered by steam, the incline now is driven by two 100-horsepower motors. The latest evolution of the incline cars were just recently installed in March 2020.

Robert Craven built the first house on the hillside of Lookout Mountain in 1856. Seven years later, the Confederate Army occupied Lookout Mountain and Craven's house became the headquarters of Brig. Gen. Edward C. Walthall. On November 24, 1863, Union troops stormed the mountain and pushed the Confederates around to the north end.

When Robert Craven returned to his home after the battle, he found little of his home standing except the basement, the chimney, and the stone dairy. In addition to artillery damage, soldiers had stripped the house looking for souvenirs and firewood. The Cravens rebuilt the house as it currently stands.

Many of the Civil War Battlegrounds have monuments scattered throughout placed by the various states as a memorial to those soldiers who fought and died while representing their states. This particular memorial statue was honoring those soldiers from the state of New York. There is another monument nearby from Illinois which also happens to be a virtual geocache (GC621C).

Finally leaving Chattanooga and Lookout Mountain to continue our roadtrip westbound, we enter the town of Winchester in Franklin County. The town was named after James Winchester (1752 - 1826), who was a soldier in the American Revolution, Speaker of the First Tennessee Legislature, and Brigadier General in the War of 1812. The town of Winchester was created as the Franklin County seat on November 22, 1809.

One of the many monuments and historical markers located within the town square was this one dedicated to the memory of Colonel James Lewis (1756 - 1849). It is also another virtual geocache (GC9366). Col. Lewis served with distinction in the Revolutionary War. He participated in the battles of White Plains, Trenton, Princeton, Brandywine, Germantown, and Yorktown. He erected the first brick house in town and was one of the appointed commissioners for the erection of the first courthouse and jail in Franklin County. There are two other historical accomplishments, but that would give away the answer to the virtual geocache.

The one building that caught my eye the most was the Oldham Theater. Apothecary and druggist shops were originally on this corner from the 1820's thru 1900 with doctors offices upstairs during the 1880's. Later the street level housed the Franklin Grocery and Bakery until the 1930's. The spacious upstairs was hosted large civic gatherings and parties while leased by the Business and Professional Women's Club. The old building was razed in 1949 for construction of a theater.

George E. Oldham, who owned the Rivoli Theatre on the south side of the square, bought this theater from his brother-in-law in 1949 while it was still under construction on the north side of the square as a replacement for his older theater. Unfortunately, George Oldham passed away in September 1949 before the theater officially opened a year later on September 14, 1950 and named in his honor.

Though virtually unchanged in appearance, ownership changed several times and a major renovation began in 2009 and took three years to complete. The upgrade to the two-screen theater included incorporating digital projection equipment, installing surround sound, new curtains and new seats. I think it's pretty cool to see these old theaters still in use.

Continuing our drive west on US-64, the next Tennessee county needed for our geocaching map was Giles County. We stopped in the town of Pulaski at this unique and historical cemetery and memorial park (GC5BQW0). The first cemetery in Pulaski was on the outskirts (at that time) of town in 1817, in a field where interments continued until 1883 when all of the lots were full. Over the years abandoned and nearly forgotten, the cemetery fell into disrepair.

Until in 1969, Pulaski began an urban beautification project here to transform the old cemetery into a city park. The overgrowth was cleared out and headstones were located, identified and cleaned. The headstones were then mounted; the smaller ones in curved structures on the ground and the larger ones into a stone wall along the back of the park. A few monument markers that were still standing after the years were left where they were. Finally, landscaping, paved paths and lighting were added. The interred remains were left in their original locations as it could not be determined who was where except for the few monuments that were still standing.

Moving on into Lawrence County and the town of Lawrenceburg, we find our next two geocaches and a look back into Tennessee history. First was the Garner Mill Earthcache (GC1PPNT). The Garner Mill was used extensively from 1825 to 1849. It was built in 1820, and functioned as a grist mill initially, and then was converted to a water powered sawmill in 1851. Both the dam and the mill were destroyed in the flood of July 13, 1998. The ruins of the foundation still survived the flood, as well as the footings for the dam on the far side of the river. It is listed on the National Registry of Historic Places.

