2021-06-22: Ghost Hunting in a Haunted Cemetery While Geocaching in Pennsylvania, New York and Connecticut

Today's leg of our geocaching road trip adventure takes us from eastern Pennsylvania, through New York, and into Connecticut in search of a Haunted Cemetery. There's one thing I can say for sure about the northeast... too much traffic! We drove some nice backroads up here but even they were busy. Not a whole lot of stops today, but let us see if we can find some ghosts! Climb aboard the GeoJeep and let's go.

After breakfast this morning we hit the ramp to the Interstate. The next few counties I already had completed on my geocaching counties map. So we drove north on I-99 and then east on I-80 into Union County, Pennsylvania.

The last exit before leaving the county, I caught the off-ramp for a quick urban park-n-grab geocache in a parking lot (GC20E51). Then a few more miles later at a rest area in Montour County (GC2TVJG). Taking I-81 north and having all those counties already, the next stop is off I-84 eastbound. Another quick off exit geocache stop for Wayne County, PA (GC8NKGZ).

Finally next up in Pike County, PA, it was a 2-stage geocache at an interesting location. The Simons Town Cemetery (GC1JPJV) is a small well kept cemetery with just over 200 burials dating back to the early 1800's. This stone wall that outlines the boundary is original and approximately 200 years old. As for the geocache itself, I found the first stage but not the second. 

Crossing over into New York, it wasn't until we got into Putnam County that I made a quick exit off of I-84 for a parking lot geocache to claim that county (GC4ZZFV).

Now it was 6:00 in the evening before we finally made it to our destination. My wife and her granddaughter are fans of the "Annabelle", "The Conjouring" and similar paranormal movies. They like all those scary movies. To me... they're comedies. Mainly because of watching them jump, scream, and react to all scary scenes! They're having heart attacks, I'm laughing!

Well it was here in Greater Bridgeport County, Connecticut and in the small community of Upper Stepney that we come to our last geocache of the day. Located in the supposedly haunted Stepney Cemetery (GC40985) are the graves belonging to Ed (1926-2006) and Lorraine Warren (1927-2019). They were paranormal investigators and were highly regarded to be the leading experts of the supernatural.

They were frequently asked to give lectures and speak about the supernatural phenomena around the world. They consulted police investigations multiple times in relation to satanic ritualistic murders. Authors of many books, some which were made into movies, they were one of the few handpicked investigators who looked into the Amityville Horror Case and later consultants for the filming of the movie. He was one of only seven religious demonologists in the country.

The Stepney Cemetery, formerly known as the Birdsey's Plain Cemetery or the Beardsley Plain Cemetery, was officially established in 1794. The oldest headstone is that of Nathaniel W. Knapp from 1787. The "haunted" part comes in several folklore stories. The most common is that of the "Lady in White." A dark haired woman in a long white Victorian dress who supposedly originally buried in the Union Cemetery four miles away. Sometimes she makes her way here for a visit in the Stepney Cemetery. Some say she's looking for a lost love. Other stories say she was murdered and wants to reveal the guilty person. And another legend was that she was falsely accused of murdering her husband and wants to tell her side of the story. For our visit on this day, we didn't see any ghosts or strange activity.

As for the geocache, it was another cemetery DNF for the day. We "Did Not Find" any cemetery caches or cemetery ghosts today. And getting late, we decided head west and to get back to a more rural less congested area, grab some dinner and find a hotel.

Until we meet again...

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.

2020-06-03: Another Geocaching Roadtrip Through the Backroads of Georgia

Well our time in Florida is done and it's off to a new project in North Carolina. According to Google it's just a simple 8 hour day trip drive to get there. But where's the fun in that! In reality, it actually took us 2 1/2 days to get there! We try to avoid the Interstate Highways and take the backroads, sightseeing and geocaching along the way.

On this first day of our roadtrip through Georgia, we visited several old cemeteries, old churches, and some other historical places. Finding 14 geocaches, we picked up 11 new caching counties in the process! So come onboard, ride along and see what and who we've found today...

Our first stop after leaving Florida was a geocache in the Howell Cemetery (GC2FPY3) for Echols County, Georgia. The cemetery has about 130 interments, most dating from 1916 through the present. But there is one burial listed on the Find-A-Grave website dated 1839. The small community of Howell once had a post office established in 1899 which remained until 1957. A township was incorporated in 1905, but it was eventually dissolved in 1995.

