2021-04-01: Cruising Route 66 Through Kansas and Oklahoma on Day 10 of Our 3400 Mile Roadtrip Adventure

Today was a very busy day. We continued to follow the historical Route 66 through the corner of Kansas and all the way down to Oklahoma City. There were many roadside attractions to see, many geocaches to find, and some new counties to get, and we tried to visit as many as we could. But we still had to put some miles behind us as our goal is to eventually get down into Texas for the next work project. So join us in the GeoJeep while we share the history and photos from "The Mother Road."

After leaving Joplin with coffee and breakfast, our first geocaching stop was in Kansas... wait no... Oklahoma... or is it Missouri? I guess it depends on where you stand, or park, or... well you get the idea. The virtual geocache (GC6F6D) technically is located in Oklahoma. The stone monument you see was erected in 1938 to mark the spot determined way back in 1857 as the Tri-State intersection. Sadly it had been vandalized, graffitied, and the original plaques stolen. Over the years it had been determined that the monument was off by 50 feet. In 2004, the Missouri Association of County Surveyors rectified the error with a "stand-in-three-states" plaque on the ground marking the correct location. I think this is my third tri-state corner marker that I've been to.

Ok, now that we've got that out of the way... back to Route 66. We stopped for three caches in Cherokee County, Kansas. A quick cemetery geocache (GC497WV) in Galena. A roadside park (GC85F4E) in Riverton highlighting the rather short stretch of Route 66 which passes through Kansas.

Then back over to the original Route 66 alignment and another old historical bridge. Built in 1923 as part of the Jefferson Highway, three years before the US-66 designation, the Rainbow Bridge is a concrete arch bridge and spans 130 feet across Bush Creek. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1983 and is the only one like it within the entire state of Kansas.

And finally a virtual geocache (GCBBF6) at the historical marker for Baxter Springs. Also here in Baxter Springs is this restored old gas station which is now used as the Route 66 Visitors Center. Built in 1930 by The Independent Oil and Gas Company, it was purchased by Phillips 66 Petroleum Company later that year. The original brick house style was modified in the 1940's to an "L" shape adding on a garage for service repairs. The gas station was in use up until the 1970's. After restoration, it was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2003.

Route 66 enters Oklahoma into Ottawa County. Passing through the town of Commerce, I saw this little Marathon gas station which was built in 1927. They don't sell gas anymore. But they do sell cookies, candies, and other tasty treats. We resisted the urge to step inside and only left with a photo.

A couple of blocks to the south is the Hole-in-the-Wall gas station. This Conoco Station was built out from a wall of another business in 1929/30. It now serves as a Route 66 Gift Shop.

Following the Mother Road south through Miami, we found this rather unique older section of the original highway. With the early age of automobile travel in the 1900's, Oklahoma began improving the Ozark Trails turning them into an "Auto Trails" system of roadways connecting small rural towns. Working with very tight budgets while trying to still get the distance needed, they paved what came to be known as "Ribbon Road" or "Sidewalk Highway." (GC2ZXEE)

Kinda hard to tell from this photo, but it's basically a one lane paved road that's 9-feet wide with 5-feet wide gravel shoulders. Completed in 1922 as Federal Highway Project No. 8, four years prior to the Route 66 designation. Running from Miami to Afton, this 15.49 miles of narrow road is the only remaining 9-foot section of original pavement on the Old Route 66 system. While it was officially taken out of service in 1937, you can still drive on it today. Just be careful of oncoming traffic!

Passing through Afton, I see these rock walls and stop for a photo. No signs posted and can't find anything online about it. Old gas station? Old store? The ground out front of the sidewalk looks like there may have been gas pumps there. If you know, please leave a comment.

Taking a detour off of Route 66 for a moment, we drove down I-44 to the small Oklahoma town of Big Cabin. Back in my truck driving days passing through here and just as you exit off the interstate at US-69, there's a gigantic Indian Chief statue proudly greeting you as you enter the truck stop. I wanted to stop by here again so that Candy will get an opportunity to see it. Erected on August 9, 2001, the Tall Chief stands at 46 feet and weighs in at 15,500 pounds.