Closer to the center of town was our next geocache at the home of Davy Crockett (GC6K21P). David Crockett lived in this cabin from 1816 to 1822. He was one of the commissioners who laid out the county and selected the site of Lawrenceburg, a colonel in the militia, Justice of the Peace, member of the legislature, and operator of several industries on Shoal Creek during his residence here.

In the Lawrenceburg town square is a statue of Col. Davy Crockett. Born in East Tennessee on August 17, 1786, he gave his life for Texas Liberty and Independence at the Alamo that fateful Sunday morning on March 8, 1836.

Still heading westbound on US-64 picking up new geocaching counties, I make a quick roadside stop for a geocache in Wayne County (GC6B2WF). It was a good thing I stopped for the easy geocache because my target cache was a DNF (GC69K7B). But the good thing is that you never know what you're gonna see while geocaching. Like this homemade rocket ship trike!

Next up was Hardin County in the town of Savanna along the banks of the Tennessee River. There once was a house here built by James Rudd, a pioneer ferry operator, long before the US-64 highway was crossing the river. That house was replaced by another built by David Robinson, whose son-in-law William H. Cherry, improved and enlarged it. During the Civil War, "Cherry Mansion" became the headquarters for Federal Army commander Major General C. F. Smith. When he died he was succeeded by Major General Ulysses S. Grant. Maj. Gen. Wallace died here after being mortally wounded at Shilo.

Unfortunately the geocache had gone missing and I had to DNF it (GC2TVN9). Still needing the county, I stopped a couple blocks away at this small park memorializing the Battle of Shiloh where I found the geocache hidden here (GC1F8PZ).

Just a short drive over to McNair County, and we stop for our next geocache (GC5T5DM) highlighting a local hero and nationally known figure. The movie "Walking Tall" made Sheriff Buford Hayes Pusser a household name. He was born near Finger, Tennessee on December 12, 1937, raised here and graduated from Adamsville High School in 1956. About a year later, Buford moved to Chicago where he worked as a die cutter, attended Worsham College, and wrestled professionally on weekends. While in college he met and married Pauline Mullens.

The saga of Bufford Pusser and the illegal activities on the Tennessee-Mississippi state line began early in 1957, when he was beaten severely at a club in that area. In January 1960, he was arrested for assaulting the owner of a club on the Mississippi side of the3 state line. Bufford received a verdict of innocent at a trial held in Corinth, MS.

Buford's career in law enforcement began when he was appointed Chief-of-Police of Adamsville in 1962. He was later elected Constable and then Sheriff of McNairy County, serving three terms. During his first year as Sheriff, Buford was stabbed on several occasions and along with his deputies raided over forty-two moonshine operations. In 1966 he was forced to shoot in self-defense the operator of a motel on the state line where he had gone to investigate a robbery. In January of 1967, Buford was shot at point blank range four times by two men he had stopped in the state line area. The most deplorable episode in his career began one early morning on August 12, 1967 when he, accompanied by his wife, was enroute to answer a call. They were ambushed on New Hope Road, killing Pauline with Buford barely surviving the ordeal being severely wounded himself. In December 1968, Buford answered a call for help and a known murderer opened fire on him, leaving him no choice but to shoot and kill him in self-defense.

Sheriff Buford was selected in 1970, by the Jaycees, as one of Tennessee's "Outstanding Young Men of the Year." He had signed a movie contract to depict himself in a sequel to the movie "Walking Tall" when he was suddenly killed in an automobile accident on Highway 64, west of Adamsville, on August 24, 1974.

Bufford Pusser's experiences have inspired seven movies, five books, a television series, several magazine articles, and a Colt Commemorative Limited Edition handgun, all depicting the life of a man who "Walked Tall."

Our last geocaching county of the day is for Hardeman County and the town of Bolivar, Tennessee. It was a quick park and grab geocache to claim a find in the county (GC4WGKP).

From there it was just a couple of blocks south to the Polk Cemetery. Even though there's wasn't a geocache there, it was historical and worthy of a stop. The land was acquired by James K. Polk Jr. and others on October 23, 1845 as a family cemetery for the descendants of Ezekial Polk. Colonel Polk, the patriarch of the Polk family in Tennessee, was the grandfather of President James Knox Polk. The elder Polk was instrumental in framing the Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence and served in the Revolutionary War. He lived in Maury County before settling in Hardeman County.