Also in Echols County is the Wayfare Primitive Baptist Church and Cemetery, previously known as the Cow Creek Baptist Church and Cemetery (GC3F0E8). The church was established in 1847 and the first meeting held in September. The cemetery has nearly 1800 interments and the oldest headstone dates back to 1845. 

At the end of the entry road, there is another historical marker describing an Indian skirmish at Cow Creek. "New here, on August 27, 1836, Georgia Militia companies commanded by Col. Henry Blair, Captain Lindsay, and Capt. Levi J. Knight, fought a skirmish with Creek Indians and routed them, killing two and taking several prisoners. During this summer the Indians had committed many raids and massacres as they traversed the border counties on their way to Florida to join the Seminoles. Georgia troops had been following them for weeks, and overtook this band in the cypress swamp, on the edge of Cow Creek."

Driving over to Lakeland, GA in Lanier County, I stopped by Camp Patten for my next geocache (GCT6ZP). Camp Patten was donated by Mr. Lawson Leo Patten (1896-1983) to the South Georgia Council of the Boy Scouts of America in 1965 to further promote the ideals and methods of the Scouting movement.

A half-mile up the road was the Burnt Church and Haunted Cemetery (GC121CF). One of the first churches constituted in the area was Union Baptist Church. It was organized on October 21, 1825 on the banks of the Alapaha River at Carter's Meeting House. Captain Jesse Carter settled the land earlier in 1925 to provide more room for his family, slaves, and hundreds of cattle. In 1836 as a band of Creek Indians passed on their way to join the Seminoles at Noochee, near present day Fargo, they set fire to the Union Church. It was later called the Burnt Church. (Note: I've found conflicting dates for the fire. Some websites have it as 1836 and others 1854. It's possible that there were two fires or that the church was rebuilt in 1854. The church also was subject to a restoration in 1998.)

It is said that the church and cemetery grounds are haunted. A teacher and several of her students, who were using the church as a school, perished in the flames. She and the children were buried along side one another, but time and weather has wiped away all traces of their graves. Stories are told though that loud, unintelligible voices of children can be heard and apparitions known locally as "walkers" can be seen among the many tombstones.

Perhaps one of those "walkers" is this unknown man who hasn't found his eternal rest:

Moving right along, a quick stop for a geocache in Berrien County (GC8CZCH). And a quick roadside cemetery geocache for Atkinson County (GC6NNX5). Continuing to check counties off the list, two quick geocaches for Coffee County (GC617BC, GC6047Y), including this obvious container hidden in plain site.

Moving right along into Irwin County, there was a quick park and grab in the town of Ocilla (GC5JPDC). Followed by a short woodsy walk in Paulk Park in Fitzgerald for Ben Hill County (GC507M3).

And then there's the Wild Hog Express (GC1FZ6C). Located in Wilcox County, the town of Abbeville is said to be the wild hog capital of Georgia.

Then when I got to Eastman in Dodge County, I had originally set to find a cache at the Eastman House in town. But there were some renovations being done outside making it too difficult approach and find the cache. So I quickly look up and find a cemetery cache outside of town.

I'm so glad that was the case because you know I like cemeteries, especially with an old church, and then toss in some history too! (GC1CX07) President Jefferson Davis, his wife and children arrived at this site on May 8, 1865. He had rejoined his wife 20 miles south of Dublin. Traveling with them were the Davis’ four children, Varina, Maggie, Jefferson, Jr. and Joseph. Traveling with President Davis was John Regan, Postmaster General of the Confederacy, Captain Gevin Campbell and Lt. Barnwell. Personal aides John Wood, Preston Johnson, son of General Albert Sidney Johnson, Francis Lubbock, the former Governor of Texas, and Colonel Charles E. Thornburn, a secret agent for the Confederate Government. Traveling with Mrs. Davis and her children were Mrs. Davis’ sister Margaret Howell, Mrs. Burton Harrison, the President’s private secretary, a seven-man mounted military escort, and some of the President’s personal servants.

The following morning the president’s party crossed the present Highway 341 at approximately where Friendship Baptist Road is now. They followed this route to what is referred to as 5 points. Further along Friendship Baptist Road they would come to Levi (Tiger Bill) Harrell’s farm where they stopped for the noon meal. Turning south, they passed through what is now Rhine and then west to the river.