We continued a short drive further south in order to grab another county and a historical virtual geocache (GCFDCD). Just a few miles away in Mayes County is the County Creek Battlefield. Down the backroads through the woods to arrive on a hill with multiple historical markers creating a mental picture of this Civil War battle. On September 18, 1864, a Confederate force of 2,000, mainly General Stand Watie's Indian Brigade, intercepted a Union supply train en-route from Kansas to Fort Gibson. The convoy of 130 wagons worth $1.5 million was captured after a heavy engagement. This was the last Civil War battle in Indian Territory.

Making our way back to continue our drive down Route 66, we arrive in Rogers County. Approaching the town of Chelsea, the historical Pryor Creek Bridge (GC6F24Y) was built in 1926 and carried U.S. Highway 66 traffic from 1926 to 1932, when a new alignment of Route 66 bypassed the bridge.

Once in Chelsea you have to stop for the underground pedestrian bridge (GC6QCMW). Instead of the usual crosswalk from corner to corner, the town built this tunnel to cross Route 66. I guess it was much busier and harder to cross the street back in the day.

A little further down Route 66 and still in Rogers County, we make a stop for the World's Largest Totem Pole as well as a virtual and a traditional geocache (GC9251, GC6M4FJ). Built by Ed Galloway from 1937 to 1948, it stands at 98 feet tall. It was made with 100 tons of sand and rock, 28 tons of cement, and 6 tons of steel. There are 200 carved pictures with four 9 foot indian chiefs at the top.

Our next virtual geocache (GCH7V1) was located in the town of Foyil, just a few more miles down the road. A graduate of Foyil High School, Andrew Hartley Payne (1907-1977) won the 1928 Great Transcontinental Footrace which began in Los Angeles on 3-4-1928 and ended 3,422.3 miles later in New York City 5-26-1928.

Then a short time later we passed this bridge from the 1936 Route 66 alignment. This 24 feet wide bridge replaced the 18 feet wide version from 1925. Now it leads to Molly's Landing Restaurant. I don't think this is the original location of this bridge.

The remains of the Old Route 66 alignment go down the hill to the left from this photo and head down towards the Verdigris River. There's a geocache (GC8H9MC) at the dead end about 1500 feet away from here. There's also an old cemetery up on the hill here. The River Hill Cemetery has about 20 internments dating back to 1882.

Our last geocache for Rogers County was in Catoosa. The Blue Whale (GC4ADE) is a popular Route 66 roadside attraction built by Hugh S. Davis from 1970-72. The Blue Whale is 20 feet tall and 80 feet long and took nearly 3000 hours to build.

Arriving down in Tulsa County, we starting searching for the virtual geocaches in the area. The community of Broken Arrow was named because reeds, found in abundance along streams and riverbeds, were broken to make arrow shafts. The Arkansas Valley Townsite Company chose the site for the town along the proposed MK&T Railroad in September 1902. The first virtual geocache was at Centennial Park (GCEABB) which was dedicated in 2002.

The next virtual geocache was at the Veterans Memorial Park (GCG235). Along with this wall of local veterans, there are two statues dedicated to Major William H. (Hank) Miesner Jr (1939-2003) and Lt. Col. Ernest Childers (1918-2005).

Speaking of memorial parks, we drove a couple of miles away to the Memorial Park Cemetery. It was there we found our next virtual geocache at the gravesite of comedian Sam Kinison (GC48BE). The son of a Pentecostal Preacher, he became a preacher himself at an early age. At age 24, after his first divorce, Kinison gave up preaching and became a comedian. In 1992, he was killed in a car accident when his vehicle was struck by a drunk driver. He was 38 years old.

OK, we don't have time to get to all there is to see in Tulsa. It is already late in the afternoon. So we make our way back to Route 66 and head down into Creek County.

Upon arriving in the town of Sapulpa, our first stop is another virtual geocache at the Sapulpa Trolley and Rail Museum (GCG4JG). The trolley on display here is called the Maggie M., which was built in 1919. The Sapulpa Trolley Company went out of business in 1933. It was donated to the museum in 1997.

The next three geocaches were on the west side heading out of town. There was a letterbox cache at The Heart of Route 66 Auto Museum (GC859VG). Unfortunately, being late in the day, the museum was closed. But the HUGE gas pump outside made for a great roadside attraction and photo ops.