 

That's all for today. We continue heading west on US-64 and find a place to stay for the night just outside of Memphis. I'm thinking a trip to Elvis's Graceland in the morning might be a plan. I hope you return to see the outcome. Until then...

To follow along on our travels and keep up with my latest blogs, you may do so here of course. But also by using you 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.

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...

2018-01-21: Geocaching Counties in South Texas

Hello and welcome back to my Geocaching Adventures blog. If you've been following regularly, you may recall that my wife had flown out to Philadelphia on a business trip. So It's just me for the weekend and I decided to go chasing counties in South Texas. Originally from Florida, I completed finding a Geocache in every Florida County several years ago. We were working on Georgia and had passed the halfway mark when we moved out here to Texas. So been working on the 254 Texas counties since November 2015. Well as a goal anyway. I already had some finds in Texas since my very FIRST Geocache was in Texas while on vacation way back in 2006. Then picked up a few more during my truck driving days from 2007-2010.

So far I've got most of the state covered with a few scattered here and there. But this weekend I'm hoping to finish up the southern tip in the Rio Grand Valley of Texas. So having charted a course already and had my bags packed, after work on Friday I hit the road to the south.

My first stop wasn't for a new county but for a virtual geocache called "Davy Who?" (GCE612). Located in Ozona, Texas, which is the county seat for Crockett County, was this statue of Davy Crockett (1786-1836, died at the Alamo) whom it was named for. Formed from the Bexar Territory, the county was created on January 22, 1875. After several reconfigurations, on March 15, 1887 it was reduced to its current size and finally organized on July 7, 1891. I also stopped for another geocache at a native plant interpretative trail called "What's the Interpretation?" (GC5EVXE).

After grabbing a bite to eat, I continued my driving down to Three Rivers, Texas where I found a hotel in my first caching county on the list, Live Oak. But for now it's late, it's dark, and after working all day and driving another 372 miles 6 hours after that, I'm tired!

Saturday morning first thing, I drive over to the Three Rivers Cemetery (GC4GE3G) for my first cache in Live Oak County. The community was first named Hamiltonburg when Annie T. Hamilton paid the San Antonio, Uvalde, and Gulf Railroad to build a depot there on her land in 1913. Since mail for the town was often mistakenly sent to Hamilton, TX, the local residences asked for a name change. Charles R. Tips, who'd be called a realtor today, suggested naming the town for the location near the rivers. Three Rivers was approved by the Post Office department on May 1st, 1914.

From there I headed west on TX-72 into McMullen County to the town of Tilden. Boot Hill Cemetery (GC26GM0), one of the only two authentic cemeteries of its kind in the southwest, was named Boothill because so many of those who were interred there died violently, "with their boots on." Many of the early graves were those of people killed in accidents, murdered, died of cholera during the cholera epidemic in 1869, but some were known to have died of natural causes.

The cemetery was established sometime after Frio Rio came into existence in 1858. Frio Rio has gone through several name changes; Dogtown, Colfax and finally Tilden when it was established the county seat in 1877. The cemetery is located behind the bank 1/2 a block north of the courthouse plaza on highway 72 and 1/2 block east of State Highway 16. Tilden was on the caravan route between San Antonio, Dogtown, Fort Ewell, Laredo and Mexico. Some time during the Civil War a stage route was also added and saloons began to spring up in Dogtown. These all brought many undesirable characters to the town as well as men who were on the run from the law that used the surrounding area and brush to hide. Some of these undesirables provided quite a few occupants for Boothill.

In 1877 Boot Hill Cemetery was abandoned in favor of the present Hill Top Cemetery. Hill Top Cemetery was originally called Graveyard Hill and many early setters as well as several generations of their descendants have been buried in Hill Top. Hill Top Cemetery still serves the community today. Boot Hill Cemetery was neglected for more than half a century. During this time the "old timers past away, the markers deteriorated, fell down, became lost and more and more of the Boothill lore and history went with them. In 1955 when the Cenizo Garden Club was organized they began at once to clean up and restore the cemetery. They cleaned the plots, cleared out the brush, and located as many graves as possible. The grounds were enclosed by a low border of native stone and the Boothill Cemetery Sign with a large boot made of masonry mounted on a huge slab of a petrified palm stump was added to the cemetery grounds. They were also instrumental in obtaining a Historical Marker, which stands at the entrance of the cemetery.