Mrs. Davis was to remain behind and follow the next day. Fearing the roads would become impassable due to the heavy rains that had started to fall would heighten the chances of Mrs. Davis’ capture, Preston Johnson returned to the campsite to inform Mrs. Davis to leave immediately and join her husband in Abbeyville.

Many have pondered why the Davis’ didn’t stay in the Parkerson Church located just across the swamp. The Parkerson Church is the one of the oldest churches in Dodge County having been built in June 1831. (Dodge County being Pulaski and Telfair Counties at that time.) The original building was a log house built by Jacob Parkerson, a Revolutionary War Veteran who donated the land and the first to be buried here in 1843.

The second burial here is Private William Hannibal Weekes who died in the Civil War at the young age of 28. There are less than 300 total interments at this cemetery.

Next on the list was some more history at the Orange Hill Cemetery (GC8N95D) in Hawkinsville for Pulaski County. There are more than 3000 interments here dating as far back as 1833. There are many large and elaborate monuments here.

One broken headstone I'd like to tell you about belongs to 30 year old Tom Woolfolk. He was convicted of killing nine family members with a short handled axe in Macon on the night of August 6, 1887. He was tried several times in Bibb and then Perry, Georgia and was publicly hung on October 28, 1890. Up until the last minute he proclaimed his innocence. He was one of the last people to be hung before they did away with public hangings.

"The Shadow Chasers" by Carolyn DeLoach, (Woolfolk revisited), is a book about this case. The author uncovered much undiscovered evidence and was able to conclude that the actual murderer was Simon Cooper, a hired hand of the family. After Cooper's death, a diary was found that he had written, notating the Woolfolk murders just as Tom had stated. He had also written a statement, "Tom Woolfolk was mighty slick, but I fixed him. I would have killed him with the rest of the damn family, but he was not at home."

The victims are buried in Macon's Rose Hill cemetery. Its reported that thousands of people also came to Macon for the funeral. That they lined the streets of what is now Spring St. and Riverside Dr. as the horse drawn hearses went by. There weren't enough hearses in Macon/Bibb County to accommodate all the victims and many had to be borrowed from surrounding areas. The victims were Richard F. Woolfolk, father, then aged 54; his wife Mattie H (Tom's stepmother), aged 41; their six children, Richard F. Jr., 20; Pearl, 17; Annie, 10; Rosebud, 7; Charlie, 5; baby Mattie, 18 months old; and 84-year old Temperance West, a relative of Mrs. Woolfolk.

Tom is buried beside one of his sisters from his Father's first marriage to Susan M. Woolfolk. He was the youngest of 3 siblings from the first marriage. His mother passed away shortly after his birth at the age of 24. The sisters from the first marriage were not living with their father at the time of the murders.

One final quick roadside geocache (GC40DP0) in Twiggs County before calling it a day.

We found a total of 14 geocaches today and managed to pick up 11 new counties for our geocaching map. I hope you enjoyed the ride-a-long. Another big day tomorrow as we continue making our way through Georgia on our way to North Carolina.

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.

2019-04-07: Geocaching Through Texas Independence History in Cemeteries, Memorials, and a Haunted House

Welcome back to AwayWeGo's Geocaching Adventures Blog. My geocaching name is AwayWeGo.US and these are stories about our travels around the United States. Like most weekends, today is another Sunday driving 360+ miles back to work day. I live in Killeen, Texas and drive down to Falcon Lake in the Rio Grande Valley where I work as a construction surveyor during the week.

After about 30 minutes of driving, my first stop was at an IHOP in Georgetown for breakfast. Before leaving, I grab the quick geocache just outside the parking lot (GC20T2K).

I decided to make a detour and attend this geocaching event in Victoria, TX. Heading down US-183, I made a stop at the San Pablo Cemetery in Lockhart for another quick geocache find (GC3QKN0). The San Pablo Cemetery has about 100 burials beginning in the late 1930's and is still in use today.

Stopping again at the Luling City Cemetery for another cache (GC3VCVD), you also get a view of a giant watermelon. In 1954, Hermon Allen, principal of the Luling Elementary School, proposed the idea of a celebration to honor the growers and promote the Luling watermelon market. The festival includes a watermelon contest for the largest grown. The biggest Black Diamond champion melon in the festival’s history weighed in 141 pounds. The event has grown so large that as many as 30,000 people have attended.