This was followed by the historic Rock Creek Bridge earthcache (GC6Q151). This bridge was built in 1921 to serve the Ozark Trail. It became part of Route 66 in 1926. The bridge was used by motorists traveling "The Mother Road" until a new highway was built to the south of here in 1952.

Then just a few hundred feet down from the bridge was what remains of the Teepee Drive-In Theater (GCG4K2). The drive-in first opened in the 1950's and remained open until the late 90's. At the time of our visit, it was still closed. However, in preparation for writing this blog, I have discovered that the drive-in has been renovated and reopened in the Spring of 2023. And a really cool addition is that along the back row they have several retro RV trailers that can be rented out through Airbnb.

Another geocache in Creek County was at the Magnolia Memorial Gardens Cemetery (GC3AZXC) located just north of Bristow. This cemetery has almost 3,000 internments here dating back to the early 1900's. Most impressive is this 2-story chapel on the grounds.

Our last geocache in Creek County was a roadside attraction called the Route 66 Shoe Tree (GCHPFX). I'm not sure when this started, but it was just a tree along the side of the highway that people tossed their old shoes up and had them hanging from the branches.

Continuing westbound into Lincoln County, our next stop was the Seaba Station in Warwick, Oklahoma. Currently a motorcycle museum, it was originally built in 1924 as a gas station and garage. It stayed in operation serving travelers for many years until 1996. Then the building was restored and the museum opened a few years later in 2000. Unfortunately, the geocache (GC346Y6) was kept indoors and we couldn't sign the logbook after hours.

Now into Oklahoma County. Our next geocache stop (GC4759Y) was located at another historical Route 66 gas station, or what was left of it anyway.  According to the sign: supposedly built in the late teens or early 1920's, before electricity made it out to this rural area. Cold soda pop were only sold on the days when the ice man made it by. Chocolate candy was only sold during the winter when it was cold, otherwise it would melt.

Times were tough back in those days and it was hard to make an honest living. The station owners bought plates to make counterfeit ten dollar bills. A room was added to the back of the station and the only entrance was through a window. After one person was caught passing the fake bills and arrested, their identification gave the address. They were eventually traced back to the gas station. The plates were found, the crime spree terminated, and the owner taken to jail. The old station was closed, never to open again. Many years later and nothing to do with the counterfeiting, a murder victim was found in the abandoned building. The victim was never identified and the mystery never solved.

Our last stop of the day was at Pops 66 (GC162WP), an the iconic destination and must-see landmark on Route 66 in Arcadia, Oklahoma. It features a family-friendly, full-service restaurant, gas station, convenience store, tons of bottled soda, and a 66-foot-tall pop bottle outside that dazzles with multicolor LED lights when the sun sets.

Needless to say after browsing the store for about an hour, we left with a huge assortment of good and "gross" sodas!

That's the end of our LONG day. Twelve hours of driving and sightseeing the roadside attractions along the historic Route 66. Tomorrow we finish up Oklahoma and arrive at our destination in Texas.

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. 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.

2021-03-24: Turning a 1400 Mile Drive into a 3404 Mile Road Trip! Day 2 in Virginia, DC, Maryland, and Pennsylvania

On this Day 2 of our 3400 mile road trip from NC to TX, taking the long route, we geocached our way from Virginia through Maryland, DC, West Virginia, and into Pennsylvania history. Picking up new geocaching counties along the way, we were sightseeing places of Revolutionary and Civil War prominence that included churches, houses, cemeteries and more. So come join us as we travel back in time...

Our first two geocaches were quick urban hides to get credit for the county. In Virginia, there are not only the counties but also some of the larger cities have their own "boundaries" separate from the county. So the first of the geocaches was for Spotsylvania County (GC1FYJ1) and the other just a few blocks away was located within Fredericksburg (GC82XNE).

