2019-04-21: A Roadtrip from Oklahoma to Texas and Visiting a Petrified Villa, an 1800's Church, and the Historic Chisholm Trail

So after spending the day yesterday in Oklahoma at the Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge, today is the roadtrip back to Killeen, Texas. And of course we can't take a drive that far without any geocaching stops. Anybody want to go for a ride with us? There's always room for virtual passengers. Let's fuel up and hit the road.

After checking out of the hotel this morning, I walked across the street to the grassy area by the I-44 onramp. A quick geocache in a tree so close that I just can't leave without finding (GC2W45H).

There were some other geocaches around Lawton with some high favorite points and we wanted to check those out also. This one was a very creative container (GC47ZEA). The geocacher took some time creating this one. You could almost call it "Me and Mini-Me"! Oh, and the name of the road that this coffee shop is located...: Cache Road! Definitely gets another favorite point from us too. It's too bad that the coffee shop itself wasn't open this early on a Sunday Easter morning because we hadn't found our morning coffee yet.

Another high favorite geocache was a virtual cache at the Great Plains Museum (GC81E5). We like museums. But of course not open at this time. So a quick photo by the "long-horn bison"?

Our last geocache (GC5FDZ7) in Lawton, Oklahoma was at the Elmer Thomas Park. It a large park behind the Great Plains Museum. It was called "Circle the Wagons" and it was at an old covered wagon display. A tricky cache to find because the camo blends in really well. One out of three cachers end up logging a DNF. However, I was fortunate enough to find this one. Though I was so intent on finding this one I forgot to take a photo of the wagon.

Driving over to Duncan, Oklahoma for our next virtual geocache (GC1C59) at the Chisholm Trail Heritage Center. The Chisholm Trail was a trail used in the post-Civil War era to drive cattle overland from ranches in Texas to Kansas railheads. The trail was established by Black Beaver, a Delaware Indian scout and his friend Jesse Chisholm, a merchant and part Cherokee. The trail was used from 1867 through 1884. The herds on the trail rides usually numbered around 2500 to 3000 head of cattle each, but have been as many as 10,000 in a single herd. The herds were usually spaced about 10 miles apart for the long journey, which was about a day apart. At this geocache location is a large bronze statue representing such a cattle drive.

Also in the town of Duncan is one that I just couldn't pass up on. Because I work as a construction surveyor, it was a given that I go find a geocache called "The Survey Base Line" (GC6DZZG). "The distinctive checkerboard pattern of land boundaries in Oklahoma and all across the West was conceived by Thomas Jefferson in the early 1780's, long before the rough and rugged character of this vast wilderness had been charted. Jefferson was the grand architect of the distinct western landscape. In the late 1800’s government surveyors were commissioned to survey the public lands for sale or grant to the public."

This cache is located at a historical geographic monument for the Indian Base Line in Oklahoma. The "Initial Point was established by the U.S. Government in 1870. All Oklahoma except the panhandle was then divided into townships North and South and Ranges East and West of the Initial Point. The Indian Base Line is two-tenths of a mile south of this point on Beech Road. Duncan is 41 miles west of the Initial Point. The stones in this monument were taken from the Initial Point."

Our last stop in Addington, Oklahoma is another geocache and historical monument marking the Chisholm Trail Lookout Point (GC5W7H5). The two hills here represented landmarks used by Cattle Drivers on the Chisholm Trail. As they came out of the Red River valley they could see these two hills and used them to drive the cattle north to this location. Originally known as Lookout Point, they became known as Monument Hills. The Chisholm Trail and millions of Longhorns, went just to the east of this hill marked by this monument.

Driving along US-81 now down into Texas, we made a quick roadside picnic area stop to grab two geocaches (GC10MJD, GC431J6).

Arriving in Decatur, Texas, we made a "must-do" geocaching stop for a roadside attraction Americana history. "Petrified" (GC3X4ZF) is located at the Texas Tourist Camp Complex. From the historical marker: Local businessman E.F. Boydston (1888-1945) purchased this site, a former seed lot, in 1927 for $400. Recognizing a potential business opportunity in offering services to the traveling public, he built a wooden shed and gas station in 1927. Travelers were allowed to build campfires during overnight stays, and by 1931 Boydston added three wooden cabins with garages to the camp complex. The buildings were later faced with rock, and more cabins and garages were added in 1935. The original wooden gas station (photo at top of page) was covered with petrified wood in 1935 when the highway was widened and remained in operation by the Boydston family until 1988.