Arriving down in the town of Gonzales, TX, I stopped for a virtual geocache at the "Old Time Justice" (GCGB8Q). The jail was built in the 1880's and is now a museum. It wasn't open at this time. I'll have to return one day to take a tour myself. The photos of it look interesting.

There's a legend that while Albert Howard was waiting for the date of his hanging from his jail cell, he had a view of the clock tower on the courthouse to watch the time. Until the very end he swore of his innocents and said that the four faces of the clock tower would never keep the same time again as long as he was hanged. Over the years and several attempts to fix it, the clocks have never kept the same time.

Then there's also the "Immortal 32" virtual cache (GCG84Q). In February 1836, Colonel Travis sent a letter from the Alamo to all Texans and all Americans while under besiege by the Mexican Army. Only 32 men answered that call for Texas Independence and all 32 were from the town of Gonzales. This memorial and reflecting pond are dedicated to those brave 32 men who gave their lives in support of their brothers at the Alamo.

Well I made it down to Victoria, TX at the Ted B. Reed Park for the geocaching event (GC83TBD). There were eight in attendance and always good meeting other geocachers. I got to stay for a little while before hitting the road and continue south.

Just to the west outside of Victoria is my next geocache at the Coletoville Cemetery (GC4T8AB). Originally named Steiner's Settlement, after early German Carl Steiner. The settlement dates back to 1849. When an epidemic of diphtheria hit the German settlement, two of August and Thekla Spitzer's children died. Ten-year-old Henry and six-year-old Robert were buried by their parents in 1873 on this site. In May of 1873, the Spitzer's deeded the land to the trustees of the new school and evangelic German church of the German community of Steinerville. The community was later renamed Coletoville for the nearby Coleto Creek.

Continuing southwest into Goliad County, my next stop was at the La Bahia Cemetery (GC282ND). There you'll also find this significant memorial of the Texas Independence. After the battle of Coleto (March 19 - 20, 1836), where a Texas Army under Col. James Walker Fannin met defeat by Mexicans in superior numbers, the Texas soldiers were held in Presidio La Bahia, supposedly as war prisoners.

However, by order of Mexican Gen. Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna, 370 of Fannin's men were marched out and massacred on Palm Sunday, March 27, 1836. The wounded were shot one by one in the fort compound. Col. Fannin was the last to die. Because of their profession, Drs. J. H. Barnard, J. E. Field and Jack Shackelford were spared; about 25 men were saved by a Mexican woman, "The Angel of Goliad". Approximately 30 escaped by feigning death or by swimming the San Antonio River. The Texans' corpses were stripped and partly burned, but left unburied.

This atrocity three weeks after the fall of the Alamo gave Texans part of the battle cry -- "Remember the Alamo! Remember La Bahia!" -- under which decisive victory was won at San Jacinto on April 21, 1836. Gen. Thomas J. Rusk and the Texan Army afterwards marched here and gathered the bones of Fannin's men from the terrain. From Presidio La Bahia the remains were carried in procession to the grave, and there given a military funeral and burial on June 3, 1836.

Amid the cruelties of the Texas war for independence, one notable woman committed acts of bravery and compassion. Francisca Alavez ("The Angel of Goliad") accompanied Mexican Army Captain Telesforo Alavez to Texas in March 1836. In seven incidents between March and April, she intervened with Mexican troops under command of Gen. José de Urrea to help captured Texian prisoners at Agua Dulce, Copano, La Bahia, Victoria and Matamoros.

On March 20, Maj. William P. Miller and 75 men of his Nashville Battalion were captured as they unloaded their ship at Copano Bay. Alavez insisted that binding cords which cut off circulation be removed and food and water be provided. The men were moved to Presidio La Bahia at Goliad, where hundreds of Col. James Fannin's troops were already held after their capture at Coleto Creek. At least 342 men were taken out of the fort on March 27 and shot under orders of Gen. Santa Anna in what was termed the Goliad Massacre.

Alavez helped save the lives of many men, including 16-year-old Benjamin Hughes. Another Survivor, Dr. J.H. Barnard, recalled that she pleaded for their lives, helped sneak out some troops at night and hid some of the men. Her humanitarian acts included tending to wounds and sending messages and provisions to those still imprisoned.