Our next geocache and county was up the road into Stafford County. It was a old virtual geocache at a piece of Civil War history (GCB1C). This huge stone block base is all that remains of a train bridge which spanned the Potomac Creek. The Richmond, Fredericksburg, and Potomac Railroad crossing this bridge was a major supply route for Confederate troops along the river. Early 1862, the troops were ordered to abandoned their positions here. The advancing Union troops found the bridge destroyed in an effort to slow them down. In May 1862, engineer Herman Haupt supervised the unskilled Union army soldiers in harvesting two million feet of lumber and reconstructing the bridge in just nine days (see photo at top of page). Over the next three years and continued destruction by the Confederates, the bridge was rebuilt four times using this same foundation. You can see the modern roadway through the trees on the right side.

Our next "county" geocache, one of Virginia's separate townships, was in Falls Church. Just a quick parking lot LPC (light post cache) (GC3XCZE), but it fills in a blank on the county map and keeps us moving forward.

Our next two geocaches are practically in the same spot at the intersecting corners of Arlington County, Fairfax County and Falls Church. Located in a small park in a residential neighborhood is the original 1791 survey stone marking the proposed western corner of the diamond shaped District of Columbia for the newly formed United States Capital. Maryland was donating land NE of the Potomac River, while Virginia was to donate land SW of the river forming the diamond shape. However, Virginia rescinded and we have the current half-diamond configuration of Washington D.C. today. The two geocaches located here are a virtual for the survey marker (GC6781) and a Challenge for finding 300 Virtual caches (GC572WE).

Just a short distance away, and in Fairfax County, is another Virtual geocache at this 9-11 Memorial (GCA072). There are a LOT of virtual caches in and around Washington DC, but we don't have the time at this point to get to them all. So we just try and grab a couple every time we pass through the area.

In an effort to not get too bogged down and spend the entire day in Virginia, I make another quick park & grab parking lot LPC find in Loudoun County (GC3V6QF).

We add Clarke County to our map by picking up a geocache in the County Seat of Berryville (GCXGQF). From the historical marker: "The year after Clarke County was formed in 1836, construction began on a brick courthouse based on county justice David Meade's design. The courthouse was remodeled in the Neoclassical style about 1850 when the portico and copula were added. Portraits of locally prominent judges and lawyers from the 1840's to the present are displayed in the courtroom. The last public hanging in Clarke County occurred here in 1905."

There was much to see around the courthouse square. One of which is this statue erected as a memorial to those Clarke County residents who fought and died during the Civil War defending states rights and the Confederacy.

The other was the Grace Episcopal Church and Graveyard erected in 1832. Do you know what the difference between a cemetery and a graveyard? Originally graveyards were burial grounds on church property, whereas cemeteries were land specifically designated for burials. Some very old churches actually have clergy or other very prominent members buried WITHIN the church under the floor. Their flat headstones would be down the isles between the pews.

My next two geocaches are in the Winchester Township. On previous roadtrips through Virginia I had just skipped the small townships, instead just focusing on the larger and rural counties. But I'm gonna have to fill these in on the map sooner or later. Might as well get to working on them.

During the Civil War, the Union and Confederate armies each used the Frederick County Courthouse (GC4XT0K) as a hospital and a prison. The Greek revival style courthouse was completed in 1840. It was the third courthouse constructed on this location. In 1758, the first courthouse was the site of George Washington's first election to office, when voters here elected him a member of the Virginia House of Burgesses.

Though these buildings have not been around that long, Colonel James Wood, a native of Winchester, England, laid out and founded the new Winchester in Virginia prior to 1743. It received a charter of incorporation from the colonial legislature in February 1752. Colonel Wood was the first surveyor of Orange County from which the county of Frederick was carved by an act of the House of Burgesses passed in 1738.

The Taylor Hotel, also our next virtual geocache (GC890KN), was a major stopping point for travelers because of its location on the Valley Turnpike and also was the center of town life. During the Civil War it was the headquarters for several commanders, most notably Confederate General Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson. This is the Taylor Hotel below as it looks today.

Arriving in November 1861, his stay at the hotel was short. Continuing crowds of people eager to meet the famous Stonewall Jackson, he moved a few days later to a private residence of the Lewis T. Moore house, which is now the Stonewall Jackson Headquarters Museum (GC4XT6Y) pictured below. He used this as his headquarters until March 1862 when he left Winchester to begin his Valley Campaign.