The Texas Lunchroom, a one room frame building, was built in 1929. Renamed The Texas Cafe in 1935 and refaced with stone to match the other buildings in the complex, it was enlarged to provide second floor living quarters. Popular with local high school and college students, as well as families and the traveling public, it was closed in the 1960's after a highway bypass built west of town diverted traffic from this area. The cafe re-opened in 1993. One of the few intact examples of tourist camps built throughout Texas in the mid-20th century. This property is significant for its association with the early development of automobile tourism.

Our last stop, also in Decatur, was for the geocache "Goin' to the Chapel" (GC198AR). The Episcopal Church of the Resurrection is the oldest original church building in Decatur. Consecrated by great missionary Bishop, the Rt. Rev. A.C. Garrett. Erected facing Main Street (2 blocks west of square) in 1889. Known as "the little church with the crosses", by 1912 it had deteriorated, but it was restored and moved facing Walnut Street.

In 1940 the building was sold and used as a mattress factory. Then it was rescued the same year and moved to this location, with the sanctuary placed symbolically to the east towards Jerusalem.

So that's it for today's roadtrip back home from Oklahoma to Texas. Thanks for riding along with us. Feel free to leave your comments and/or share our adventures with your friends. You can find us on most social media platforms:  Facebook, MeWe, Parler, Gab, Twitter, Instagram, MAGAbook, and Reddit. Follow us on any or all of these platforms.

See you next time...

2018-06-09: Geocaching in Central Texas Through History, Cemeteries, an Elephant and Fairies!

Welcome to another edition of our AwayWeGo's Geocaching Adventures Blog. While I'm still way behind in my writing, I am hopeful that one day I'll catch up. I even stopped finding new caches for a few months at the beginning of this year in an effort to catch up. But none the less, much of what I tell you about is still there for you to see today if you like. So let's get started and see what we found on this day back in June 9, 2018.

Having worked only 5 days this week instead of the usual 6 days, I took the opportunity to go out on a Geocaching Adventure with my wife today. We decided to take a drive up to Hico, Texas to get some chocolates. It's a few hours away, but the chocolate is worth it! Along the way we'll be grabbing some caches and sightseeing on this roadtrip.

Our first geocache is called "Iron Elephant" (GC5XFB3). The cache was placed along the roadside where this rather large sculpture of an elephant happens to be sitting. It was hard to get a decent photo from the phone with it sitting so far off the roadway. As I was pulling away and passing by the Rockin-R Ranch gate, I saw another large statue of a giraffe. Again, sorry for the poor photo quality. But if you happen to be driving up SR-36 near Whiteway, TX, keep your eyes open for some large wildlife!

Just up the road in Whiteway is the Evergreen Cemetery (GC171KZ). Whiteway (formerly Whitesboro), in southeast Hamilton County, was established to serve the needs of motorists between Jonesboro and Hamilton. The settlement had a school, a church, a cemetery, and scattered farm units in 1936. At one time its population was fourteen; in 1966 four inhabitants were reported. Whiteway was named for Steve White, a local resident, whose sons established and operated the filling station, garage, body shop, and grocery. Whiteway appeared on local maps during the late 1980's, but no population figures were available. By 2000 the population was listed as ten. There was a John Stephen White (1880-1964) buried in the cemetery, but I'm not sure if he was the one the town was named after.

On the way to our next cache, I saw this old covered wagon sitting on the property corner of this ranch entrance. I just had to pull over and take a photo. You never know what you may find driving the rural backroads of this country.

Our next geocache was at the Rock House Church and Cemetery (GC10924).There's not much left to the actual church structure. I forgot to even get a photo. The cemetery is in dire need of some TLC. Mostly overgrown with weeds and shrubs. Some of the headstones have been broken.

Trying to research, I can't find any history on this church or the cemetery. The only thing that I can find is that there are 115 burials here dating back to 1870. Other than that... if you know of any information I'd be happy to hear from you.

Not too far away was our next cache at Bulman Cemetery (GC1CW5R). Established in 1884 because of the death of Emily Bulman, the wife of the Rev Henry Jefferson Bulman who was one of the early settlers in the area. There are just over 140 burials in this cemetery. One of the interesting displays by a headstone is this red boot in a basket.