Some of those buried here are: Dick Gosset killed in Ft Ewell gunfight Feb 1869; E. M. Crain a Confederate veteran and one of 4 cholera victims of 1869; John Smithwick murdered 1870; Jim ? assassinated in from door of Old Rock Store (2nd photo below) in 1872; Unknown killed in gun battle while standing in front of Old Rock Store 1873; Unknown killed unintentionally by Clabe Young while playing a prank; S. Glenn Greer thrown from a horse 1874; Unknown Negro drowned in the Nueces in 1875; Unknown murderer of James Minter, presumed to have been a Dalton Gang member; Lige Harrison Jr killed at age 17 in a hunting accident 1876; Samuel Wm. McCreery murdered at his sheep ranch 1877; Pemanio Palacios and Phelix Wheeler (infant) both died of natural causes.

Going south on Hwy 16, I arrive in Duval County and the town of Freer, Texas. To claim the county, I grab the geocache in Hahl Cemetery (GC21AYW) and see the most unusual headstone / marker. This person must have been a bird lover.

One more cache before leaving town at the Rattlesnake Roundup (GC4XR84) to see the world's largest rattlesnake. The Freer Rattlesnake Roundup attracts more than 35,000 visitors who gather at the Freer Cactus Corral for the biggest party in Texas celebrating the area's most popular resident. Don't worry about getting the photo opp, this one don't bite!

Next up down in Hebbronville and Jim Hogg County was a quick roadside cache called "RJ's txrancher Cache" (GC367D8).

Staying on TX-16 into Zapata County were my next two quick roadside caches: "Zapata County Helper TX-16 #1, #2" (GC3N21V, GC3N24W). A few miles down the road was a small community called Escobas and there was a cemetery and a few old long abandoned houses. There wasn't a cache there but I had to check it out anyway. 

Settled by Mexican ranchers as early as the mid-1700s, it later became part of the colony of Nuevo Santander. Settlement began in the late 1800s and by 1897 the area was populated enough to support a school of thirty students. The town had been known as Laguna de Escobas but when oil was discovered, it was renamed Escobas. The Texaco oil company provided a primary school (to 5th grade) and a post office was opened. Escobas had a single business in operation in 1940 and a population of just 25. The population remained at that level through the 1990's. In recent years it has declined to only 10 residents.

Once in the town of Zapata, I stopped by the cemetery for another geocache (GC6786A). Settlements began in the area in the 1750's. Soon after 1767, the first settlement on the north bank of the Rio Grand River was established here and called Habitación. The name was changed to Carrizo sometime later, after a local Indian group that lived in huts made of cane. Then in 1858 the named was changed to Bellville in honor of Governor Peter Hansborough Bell, who signed the bill officially making Zapata County separate from Webb and Starr Counties. Finally in 1898, the town name was permanently changed to Zapata, in honor of Col. Antonio Zapata, a local rancher who became one of the leaders of the federalist movement and founded the Republic of the Rio Grande back in 1839.

The population of Zapata made a sudden jump in 1913 during the Mexican Revolution when many residents of Guerrero fled across the river. The townsite relocated to higher ground at its present location when the Falcon Dam and Reservoir was created, putting the original townsite under water. Below is a photo of the 1901 Zapata Courthouse from 1939 which now sits submerged under water.

photo from TexasEscapes.com

Moving on down to the south along US-83, I enter Starr County and my next cache called "Roma: Bluffs, Landmark, Rio, Ford" (GC4ZD6Z). It is an earthcache on the Roma Bluffs, a high point along the banks of the Rio Grande River. Also a great bird watching spot, in more recent years a good viewing spot for border patrol agents. Roma and Los Saenz are two adjoining settlements that have incorporated jointly. And they sit directly across the river from Ciudad Miguel Alemán, Tamaulipas, Mexico. Corrales de Saenz was founded in the 1760's by local ranchers. Later the area became known as Buena Vista and the Garcia Ranch. It is also possible that what came to be known as Roma-Los Saenz and Ciudad Miguel Alemán were originally part of the same city, San Pedro de Roma, Tamaulipas. In 1848, when it became a part of the United States, the name was changed to Roma, suggested by the Oblates of Mary Immaculate, who founded a mission there in the mid-1850s.