Finally exiting Virginia and making our way into West Virginia, our next stop was in the town of Middleway to grab a geocache for Jefferson County (GCM0TN). From the historical marker: Middleway, founded in the late 1700's, flourished as a trading center for most of the 1800's. About 1820, the Lutherans and German Reformed congregations joined together to build this church. Some years elapsed and the building was erected and finally the Presbyterians agreed to bear one third of the cost. Services were alternated, thus the name Union Church.

As the village declined, the Union Church and its cemetery deteriorated. In a more recent act of destruction, vandals smashed tombstones with bats and knocked others askew. The nearby Grace Episcopal Church, built in 1851, (pictured below), having acquired the forsaken property, stepped in and has restored the site to its former dignity.

For Berkeley County, I stop for one of the famous WVTim gadget caches. Since 2012, it has had over 1400 finders and awarded nearly 700 favorite points. Located on the grounds of a fire station, it's made to look like an old fire house. I'm not gonna give you the GC code to this one cause I'm gonna tell you how it works. In order to open the compartment that contains the log sheet, you must first open the compartment which contains a package of balloons. Insert the balloon into tube on the side leaving enough around the tube for you to blow on and inflate the balloon. As the balloon expands on the inside, it opens the door containing the swag and log sheet. A fairly simple gadget cache but fun none the less. Oh and please take your balloon with you as you don't want another cacher to using the same one as you.

Up next in Morgan County, I stopped for a quick guard rail cache (GC4AX47) but still a significant point of history. From this point along the banks of the Upper Potomac River, Stonewall Jackson began shelling Hancock, Maryland from Orrick's Hill, January 5, 1862 after it refused to surrender Jackson's men were able to plunder a large cache of rifles, ammo, and blankets from a supply train that came into Alpine Station. After destroying remaining supplies, the B&O Railway track and the bridge over the Great Cacapon, Jackson marched his army of 8,500 men to Romney and captured it.

Crossing the bridge over into Maryland, we followed the river westbound until we got to that narrow piece of Maryland that separates West Virginia from Pennsylvania. Turning north a few hundred feet into Pennsylvania for our next geocache in PA's Fulton County and a significant piece of survey history. Here is located a stone survey marker for the Mason-Dixon Line (GC2BCKX).

The Mason–Dixon Line was surveyed between 1763 and 1767 by Charles Mason and Jeremiah Dixon in the resolution of a border dispute between British colonies in Colonial America. The disputants engaged an expert British team, astronomer Charles Mason and surveyor Jeremiah Dixon, to survey what became known as the Mason–Dixon Line. It cost the Calverts of Maryland and the Penns of Pennsylvania £3,512/9 to have 244 miles surveyed with such accuracy. To them the money was well spent, for in a new country there was no other way of establishing ownership.

Mason and Dixon's actual survey line began to the south of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and extended from a benchmark east to the Delaware River and west to what was then the boundary with western Virginia. The surveyors also fixed the boundary between Delaware and Pennsylvania and the approximately north–south portion of the boundary between Delaware and Maryland. Most of the Delaware–Pennsylvania boundary is an arc, and the Delaware–Maryland boundary does not run truly north-south because it was intended to bisect the Delmarva Peninsula rather than follow a meridian.

And finally our last geocache of the day was a virtual (GCED74) at the Sideling Hill Welcome Center on I-68. The Interstate 68 highway through Maryland is also known as the National Freeway. It runs parallel to US-40 and the original National Road which was built in the 1800's. I'll talk more about the National Road more next week when we visit some of the remnants along the way including the first toll booth in the United States.

That's it for today. 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. But also by using one or more of your favorite of these social media platforms: Facebook, MeWe, Gab, Reddit, Parlor, Twitter, RVillage, GETTR, Instagram, and TruthSocial. These all link directly to my profiles. Again, please feel free to comment and / or share.

2020-10-21: Geocaching Through History in Northeast Texas and an International Border

On this last day of our NC-TX roadtrip, I only had one goal for today, a bucket list item! That was to finally make it to the last surviving border marker between the United States and the newly formed COUNTRY of the Republic of Texas. We did stop to see a few other historical sites along the way also. This would finally wrap up our fourth state in four days. So without hesitation, climb aboard the GeoJeep and let's go for a drive! 