Continuing northbound, we came upon this small town called Fairy, Texas. There wasn't a geocache in this town so it didn't come up on my radar. But I did take a quick stop for a few photos.

Fairy was first known as Martin's Gap for James Martin, an early settler who took an oxcart through the mountain gap, which wasn't an easy thing to do back in the day. When the post office was established in 1884, the town was named for Fairy Fort, the daughter of Confederate Army Captain Battle Fort. At a mere 2' 7" and about 28 lbs, Fairy Fort was one of the smallest Texans on record. She was married and divorced twice and had only one child, by her first husband, who died at birth in 1893. She died on October 22, 1938 at age 73 and is buried in the Fairy Cemetery.

Photo credit: TexasEscapes.com

The town of Fairy had a cotton gin from 1900 to about 1936 and schools, churches, and businesses serving the greater ranching and farming community. In 1947 Fairy had a post office, three churches, three businesses, and 150 people. The post office closed in 1957, and the Fairy school district was consolidated with the Hamilton schools in 1967. In 1980, 1990, and 2000 the population was thirty-one. Pictured below is one of the remaining churches and a tree carving in town.

Maybe next time through they'll have a geocache to find or I'll hide one myself.

We finally arrived in Hico, Texas and our chocolate destination! Wiseman House Chocolates is a must stop when visiting Hico. This is our third time here and the chocolates are some of the best we've ever had.

Next a quick stop by the Hico Cemetery for our next geocache (GC6YNN7). There's just over 4000 interments dating back to 1862.

Then off to the Carlton Cemetery (GCT77Q). On July 9, 1867, a farmer J. E. Pinkerton traveling to Carlton on horseback, became bogged down in a muddy swamp while crossing Tywhappatee Creek. While struggling to free his horse he was attacked and killed by a band of renegade Comanche Indians. This occurred the same day that renegade Comanche Indians attacked the country school house seven miles northeast of Hamilton. Two children were taken captive and their teacher Ann Whitney lost her life protecting her students. It is unknown which attack happened first. Pinkerton was the first burial  in what became Carlton Cemetery.

And finally our last geocache for the day was at the Toliver Cemetery (GC14DV8). Burial place of pioneer settlers, including James H. Neel, one of first seven men to bring families here in 1852. His home was a quarter mile to the east of cemetery. He was also postmaster of Resley's Creek Village 1858 to 1866.

That's it for today. Don't forget to follow along with us on Facebook to get the latest updates and occasional pictures not found in our blog posts. See you next time.

2018-05-20: Exploring and Geocaching in the Historic Town of Mason, Texas

On this weeks long drive from Killeen to Fort Stockton, I spent most of the day exploring and geocaching in the historic town of Mason, Texas.

One of the first settlers in the area was William. S. Gamel in 1846. Fort Mason was established in 1851 and settlers were attracted by the protection that the fort provided from Indians. Germans moved into the area from Fredericksburg and even soldiers settled the town after their discharge. In 1858 the town received mail as well as the fort's supplies from San Antonio. The post office opened in town and the name was changed from Fort Mason to Mason that same year.

In the 1870's Mason County was the scene of a violent feud between German settlers and Anglo ranchers. Known as the "Hoo-Doo" War or the Mason County War - it was a nasty business of many killings with no one ever standing trial.

Mason became a stage stop after the war and it never did get a railroad - usually a very important milestone to a developing town. In 1923 Mason was the largest "city" in Texas without a railroad.

My first stop and geocache was at the Gooch Cemetery (GC1NVFD). There are over 2600 burials in the Old and New sections combined. I couldn't find any information on Benjamin Gooch other than he was born in 1790 in North Carolina. The inscription on his headstone reads: "Christian Patriot, Pioneer in Texas, Under Four Flags, 1834-1872." I can only assume that he was the initial donor of land used for the cemetery.

One burial of interest is that of Adolph Korn. Eleven-year-old Adolph Korn was tending sheep on New Year’s Day, 1870, when three Apache warriors came up to him on horseback. One of the warriors grabbed Adolph, hit him over the head with a gun barrel, pulled him onto his horse, and rode away. That was the last his family saw of him until three years later, when a band of Comanches, who had received the boy in a trade with his abductors, surrendered him to government authorities November 14, 1872, at Fort Sill, Indian Territory (Oklahoma).