Driving into Berclair, TX, I first arrive at the Berclair Cemetery for my next geocache (GC38VDX). Berclair was a ranching area when the railroad arrived in 1889. The name supposedly derived from the combination Bert and Clair Lucas, one of the ranchers. A hotel was built to provide housing for the railroad workers in 1887 and travelers once completed. A post office was established in 1889. The cemetery below covered in spring wildflowers.

One remaining attraction in Berclair is the haunted Berclair Mansion (GCYFCJ). This 10,000 square foot, 22-room mansion was built in 1936. Etta Terrell had the house constructed out of concrete and steel in an effort to "fireproof" it after her previous house burnt down. Etta and her four sisters lived in the house. Etta passed away in the house in 1956. The sisters remained living in the mansion until the last one passed away in 1968. The homes furnishings remain as the sisters left them with antiques dating back to the 1700's. Then in 1999, the heirs in the family donated the mansion as a museum to the Beeville Art Association.

The Art Association hired maintenance workers and landscapers to keep up the property. It was about this time when unexplained sightings and sounds started happening. Several reported seeing elderly women in the windows, waving to them. Volunteers for the museum say they’ve heard voices as well as doors closing in the otherwise empty house, for no apparent reason. And the Corpus Christi Spook Central’s supernatural investigation team has reportedly recorded at least 10 unexplained voices occurring in the mansion over the period of one night.

The house is open for tours the last Sunday of each month. We may have to come back for another visit one day.

Still having 3 hours of driving to go plus stopping at the grocery store and grabbing dinner, I made that the last geocache for the day. The was a lot of historical and interesting stops today that I didn't get to explore more. Just means I'll have to go back again one day.

Thanks for stopping by and I hope to see you again soon.  

2018-12-25: Christmas 2018 Road Trip from Texas to Florida and Back Again

Hello and welcome back to another entry of AwayWeGo's Geocaching Adventures. One of these days I might actually catch up in my writing to the present time. I'm starting to gain some ground. In this blog I take you back to our Christmas roadtrip in 2018. This year we decided to drive from Central Texas to Central Florida to spend Christmas with the family.

It's a 1200 mile drive to get there and since we're leaving out on the 22nd, we'll be spending way too much time on the boring I-10. We do make some detours in Louisiana to go geocaching and pick up some new counties. But the return trip however is when we stick to the backroads the majority of the time! So here's some of the highlights:

Our county first stop was in Vermilion Parish, Louisiana at the Old Mason Cemetery (GC1NR88) in a town called Abbeville. From the historical marker: "On this site was the first of our town's Masonic cemeteries and served Masons and Protestants alike. It has been virtually unused since 1905, although the latest tombstone reads 1954. The earliest recorded death was in 1868. A. G. Maxwell donated this land to Abbeville Lodge in 1869. The first master of the lodge, Dr. W. D. White was buried here as was several of his children. Restoration of the cemetery began in 1997 by dedicated volunteers under the auspices of the City of Abbeville, current owner of this sacred soil."

Continuing east on US-90, we stopped for a quick roadside geocache (GC1NKPH) in New Iberia to get the county of Iberia Parish. Then another cache (GC2KNG5) in the town of Franklin to claim a find in St Mary Parish. Also in St Mary Parish, I stopped for another geocache (GC2HH84) in the town of Amelia near this overpass which had all these vines growing up the columns.

Next on the list was a geocache for Terrebonne Parish in the town of Schriever, Louisiana. The Ducros Plantation (GC28MJ2) is a 12,600 square foot home dating back to 1802. Supposedly the Ducros House is haunted. It is not certain, but there is said to have been a young child who accidentally drowned in the adjacent well nearby as well as the house being home to the natural deaths of many of the previous occupants. The most common activity reported are unexplainable sounds. Foot steps heard in the main hall by the carpenters restoring the plantation and Richard himself has heard a strange dragging noise on the upper gallery. All reports have been during the day. No one has spent a night at Ducros since the early to mid 70's. From the vantage point of the public street I couldn't get a very good photo of the house.

The last geocache for this day in Louisiana was for the Lafourche Parish at the St Joseph Cemetery (GC2V8NJ). The first burial here is that of Marie Madeleine Gaudet (1732-1801). After a half-dozen burials, this cemetery was established in 1817 on the site of the original St Joseph Church, a mission of Assumption. The Calvary-Grotto Shrine to Our Lady of Lourdes, erected in 1883, still stands near the Menard Street entrance. Several historic graves are located here.