Roma is regarded as one of the best remaining Spanish colonial townsites in the lower Rio Grande Valley. In 1971 it was designated as a Historic District and many of the buildings are adorned with the Texas Historical Markers.

Before I could leave Roma and continue my quest to pickup new counties, I passed by one of several cemeteries. They did not contain a cache but it was still hard to pass up. I've noticed that the Hispanic cemeteries are more colorful and festive. Most gravesites have large headstones and/or statues. Like this next photo for example. This sitting angle was "life-size" for a woman. I've not seen an angelic being before so I'm not sure how tall they really are. But if this statue was standing, she would have been 6 or 7 feet tall.

One more quick cache behind the Chili's restaurant called "Red and Hot" (GC67R7V), just in case my answers for the earthcache were incorrect, so I could get a Starr County find.

Getting late in the afternoon now, I'm trying not to spend much time now enjoying the sites but focusing on getting the counties. A quick "Shop Til You Drop" (GC5M5ZG) geocache in a parking lot got me Hidalgo County.

Going north on US-281, with a quick drive east towards Raymondville over the Willacy County line gets me to a quick "Guardrail on West Side" geocache (GC5JTN6).

Then back into Hidalgo County on TX-186 towards US-281, I passed by and grabbed "Rio Grande Virtual Salt Cache" (GC40A0) and "La Noria Cardeneña" (GC4366). Both were old virtual geocaches from back in 2002. It's hard to pass up on the old virtual caches when you're so close.

I had to skip Brooks County as it was dark now and did not consider it easy nor safe getting the roadside caches along the highway.

I did stop at the "Royal Rest Stop" (GC17BDQ) geocache in Jim Wells County along US-281. That was my last cache for yesterday before heading back to the hotel in Three Rivers. A total of 445 miles, 12 hours, and 9 new counties.

Today is all about the drive back home to Monahans. Reaching the north-west side of San Antonio, I saw an exit with a Starbucks and decided to grab a coffee. Across the parking lot was a quick cache called "Whiskerfish" (GC5RX36), so of course I had to find it also.

Continuing westbound on I-10 for a little while is just what you need after drinking a large cup of coffee, a rest area! Plus there are THREE geocaches here as well for a bonus. "Poppy's Pit Stop" (GC10A6X) and "Rest Stop Nature Walk" (GC380JX) were traditional caches. The nature walk gave cachers a nice birds eye view of the highway. There was also an earthcache located at the rest area. "Plateaus, Mesas, or Buttes" (GC77VYH) gave you a lesson on the types of hills you are able to see from the parking area. (not in photo below)

Making it back to Ozona, Texas, I stop again to find a couple of the remaining caches that I didn't get on Friday. One of them was called "Well Water" (GCZ7DQ) by a historical marker. The other was "A Look 2 The Past" (GC1ZTZV) located at the cemetery.

Another rest area further west on I-10 and another quick cache called "Republic of Texas" (GC2KF2Q).

I exit I-10 in Bakersfield going north on Hwy 11, through Girvin and almost to Imperial getting closer to home. I stop for "Shine Bright Like a Diamond" (GC7H4GB) geocache which was a sneaky little hide out in the middle of nowhere.

One final stop for the "Butterfield Overland Stage Line" (GC7H6EY) historical marker: One of the longest stage routes ever established, the Southern Overland Mail Line (Butterfield Route) which provided semi-weekly service from St Louis to San Francisco, 1858-1861. Followed substantially the route of this highway (Hwy 18) through Ward County.

Several miles later and I finally made it back home in Monahans. Add 430 miles today for a total of 1247 miles on this weekends adventure. I hope you enjoyed the ride while I did all the driving. Until next time...

2017-11-24: A Quick Visit to the San Antonio Riverwalk, the Alamo, and the San Fernando Cathedral

Welcome back again to AwayWeGo's Adventure Blog. This week we had some relatives in visiting from Florida for Thanksgiving. So today we thought we'd take a drive down to San Antonio, Texas using the Riverwalk to burn off some of those calories we ate yesterday!