So we ended day 3 yesterday in SW Arkansas taking the backroads to pickup some new counties. The last caching county needed along our route was Lafayette County which we added first thing this morning by stopping at the Buckner Memorial Cemetery (GC38VDQ). And again resisting the urge to spend a lot of time looking around, I quickly found the geocache, signed the log, and continued into Texas.

Passing through Texarkana, we picked up US-59 and drove south towards the International Border Marker. After about an hour we stopped in historic Jefferson, Texas for a couple of virtual geocaches and a look around (GCC0AA, GCGAT8). Named in honor of President Thomas Jefferson, this town was loaded with history and had a lot to see.

The first stop around town was at the Jay Gould Railroad car. From the historical marker: "Built in 1888 by the American Car & Foundry Company of St Charles, MO, this was the private railroad car of Jay Gould (1836-1892). A native of New York, Gould was a noted financier and owner the of numerous railroad companies, including the Union Pacific, the Missouri Pacific, the International & Great Northern, and the Texas Pacific. This car, named the "Atalanta," remained in the Gould family ownership until the 1930's.

"Elaborately designed and elegantly furnished, the Atalanta features two observation rooms, two bath's, a butlers pantry, kitchen, dining room, and office. Interior materials include mahogany and curly maple woodwork, silver bathroom accessories, and crystal light fixtures.

"Following Jay Gould's death in 1892, the car was used by his son, George Jay Gould (President of the Texas and Pacific Railroad), and his wife, actress Edith Kingston. The car later was brought to Texas from St Louis and used as a family residence during the 1930's east Texas oil boom. Purchased in 1953 by the Jessie Allen Wise Garden Club, it was moved to this site in 1954."

Captain William Perry was among the first settlers of Jefferson, arriving in 1840. Through his shipping business, he played an early part of the growth and establishment of Jefferson as an inland port. He bought and developed tracts of land in the area, becoming quite wealthy in the process. One of his developments was the Excelsior House. The oldest hotel in East Texas, the wood frame part was built in 1850's and the brick wing was added in 1864. Among its famous guests were Presidents Ulysses S Grant and Rutherford B Hayes, and poet Oscar Wilde. Added into the National Register of Historic Places, it was restored in 1963-64 by the Jessie Allen Wise Garden Club..

Below is the Kahn Saloon. Built during the early 1860's, this structure served as a boarding house and as a mercantile before opening as the Kahn Saloon in 1900. Temperance movement leader Carrie Nation was denied entrance here during one of her campaigns through Texas. The popular gathering place was closed after local prohibitionists won a 1907 election.

Jefferson native Marion Try Slaughter launched his career as country music singer Vernon Dalhart at the Kahn Saloon. Starred later for operas in New York, and recorded for Edison's talking machine. His rendition of "The Prisoner's Song" (1924) was the first folk ballad to sell over a million records, and led to rise of country music as an American art form. Within ten years he earned and lost a fortune, later living in obscurity.

One last item of interest in the history of Jefferson, Texas. Established by Boyle and Scott about 1875, Jefferson became home to the first ice factory in Texas. They sold ice at ten cents per pound. B. J. Benefield delivered the ice to their customers. The plant was later moved to Harrisburg.

Back on the road down to my bucket list geocache (GCTBR8). "In the early 1700's, France and Spain began disputing their New World international boundary that included this area; each nation claimed what is now Texas. When the U.S. purchased the Louisiana Territory from France in 1803, the boundary was still in dispute. Leaders agreed to a neutral area between the Arroyo Hondo and the Sabine River, and the 1819 Adams-Onís Treaty formally defined the border. When Texas became a Republic in 1836, it appointed a joint commission with the United States to survey and mark the established boundary from the Gulf of Mexico up the Sabine River and on to the Red River. John Forsyth represented the U.S., and Memucan Hunt represented Texas in the work, which proved to be long and difficult.

"The survey crew began the demarcation process on May 20, 1840 at the Gulf, placing a 36-foot pole in the middle of a large earthen mound. Proceeding north, they placed eight-foot posts denoting the number of miles from the 32nd parallel. Upon reaching the parallel, they placed a granite marker on the west bank of the Sabine River. From that point, they traveled due north to the Red River, completing their work in late June 1841.