We drove all the way to Lake City, Florida the first day. Then on Christmas Eve down to Umatilla, just in time for a family get together. Later that night we checked into our hotel on Cocoa Beach, Florida. Christmas Day we awake to a beautiful view of the Atlantic Ocean. After another day with family in Merritt Island, Florida, it was time to hit the road westbound and return to Texas.

We had more time to get back to Texas so we spent more time on the backroads geocaching and picking up new counties. A couple of stops on Wednesday the 26th in Alabama with one being this huge Live Oak tree (GC7BA7T). It can be found listed on the Alabama Forestry's list of Alabama's Famous & Historic Trees. This publication states this tree was a recognized meeting place when the town of Geneva was first settled. People gathered under this tree for meetings and information of the development of the area.  The Big Oak was measured by the Eastern Native Tree Society in 2009. Measurements recorded were, CBH-22'9", Height-69' and Spread-163.5' x 154.5' making it #94 on the listing. We arrived here after sunset and it was already getting dark. That made it difficult for us to get any decent pictures. Though you can see plenty of photos on the cache page.

Thursday the 27th found us in Mississippi. We picked up several new counties in Stone Co (GC7JGP7), Amite Co (GC311DZ), and Wilkinson Co (GCP29Z). The most interesting geocache of the day was found in Centreville, MS. A virtual cache called "One For The Road" (GCJA19), it is of an old Colt .38 Revolver imbedded into the road from the days of the Works Progress Administration was constructing the original road in the 1930's. Nobody knows the real story behind the gun but there are many tales told. The most common is of a man who found his wife with another man, shot them both, and tossed the evidence into the newly poured concrete. Then there's the bank robber, another a moonshiner, and even a war protester. But we'll probably never know the true story of the revolver in the road.

We ended the night at a hotel in Alexandria, Louisiana. After getting settled in the hotel I made a run for pizza to bring back for dinner. I passed by this place and saw the shapes in the darkness and knew we had to come back in the morning for a better look.

That begins Friday the 28th. On England Drive in Alexandria is this Memorial Park (GC3XCW6). The England Airpark was once England Airforce Base until is was closed during the Clinton administration. The A-10 Warthog was the primary fighter stationed at England, and it is prominently displayed in this awesome real life airplane display area. There are 5 aircraft here on display. This geocache also gets us the Rapides Parish as a new county.

Our next stop was in Grant Parish and a town called Colfax, Louisiana. Reading the historical markers around the courthouse, the first one of interest was about the fire water. The marker reads: "The Famous Burning Well of Colfax. Visitors to this spot were once greeted with a curious site, a burning well. In 1899 a driller named L.B. Hart completed an artesian well at 1103 feet. The water was salty, and it bubbled with gas. Hart struck a match near the flow and promptly got his beard singed when the bubbles ignited. During its lifetime the well ebbed or flowed in response to the levels of the nearby Red River. With the advent of each new eruption someone would light up this unusual landmark. Thousands of tourists remember Colfax by the image of its famous burning well. Ripley once featured it in his "Believe It Or Not" as a well that spewed both fire and water. During WWII visiting soldiers would write back home describing this local wonder. In 1959, a new courthouse displaced the towns old attraction. An artificial fountain with a gas flame was erected, but it could not possibly evoke the awe of visitors as the real one had once done."

Another marker describes a dark time in the towns history. "The Colfax Riot. On this site occurred the Colfax Riot in which three white men and 150 negroes were slain. This event on April 13, 1873 marked the end of carpetbag misrule in the south." At the cemetery, an obelisk there reads: "Erected to the memory of the heroes Stephen Decature Parish, James West Hadnot, Sidney Harris who fell in the Colfax Riot fighting for white supremacy April 13, 1873." I was actually surprised this was still standing considering the political climate of modern times (GC7962B).

After a few more stops we finally made it back home in Killeen, Texas. A weekend to rest up from the trip before heading back to work in South Texas. Thanks for stopping by and I hope you enjoyed the roadtrip! See you next time...

2018-07-04: The Quest For 10,000 Geocaching Finds: Necropolis of Britannia Manor GOAL COMPLETED!

YAY! 10,000 GEOCACHES FOUND!! A Huge Milestone Made Complete With An Awesome Milestone Worthy Cache!