He lived with the Comanches for only a few years but was "Indianized" by the experience. After being returned to his family, Adolph never again became completely comfortable with "white" civilization. He withdrew from his family and the community and lived in a cave for a number of years. His last years were spent with his sister Johanna spending most of his time outside, eating raw meat, sleeping outdoors, and avoiding contact with people.

And then there's Private Walton Tart. With the inscription of Texas PVT 636 TD BN and died December 12, 1944 at age 24, I can only assume he was killed in action though I could not find any additional information to verify that.

One more that caught my attention.

The next geocache brought me to the Seaquist Home and the Broad Street Bridge (GC1NVFK). Construction began on the Seaquist Home in 1887 by the Rev. Thomas Broad. In 1891, Banker E. M. Reynolds acquired and enlarged the house. The architect, Richard E. Grosse, also did the ornate stone cutting and woodcarving. Property was then sold to Oscar E. Seaquist in 1919, a Swedish immigrant, who finished the ornate house. This beautiful landmark still owned and occupied by his family. Exemplifying fine workmanship and materials, the house features a third-floor ballroom.

On the same street at the north corner of the property is the Broad Street Bridge. In 1914, the citizens of Mason petitioned the county commissioners court for a reliable means of crossing Comanche Creek, which separated north and south Mason. Initial construction bids were deemed too high and a second petition was presented in 1917. Because Mason had no railroad to transport large pre-fabricated building materials, the Alamo Construction Company crafted the bridge of reinforced concrete on site in 1918. Perhaps the last concrete truss bridge to remain in Texas, the Broad Street Bridge continued to support vehicular and pedestrian traffic in Mason until recently when bollards were installed to block cars from crossing.

Next up is a statue outside the Mason Library honoring its hometown author Fred Gibson (GC1195B). If you're as old as I am, you probably remember reading or watching the movie "Old Yeller" in grade school. The author Fred Gibson was born here in Mason, Texas.

Making my way back to the town square, I stop at the Mason County Jail. A good example of a small, nineteenth-century jail, this structure was built in 1894 from the brown sandstone available in the nearby hills. The ground floor of the county's third jail includes living quarters for the sheriff, while the jail cells are located on the second floor. The modified Romanesque revival building features a massive entry arch, segmental arches over the windows, and a central tower.

My next geocache was at the Old Mason Grammar School (GC13165). Located near Gamel Springs on the grounds of Fort Mason and constructed in 1887. Builder August Brockmann used stones from the former Fort, which were originally quarried on this hill. The school served Mason until 1952, with curriculum including music and German. In the 1960's, the building was used as a library, museum, and youth center. Now it is just the museum and senior center.

Old wagon behind the old school.

German immigrant Anna Mebus (1843-1925) came to Texas in 1858 and married her merchant cousin, Karl Martin (1828-1879). After his death she continued to operate their Mason store and post office, and by the 1880s was handling the cash of area ranchers. In 1901 she helped establish and became president of The Commercial Bank, opened with $3,000 capital. Before a bank building was acquired in 1903, cash was taken home at night. Her sons, Charles (1861-1940) and Max (1863-1941), served as bank officers and helped coin the bank's motto, Safety-Service-Silence. The family operated the bank until 1958.

Sitting proud in the center of the square is the Mason County Courthouse. Constructed in 1909, this is the third courthouse to serve the people of Mason County. Commissioners Court probably met in other locations until the first courthouse was built in 1872. It burned in 1877 and was replaced that year by a second red sandstone building. That one caught fire in 1900. Designed by E. C. Hosford, this Beaux Arts style third courthouse features a center dome and clock tower, gable front porticoes, with two story Doric columns and rusticated stonework with contrasting stone lintels.

Now off to visit the towns namesake. Fort Mason (GC181Q3) is situated near a spring long used by Indians; built of stone quarried from post hill. The Fort helped protect Texas frontier from Indians. Colonel Robert E. Lee, stationed in Texas 2 years, commanded Fort Mason from February 1860 to February 1861. Here he made his decision as to his part in the Civil War, saying: "If the Union is dissolved,... I shall return to my native state and... save in defense... draw my sword on none". He left Fort Mason February 13, 1861. In wartime he remembered "the enemy never sees the backs of Texans".