The earliest civilian colonists of San Antonio were a group of pioneers from the Canary Islands. They formed the first organized civil government in Texas and founded the village of San Fernando de Bexar in 1731. Following a sea and land voyage of over a year, these weary travelers arrived at the Presidio (Fort) of San Antonio early on March 9, 1731. Totaling 56 persons, they had emigrated to Texas from the Spanish Canary Islands near Africa, by order of King Philip V.

On July 2nd, they began to lay out a villa choosing a site on the west side of the Plaza de Las Yslas (present day Main Plaza) for the church and a site on the east side for the Casa Real (government building). On July 19, the Captain of the Presidio, Juan Antonio de Almazan, read to the islanders the decree of the viceroy naming them and their descendants "Hijos Dalgo" (Persons of Nobility).

The heads of the 16 families who settled in San Antonio were: Juan Leal Goraz, Juan Curbelo, Juan Leal, Antonio Santos, Jose Padron, Manuel de Nis, Vicente Alvarez Travieso, Salvador Rodriguez, Jose Leal, Juan Delgado, Jose Cabrera, Juan Rodriguez Granadillo, Francisco de Arocha, Antonio Rodriguez, Lorenzo and Martin de Armas, and Felipe and Jose Antonio Perez.

Upon arriving late morning it was pretty busy as you can imagine being a holiday weekend. We found a parking spot a few blocks away from The Alamo. Before we got too far, I spent a few minutes on my phone studying Google maps to get a good sense of where I was so I could find the car again!

Our first stop and my only Geocache for the day was at The Alamo (GC7B6P3). And it was a virtual cache, so all I had to do to claim a find was take a photo of me with the Alamo in the background. Yeah, that's me. Most everyone has heard of the Alamo and that there was a battle there. But probably not much more than that. So, here's a history lesson.

Originally built in 1744, The Alamo Mission in San Antonio commonly called "The Alamo" is one of the early Spanish missions in Texas. Originally built to educate local American Indians after their conversion to Christianity. Later secularized in 1793, then abandoned. Around 10 years later it became a fortress and home to the Second Flying Company of San Carlos de Parras military unit. It's believed they are the ones who named it "The Alamo".

In December of 1835, Mexican General Martin Perfecto de Cos surrendered The Alamo to the Texican Army following the Siege of Bexar. A small number of Texicans held the fort but were eventually "removed" on March 6, 1836. The Battle of the Alamo lasted 13 days from February 23 to March 6, 1836. Many of the buildings surrounding the fortress were torn down in the years to follow. William B Travis and James Bowie shared command of The Alamo during the siege. Over the next five years The Alamo was used to garrison soldiers for Mexican and Texican armies but was eventually abandoned.

After Texas joined the United States the US Army began renting the facility to use as a quartermaster's depot in 1849. Once the nearby Fort Sam Houston was established in 1876 the army left The Alamo. The chapel was sold to the State of Texas which began to conduct tours but did not begin to restore it. Other buildings were sold off to a mercantile company which operated them as a wholesale grocery store. In 1895 restoration projects began under the newly formed "The Daughter of the Republic of Texas". In 1905 the DRT convinced the state legislature to purchase the remaining buildings and to name them the permanent custodians of the site. They were the custodians of the site until 2015 when Texas Land Commissioner George P Bush officially removed control of the Alamo to the Texas General Land Office.

The big controversy of today is the relocating of the Alamo Cenotaph monument pictured here. The city wants to redesign Alamo Plaza to accommodate the huge number of tourists it receives annually. The 60-foot tall monument built to recognize the 100th anniversary of the battle currently sits out in front of the historic mission. The redesign plan is for it to be moved 500 feet to the south, repaired, and correct some errors with the names. Also, the streets will be closed off giving more room for a courtyard representing a more historical configuration. A lot of people are not too happy about the plan though.

Whatever happens, all I know is this is the second time here at the Alamo and I still have yet to go inside due to the LONG lines of tourists! Maybe next time... 

We continued along the Riverwalk enjoying the sights, sounds, and the smell of the many restaurants along the way.  Some of the areas were blocked off as they were in setup mode along the route with chairs and such. Seems as though there was going to be Christmas Parade on the river later that evening. 