But wait let me step back a moment. In yesterdays blog, I covered my first stop this morning at the Oakwood Cemetery in Austin, Texas, highlighting some of the historic occupants there. But what I didn't tell you was that I was also collecting clues for the milestone geocache. I had my sights set on making the Necropolis of Britannia Manor III (GC2B034) my 10,000 cache find.

Necropolis of Britannia Manor III is the second most favorite cache in Texas, and that's because the top spot is held by the oldest cache in Texas with a ten year head start. The Necropolis is a multi-stage story with eight chapters. It takes several hours to complete which leads you to an amazing final. The whole thing is an adventure onto itself. It's the only geocache I know of that even has it's own Facebook page!

So there are a few more caches I needed to find before getting to number 10,000, so as I was going around town I found a few more along the way. After leaving the cemetery, I grabbed a cache there on the corner of MLKjr and I-35 called Moonlight Tower #18 RIP (GC2MHWJ). It was one of the locations of the 1895 lighting tower project. Thirty-one lighting towers standing over 150+ feet tall illuminated the growing city. Only 15 remain standing, but not the one at this location.

I was passing by Mount Bonnell along the Colorado River where I stopped to take in the views and also grabbed a virtual cache (GC1436) and an earthcache (GC1WHVV).

Five more quick roadside geocaches and a local four-legged muggle watching nearby. And I've made all the necessary stops and gathered all the clues needed to take me to the final destination: the Necropolis of Britannia Manor III.

So I've tried not to give away any answers or clues for the stages. There's just a short walk from the parking area to the GIANT Geocache container. Along that walk you'll find many ghoulish displays and items to dare you to continue your journey. They say this one is best to do just after sunset, but I didn't have the luxury of doing that. But I'm sure this would rival many a haunted house. I'll leave you with just a few photos of what you'll find along the way as well as a pic of the Final Container. I took a video of the inside and was debating on posting it here as well. But I'll leave that as a surprise to you. If you ever find yourself in Central Texas anywhere near Austin, this is a MUST DO BUCKET LIST Geocache to find! And it forever marks my 10,000th find!

2017-03-19: A Long Weekend Roadtrip from West Texas 1301 Miles to MINGO!

Well it looked a lot closer on the map. Hello again and welcome back to the Away We Go's Geocaching Adventures Blog.

After working six days a week since December, work finally gave me a 4-day weekend off. YAY! The other half of the "We" still had to work on Thursday and a few hours Friday morning. Trying to figure out where to go on this long weekend, Plan A was San Antonio and the Riverwalk. Plan B was Big Spring and the historic Settles Hotel. Both of those are close enough that you don't really need the "extra" day. Then I remembered something that's been on the radar for many years! MINGO!

Plan C was only a 9 hour drive away! Easy right? MINGO is the oldest still active Geocache in the world! With the code GC30, it was hidden on May 11, 2000 and located in NW Kansas. As of this writing, it has been found 5,721 times and over 2100 favorite points. It ranks up there on every Geocachers bucket list along with visiting Geocaching HQ or attending a GeoWoodstock.

So back to Friday. After working a few hours in the morning, Candy returned home and we loaded up the car. Heading east on I-20 into Odessa, stopping for lunch at our favorite Greek restaurant Pop & Pita's and then a quick drive through at Starbucks. From there we headed north. The plans were to stay overnight in Amarillo, Texas. Normally on our road trips, we're spontaneous and don't make reservations anywhere. But this time I did.

We arrived at the hotel around 5:00 pm Friday evening. Probably would have driven further if we didn't already have the hotel booked. But on the positive side we found this great Italian restaurant called Macaroni Joe's and had a wonderfully delicious dinner. Candy had a Mahi Tuna Salad and I ordered what was called the Confetti Spaghetti. It was so good that I had to order the tiramisu for dessert even though I was already stuffed! And that was the BEST tiramisu I've ever eaten.

There were several items on the menu I wanted to try, including the turtle cheesecake. I almost ordered another dessert to go, but figured we'll run up to Kansas and back to Amarillo in time for dinner Saturday night. But as you'll read in a few minutes, that wasn't going to happen.

So back to the hotel to relax in the Jacuzzi for the evening. The only Geocache we found on Friday was right next to the hotel when I took GeoDog Max for a walk by the pond (GC48KA2).

Saturday was a long day and a long drive. Mingo looked so much closer on the map! I had spent several hours looking up caches to find going up and a different route coming back. Looking up historical spots, cool caches, and picking up needed counties in North Texas, Oklahoma, and Kansas. I had 89 caches on the "to find" list!