The fort was abandoned in 1969. The native stone buildings, which once numbered 25 were spirited away (stone by stone) to reappear in town, transformed into residences. In the mid 1970's the pattern was reversed when local citizens rebuilt a former officer’s quarters from the well-used rock.

On my way out of town, I stopped at the Crosby Cemetery and my next geocache (GC1NVFP). The first burial ground for the citizens of Mason and Koocksville, this cemetery traces its history to the 1850's. The oldest documented burial is that of Kate Lemburg, who died in 1856. Also interred here is Mason County's first sheriff, Thomas Milligan (1810-1860). The Crosby family purchased the property surrounding the cemetery in 1866, and it has been known as Crosby Cemetery since that time. Those buried in the cemetery include members of the Crosby and other pioneer families. It stands as a reflection of the area's heritage.

My last geocache of the day was on the outskirts of Mason in what used to be the town of Koocksville (GC1195E). The towns namesake(s) were William and Minna Koock who opened a store in their log house just after the Civil War. Due to its proximity to Mason, the Koocks never saw the need to apply for a post office. Koock's store became a stop for cattle buyers from more western counties.

The log store/ residence was rebuilt as a large stone structure in 1883. The building's second floor served as a community center and a place to hold civic meetings. The town thrived after the Civil War and the new prosperity made Koock a banker as well as a storekeeper. Koock later built a large flour mill and gin on his property but it was torn down and the stone cannibalized to build the VFD building in Mason. Koockvsille did have its own school at one point.

A decline in cattle and sheep prices sent the town into a slump, but when William Koock was killed in a riding accident (1890) his family moved into Mason and eventually sold the businesses (1899). Without the driving force of William Koock, the town would've become a ghost, but it's nearness to Mason has caused it to evolve into part of that city.

While driving the rural backroads of Texas, you never know what you're gonna see.

Just one more stop to make. Last week I mentioned stopping by Gamel Cemetery. I also mentioned William Gamel at the start of this blog as one of the earliest settlers in Mason County, moving here from Georgia. This land was a part of his homestead and you'll find his grave among those here. The oldest known burial is from 1883.

You have to cross this creek to get to the cemetery. Last week it was dry. This week there was a little bit of water there. I did manage to hide a cache there too (GC7Q19Q).

That's it for this week. The rest of the drive was straight through to Fort Stockton and getting ready for work tomorrow. Thanks for stopping by.

2017-04-17: Judge Roy Bean, an Old Fort, Cemeteries, and the Pecos River

Well our weekend is over and we drove back home along the Texas / Mexico border. Before leaving Eagle Pass, we drove around town checking out some of the historical spots.

Our first stop was down along the border at Fort Duncan. A temporary post called Camp Eagle Pass was established at the start of the Mexican War in 1846 by Captain Sidney Burbank with Companies A, B, and F of the First United States Infantry. In November 1849, the post was renamed Fort Duncan, honoring Col James Duncan, a hero of the Mexican War. The fort consisted of a storehouse, two magazines, four officers quarters, a stone hospital, in addition to quarters for enlisted men. (The red brick building above was the hospital.)

The fort served as a frontier outpost near the trail of California emigrants; a base of operations against hostile Lipan Apache Indians. In 1851 it became the headquarters of the First Infantry. By 1856 the garrison included units of mounted rifles and first artillery. Abandoned in May 1859, the post was re-garrisoned by Robert E. Lee in March 1860 because of border assaults by Juan N. Cortina, desperado of the area. At the outbreak of the Civil War in 1861, the fort was again abandoned only to be occupied later as "Rio Grande Station", by Confederate forces.

In 1861, Fort Duncan was re-garrisoned by the 9th Infantry and headquarters company of 41st Infantry under Col William R. Shafter. Seminole-Negro Scouts, organized here on August 16, 1870, played a large part in ridding Western Texas of Indians. After 1883, the post declined in importance; known as Camp Eagle Pass.

Fort Duncan played a part in aviation history when the first military cross-country flight, from Fort McIntosh in Laredo, landed here in 1911. Its use as a training camp continued during World War I. Mexican border troubles in 1916 again brought reoccupation.

By 1932 the Army abandoned the post. In 1938, the fort property was purchased by the city of Eagle Pass, for use as a Park and Recreation area. The infantry barracks were leased by the Local Council of Boy Scouts.