"As a result of erosion, the first granite marker on the Sabine fell into the river long ago, but a second granite marker on the northward path of the surveyors had been placed here to mark the north-south meridian. This is the only known marker remaining, and it is believed to be the only original international boundary marker within the contiguous U.S. Today, the border between Texas and Louisiana follows the Sabine River to the 32nd parallel, at which point it connects to the boundary established by Hunt and Forsyth. The Texas Historical Foundation purchased this site to provide public access to the early boundary marker."

So if you're like me and one that stops to read historical markers, this one should be on your bucket list. And as a surveyor, I thought this was especially cool that it being the ONLY one like it in the U.S.

That was all the stops for today. We continued the rest of the way to Killeen for a couple of days before heading to West Columbia. There we start our next project and will be in that area for a few months. Soon I'll be bringing you our adventures from SE Texas. See you back again soon...

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

2019-07-28: Geocaching Through Ghost Towns, Cemeteries, History, and Finding an Old Corvette

Welcome back fellow geocachers, travelers, explorers, and Jeepers. Today is cemetery day it seems. On this 300+ mile backroads roadtrip from Central to North Central Texas, I visited several cemeteries searching for history and a ghost story to tell. As usual the passenger seat in the GeoJeep is open, so climb in and let's take a drive through the spooky alley of trees down the middle of the cemetery.

Leaving Killeen, Texas, my first stop as usual is the Dunkin Donuts for an iced coffee and a bagel. Then US-190 west to US-183 north in Lampasas. I make a quick stop for a geocache (GC435CN) at the radio station in Lampasas which for some reason I always skipped before. But today it seemed to be calling for me to stop.

I exit off US-183 near Bozar onto FM1029 going off some very rural backroads driving heading north to my next geocache (GC370W1). Upon arriving at the Trigger Mountain Cemetery I stopped for a photo by the sign and felt that I just had to wear the hat also with a name like Trigger Mountain!

The Trigger Mountain Cemetery is a rather large cemetery for just 13 interments here. But it is also well maintained by the very small community. The first listed burial here is that of 5-year old Riley Burgess Hays in 1904. His father, the Rev L. L. Hays is also buried here and lived to be 99 years old passing away in 1961. The cemetery is still in use today with the most recent burial in 2018.

Down another dirt side road about a half mile was Trigger Mountain Hunting. The small geocache (GC3CEEF) had a difficulty rating of 3.0 and a terrain rating of 3.5. Tucked away in the trees, brush, and weeds, it was not an easy task on this hot July afternoon! But success was had and I was able to sign the log.

Continuing down the very rural dirt backroads, I came to the next geocache at Brown's Creek (GC3BYJ4). Down a steep embankment to the creek, this small cache a D4/T4 rating. But with the water currently shallow, I was able to keep dry and stick to the taller rocks to make my way across.

After leaving the creek and just down a little further I came across a cemetery with a historical marker. I check my phone again but I'm not showing any geocache listed here. So I check out the cemetery and read the historical marker: "North Brown Cemetery was named for creek followed by homeseekers. This burial ground originated about 1857 when death struck at a nearby campsite. In the 1870's, North Brown farming community surrounded this site. It had a school and held church services in the schoolhouse. In 1895 local leaders A. A. Boulter, G. M. O'Quin, and J.S. Weatherby secured a deed to the acreage in which graves had so long existed, and North Brown Cemetery Association was formed. After school had closed, proceeds from sale of its site were pledged in 1967 for cemetery care. Pioneer families continue burials here."

Well I just couldn't let this historical cemetery and these pioneers go unnoticed. So I found two headstones of original pioneers and hid my own geocache in a nearby tree (GC8BNKX).

Working my way through the backroads to the small town of Priddy, I had two cemeteries and two geocaches to find. The first was at the St. John's Cemetery (GC22Z1J) with just over 600 interments dating back to 1902. The other was the Zion Lutheran Cemetery (GC19E1A) with over 200 interments dating back to 1889. This older cemetery contains most of the early German settlers to the town of Priddy and has this kinda spooky entrance with the rows of trees. I couldn't decide which I liked better this color photo or the black/white which I opened with at the top of the page.

Trying to make up some time now, I make my way back over to US-183 where I can move a little fast and put some miles behind me. One quick roadside geocache (GC5MVPM) and continue on my way.