While the entire Riverwalk area ventures further off in different areas, it is a river of course, the main downtown section forms an east-west rectangle. The Alamo is on the northeast corner. On the west side is the San Fernando Cathedral. The site for the Church of San Fernando was selected on July 2, 1731, when Juan Antonio Pérez de Almazán, captain of the Presidio of San Antonio, laid out a central square for the villa of San Fernando de Béxar, as San Antonio was then called. He followed the instructions by the Spanish government for the newly arrived Canary Islanders. The church was to be located on the west side of the square, which may still be considered the center of San Antonio. Before and during the construction of the town's parish church, the fifty-five immigrants and the presidial families attended services at the presidial chapel or at San Antonio de Valero Mission.

Although information is contradictory, the cornerstone for the first attempt to build a stone church was laid most likely on May 11, 1738. In 1748 the viceroy approved a donation of 12,000 pesos to complete the church. With funds secured, two artisans from San Luis Potosí, Gerónimo de Ibarra (a master stonemason) and Felipe de Santiago (a stonecutter), were hired to continue the project. Ibarra razed the earlier construction and enlarged the dimensions of the building. He completed the church in 1755. Joining Old World and New World saints, the congregation chose Our Lady of Candlemas and Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe as patrons in addition to the town's official patron, San Fernando, or King Fernando III of Spain, who was canonized in 1671. By the end of the eighteenth century the parish served by the church had grown considerably, to a population of over 1,000. The church acquired vessels, mission records, and parishioners after the nearby San Antonio de Valero Mission was secularized in 1793 and the four downriver missions in 1824.

The church suffered setbacks in the early nineteenth century, however; it was damaged by a flood in 1819 and a fire in 1828. Significant rebuilding was carried out in 1829–30, and the church continued to serve as an important religious and social center. In 1831 James Bowie married Ursula de Veramendi there. Several times during the Texas Revolution the church served secular purposes. Mexican cannons stood on its roof during the siege of Bexar. After that battle the Texans flew a flag of victory from it. Antonio López de Santa Anna not only used the church as a lookout but ordered a red flag flown there to signal that the Texans at the Alamo would be shown no mercy. In 1889 Juan N. Seguín said the Alamo heroes were buried there, but they are almost certainly not.

Caught in tumult, by 1840 the church of San Fernando had fallen into a terrible state of disrepair. One observer noted that half of its roof was gone and that swallows and bats flew about inside. Essential repairs were carried out by the new church administration that took over that year. Extensive renovation was planned in 1851 but not begun until 1868. Under the direction of architect François P. Giraud, the original bell tower and part of the nave were razed. Giraud's new design included a Gothic Revival nave, triple entrance portals, a gable roof, and twin bell towers and buttresses. In 1872 the original dome fell. By 1873 the old dirt floor and most of the limestone rubble walls mortared with goat milk were gone. Although the second bell tower was not completed until 1902, the new church was consecrated in October 1873. With the formation of the Diocese of San Antonio in 1874, the church was designated a cathedral.

The cathedral underwent another major restoration in the mid-1970s. Repairs were also made in preparation for Pope John Paul II's visit of September 13, 1987. The cathedral is a large and busy parish church and episcopal see, where about 400 baptisms, seventy funerals, and sixty marriages are performed annually. Many services are in Spanish. In 1993 Archbishop Patrick F. Flores was pastor of San Fernando.

Just inside and to the left of the cathedral entrance, is a marble sarcophagus and plaque with these words: "Here lie the remains of Travis, Crockett, Bowie, and other Alamo Heroes. The Archdiocese of San Antonio erected this memorial May 11 A. D. 1938. R.I.P. Formally buried in the sanctuary of the old San Fernando Church. Exhumed July 28, 1936, exposed to public view for a year, entombed May 11, 1938.

Still a mystery nearly 200 years later, as to if these are indeed the remains of those Texas Heroes. After the fall of the Alamo in 1836, Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna ordered that the bodies of the Texans be burned in outdoor crematories. So there were three separate funeral pyres for somewhere between 189 and 250 Alamo Defenders. The bodies were layered between, cut wood, tree branches and kindling, in 10 feet by 70 feet stacks, and set on fire. Texas leader Juan Seguin took ashes from two of the pyres, put them in urns and buried them under the old cathedral floor.

Finishing our loop around the Riverwalk, some of the younger of the group who weren't all that interested in the historic aspects of San Antonio got to be getting a little cranky. So we made our way back to the car and started the long drive back home. So that was our day around San Antonio. I hope to come back soon as there is much more to see.