In 1939 the barracks became the Fort Duncan Country Club and remained as such except during World War II when it was also an officers club for the Eagle Pass Army Air Force Advanced Flying School.

After walking around the fort, we drove north a few blocks to the downtown area looking for the post office. We didn't need the post office, but I had read about an interesting spot on the Find-A-Grave website. This spot, at Rio Grande and Monroe in Eagle Pass, is approximately the site of the first city cemetery here. For some reason, after the 1880's the cemetery was abandoned. It was later developed on and paved over, effectively destroying it. During the construction of a post office nearby in the 1950's, a tombstone was discovered, as well as several graves.

We never did find it though. I wasn't thinking that the current Google search for post office was a different post office from the 1950's. It wasn't until I looked the website again and re-reading the description that we were a few blocks away. Maybe next time passing through we'll find it.

From there we drove over to Shelby Park along the Rio Grande River. The park is mostly used by those leaving their cars on the Texas side and walking across the International Bridge into Piedras Negras. There were also about a half dozen border patrol agents getting ready to launch two airboats for patrol. The photo below looks over into Mexico and the bridge would be located off frame to the left.

Well now it was time to finally hit the road and put some miles behind us. We still had almost five hours of driving with 10 Geocaches and some sites to see along the way. Driving north along US-277 we found three quick caches: one at a cemetery (GC4N23X) and two roadside caches (GC29WHF and  GC35ZC8), before arriving in Del Rio for lunch.

Westbound on US-90, our next cache was the Ye Olde 4-Wheeler (GC36XP2) which brought me to stop and capture a photo of this old west wagon before it completely fell apart.

Next was another cemetery cache (GC3B4NE) in Comstock. In 1882 and 1883, the Galveston, Harrisburg, and San Antonio Railroad built track through Val Verde County and the town was established as a station and named for John B Comstock, a railroad dispatcher. The graves date back to 1883, but there were three that really caught my attention. No stories behind them. It's just the emotion and photo opportunity they gave me. Like this first one of Lucy Denmead who couldn't escape death in 1902, or did she?

Next cache (GC5N4E2) was at the rest area where US-90 crosses the Pecos River. I once passed through here 10 years ago while I used to drive an 18-wheeler, long before this rest area was built. Back then I had to park on the shoulder. The only thing I do remember was the remains of the old highway which ran down towards the river to the original bridge built in 1923 and destroyed by floodwaters in 1954. The current Pecos High Bridge is 1310 feet long and 273 feet above the water, and is the highest highway bridge in Texas.

At this southern end of the Pecos River it empties into the Rio Grande just a half mile down.

Just down the road was another cache (GC2NZHP) and another bridge. These two bridges cross Eagles Nest Creek Canyon just north of the Rio Grande River.

In nearby Langtry was our next cache (GCK9CH) and someplace I've wanted to stop for a long time, the "Law West of the Pecos." In 1882 the lawlessness was so bad that the railroad asked for help from the Texas Rangers. The closest legal authority was in Fort Stockton over 100 miles away. With the blessing of the Rangers and the railroad a proprietor of a store housed in a tent in Vinagaroon was appointed as the first Justice of the Peace in Pecos County (now Val Verde County) August 2, 1882.

Roy Bean never one to stand on ceremony tried his first case the week before the appointment. In 1883 the judge moved his business and his court to Langtry, Texas. There he built the Jersey Lilly Saloon, Court Room and Pool Hall. Some legends cite Bean as being a "hanging" judge, but there is no record that he ever sentenced a man to be hanged. The only law book the Judge ever owned was the 1879 Revised Statues of Texas. Occasionally he actually used it.

The "Judge" had great admiration and fascination for the famous English actress Lillie Langtry. She was internationally know as the "The Jersey Lily so he named his establishment after her. A sign painter commissioned (for food and drink) to letter the sign misspelled "Lily".

One of the most colorful stories about the Judge is true. He successfully promoted the Maher - Fitzsimmons prize fight in February 1896. It was staged in defiance of U.S. and Mexico law on a sand bar in the middle of the Rio Grande River.

A couple more quick caches along the way home and that was the end of another adventurous weekend of exploring the history of the Old West Texas. Thanks again for stopping by and following along in our adventures. Until next time, happy trails.