Hitting the road Saturday morning, we headed for our first stop at a roadside picnic area and a quick cache for a new county (GC15NN0). About 30 minutes later in another new county, I stop for a cemetery cache (GC5P1T5). Spending too long and about 10 minutes looking, I had to walk away with a DNF. By this time it was about 10:30 and I realize that we still had almost 5 hours of driving to get to NW Kansas! Time to skip all the counties and get to goal! MINGO!

Taking some county roads to get back to US-83 northbound and now we're making up some time. For a little while anyway. Until we hit the Oklahoma State Line! Speed limits drop from 75 MPH in Texas to 65 MPH in Oklahoma and Kansas. We're out in the middle of farm land for hours and stuck behind this oversized flatbed 18-wheeler doing 63-65 MPH! And this highway is busier than I ever thought and passing was nearly impossible. There was one spot in Oklahoma that was slightly hilly and made for a passing zone. Finally I was able to get around it!

But several miles later I spotted a ranch with cattle and one large bison standing out front. Visually it made for a great photo and Candy had never seen a real bison before. I pulled over and made a u-turn to get a picture. It turned out to be a very realistic looking statue of a bison! AND to make matters worse the oversized 18-wheeler passed us back and was out in front again! And again we're stuck doing 63-65 MPH for miles on end. And the landscape is flat and no more passing zones. We even made a quick fuel and bathroom stop and caught back up to it in no time. After another hour we decided to stop for a late lunch and be done with it.

FINALLY after caching for almost 11 years, we make it up to NW Kansas to find Geocache # GC30! Funny thing is that it is right off the exit of I-70. As a truck driver I probably drove by here several times. Anyway we find MINGO and three other caches right there at that exit. (GC598PW, GC4K4QN, GC559M6) There where some others in the area on my list, but it was late afternoon and we still had a long drive back to Amarillo!

By the time we made it back to our hotel in Amarillo, TX, it was 9:30 PM. A long day, a long drive, a goal accomplished, and one item checked off the bucket list! YAY!

After a good nights sleep and a much shorter drive ahead of us this morning, we make time to find some highlighted caches on our list around Amarillo. The first Geocache (GC2MNMV) was in the downtown area at the old AT&T building. On the wall by the entry door is something you don't see anymore: an old phone with a cord attached to the handset. The phone is no longer used as the door has been modernized with an electric ID swipe for the employees to unlock the door.

Next on the list was the old Summit Elementary School building GC1EQHM). Originally built in 1928, with a west addition added in the 1950's, the school closed it's doors in 1972. There had been rumors and urban legends of the old school being haunted. The most common story was that a janitor murdered at least 6 students and put them into the boiler. Their spirits still roam the halls at night. Numerous people over the years have been caught breaking in and trespassing. Recently purchased by the Summit Baptist Church and slowly been updated and restored. They claim they have not seen any signs of paranormal activity.

Driving further west along the historic Route 66, we arrive at the Helium Monument (GCG4YR) for a virtual cache. This monument was erected in 1968 to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the discovery of helium on the sun. There were also 4 time capsules buried underneath. This first was opened in 1998 and the last to be opened in the year 2968! I can't tell you the years the other two would be opened because then you'd have one of the answers for the virtual.

Furthering the history of Helium in the area and that brings us to our next two caches GC1KJXX and GC13P2Y. In 1928 a 50,000-acre underground helium-bearing natural gas structure known as the Cliffside Field was discovered near Amarillo. In 1934, the United States Bureau of Mines completed negotiations for the Cliffside Helium Field and opened the Amarillo Helium Plant. For a number of years the plant at Amarillo was the sole producer of commercial helium in the world. Natural gas containing helium was piped from Cliffside Field to the Amarillo Helium Plant where the extraction of the helium from the natural gas took place.

After WWII, the need for helium declined and the Amarillo plant ceased producing helium and was only used for research during the cold war era. Scientific research led to breakthroughs in the use of helium in laser technology, satellites, and telecommunications. The abandoned plant was declared a historical site in 1966 and sold to a private owner in 2007.

Our last Geocache before heading south towards home was the Hub Cap Post (GCYBZX). Just a unique sign on the edge of someones property pointing towards different cities and a collection of stray hub caps.

That was it for this long weekend. A long drive of 1301 miles later and signing the log of the oldest cache! What a drive...