But as usual I soon find myself off on the backroad headed towards another cemetery geocache. This one was for the Routh Cemetery (GC1NTWE) in a little community called Blanket. Supposedly named by a couple of surveyors who happened upon some Indians taking shelter under blankets placed over some bushes to give them some protection from a rain storm. As for the cemetery, the oldest marked grave is for that of 19-year-old Elizabeth Routh who died in 1876. She was the daughter of Simeon Levin Routh who is believed to have brought his family out here from Tennessee as part of the Peter's Colony Group to help settle Texas in the 1840's & 50's. Simeon was laid to rest here in 1890 along with his wife and many of their children. There are 58 interments here in total with the most recent in 2005.

Still on the rural backroads, I don't know if you could call this next one a ghost town when at it's peak it only had 100 residents. Owens, Texas, also known as Clio (GC2QM9D), is located eight miles north of Brownwood on U.S. Highway 183 in central Brown County. The town was settled in the early 1870's. The post office, granted in 1878 as Clio, was renamed for E. Owens, who donated the townsite in 1910. It closed sometime after 1930. John W. Yantis promoted sawmills in the area. In the 1930's the town had a school, a church, two businesses, and a number of scattered homes. In 1949 Owens had one business and a population of 100. In 1953 it had a population of forty and no businesses; and in 1965 the population was sixty. No census data was reported for Owens after 1965. In 1983 the community had two churches and a single business. It was still shown on county highway maps in 2000.

Making my way back to US-183, I'm still on the rural dirt and gravel backroads when I pass by this one house with an old 1969 Corvette just sitting there with no tops covered in dirt and dust open to the rain and weather. Made me sad to see that beautiful car being neglected. 

So now I start driving north on US-183 again and after a little bit I see a sign for a cemetery. I look at my phone but don't see a geocache in the area. Well I just have to investigate that further. It is sad finding cemeteries in such neglected care. The rusty sign above the gate just has the name Reagan on it. I can't find much information about this cemetery other than those who are buried here. The Find-A-Grave website shows there to be 14 burials, 12 of those between 1879-1955 and the other two in the 1990's. Though the odd thing is that I can't figure out why it is called the Reagan Cemetery. There are no Reagan's interred here and I can't find a ghost town or community called Reagan. Another website states that it also goes by the name of Latham of which there are two here by that name from the 1880's. Oh well, I find a spot and hide a cache here myself (GC8BNM4). Maybe somebody else will come along and shed some light on this place. Maybe bring some lawn equipment as well!

My last stop was for another geocache (GC22W7R) nearby in the ghost town of the Yellow Mound Community. I couldn't find much in the way of history and settlement. It had never really developed into an incorporated town. Just some local ranchers and farmers. Looking through newspapers for references of Yellow Mound, they started appearing in 1890 and slowed except for obituaries in the 1960's & 70's. Stories of oil discoveries and drilling in 1919-1930, then those stopped. Probably had a surge of workers during that time, but they too moved on. The most interesting newspaper story I found was on July 7, 1964: "Skeleton Discovered in Pasture" read the headline.

"A skeleton thought to be that of a man was found Monday under some undergrowth on a farm near the Yellow Mound Community, seven miles NW of Eastland. Sheriff Lee Horn, one of the officers who went to the scene, estimated the skeleton might have been there as long as 10 years. He based his opinion on the condition of the bones and a weathered shoe along side the skeleton. The find was made by a farm worker rounding up some calves. The sheriff said he would ask a dentist to check gold dental work in the hopes of establishing identity. About five years ago, a skeleton was found near Cisco, 10 miles west of Eastland."

I never did find a follow-up story to this one.

Getting close to work home in Munday, Texas, I was passing by the Brushy Cemetery. I stopped, but by this point it was 6:30 PM and I had already turned a 4 1/2 hour drive into almost 9 hours. Plus it was hot and I was ready to relax, eat, and settle in for the day. With the wind turbines as I backdrop, I thought it was a decent photo. Grabbed my phone, snapped a pic, and continued on.

That's it for today. I hope you enjoyed the ride and my stories. I hope to see you back again soon for another of my geocaching adventures through history.