2019-05-12: Geocaching Counties in OBX and NE North Carolina Visiting Kitty Hawk, a Crazy Bird, and Grave Digger

Hey guys! Welcome back! So if you remember from yesterdays blog, I started working on a solar project in North Carolina this past week. Yesterday, the first Saturday off, I geocached the southeast corner of the state to pickup the missing counties I needed for my geocaching map. Today I'll be taking a roadtrip over to the Outer Banks (OBX) and the northeast corner of the state for more counties. So let's get going...

From where I'm staying in Blounts Bay, I first have to go west around the Pamlico River into the town of Washington to pickup US-264 eastbound. By the way, originally called Forks of the Tar, the town of Washington, NC was renamed in 1776 and the first to be named in honor of George Washington.

Sometimes while driving the rural backroads around the country you get to discover some unexpected photo ops that you just have to pull over for. This one was on the way to my first geocache. Driving along US-264 and crossing over Scranton Creek, I spotted this old sailboat that was probably victim of one of the many storms that have hit the Carolinas. My first thought was "GILLIGAAANNN!!!"

And speaking of storms... my first geocache was in Hyde County. It was located at a roadside historical marker for the Providence Methodist Church (GC57KRV). There wasn't anything to see here other than the sign and a cornfield. But back on September 16-17, 1876, the church was "moved by the hand of God." It seems that the church floated away from the center of town during a flood and landed here. Then the following day when the waters receded, it pushed the church back almost to the exact spot it started in town nearly two miles away!

Moving on up into Tyrrell County, I stopped for a quick roadside cache (GC1FEDM). From there were continued the backroads north into Columbia, NC and picked up US-64 eastbound. Usually driving the backroads you can encounter some unexpected sites. I passed by a Seafood Market with about a dozen of these metal sculptures. Here's just a couple of them.

Crossing the Alligator River into Dare County, my next geocache (GC2Y1PC) was at the remains of the old ferry docks. The ferry established in 1931 by W. T. Baum while it was State Highway 90 and gave travelers a way of crossing the river verses driving all the way around to the south. Soon thereafter the state began subsidizing Mr. Baum and providing a free service to users. Upon the completion of US-64 in the 1950's, more traffic arrived and additional ferry crossings scheduled. Eventually a bridge was built over the river connecting both sides of US-64 in 1962 and the ferry abandoned. You can still see the remains of the docks used by so many in the past.

Continuing on US-64 east, I cross over Croatan Sound onto Roanoke Island. It was here where the first English colonists came and attempted to settle back in 1585. On the third attempt 90 men, 17 women, and 11 children were left behind on the island in 1587. By the time the supply shipped returned again in 1590, the colonists had disappeared never to be seen again.

Also on the island are my next three geocaches locates at the Outer Banks Welcome Center. The first one called OBX Velkominne Respite (GC38G6K) was a very creative cache at one of the picnic tables with over 200 favorite points. From there take a stroll down the boardwalk for a rather difficult magnetic container hide (GC4K4NH) about halfway down.

I hadn't planned on spending so much time here. But the caches and the views were worth it. And finally, down at the very end of the pier was the final geocache to be found here (GC477R6). I guess the best way to describe it would be to leave you with a couple videos:

My next geocache in Dare County on the OBX was the most historic and where I spent the most time. "Dawn of Aviation" (GCB57D) is a virtual geocache on Kill Devil Hill near Kitty Hawk. It was on this hill where two bicycle shop owners from Ohio, Orville and Wilbur, built a flying contraption and brought it down here for a test flight. On December 17, 1903, the Wright Brothers made four successful flights gradually increasing in lengths at 120 feet, 175 feet, 200 feet, and finally 852 feet.

After passing both the House and Senate, President Calvin Coolidge signed the act to establish the Kill Devil Hill National Monument on March 2, 1927. The first monument was a 10-ton granite marker placed on December 17, 1928 at the approximate location of the 1903 liftoff and a cornerstone was laid atop Kill Devil Hill for the larger monument. Construction of the 60-feet art-deco designed triangular monument was completed in November 1932.

From the monument at the top of the hill looking out over the flight path. The parking and visitor center is off to the right side.

Just one of the many scenes in Sculpture Gardens. These life sized statues showcase the many people, photographers, the plane and more there on that momentous day.

One last geocache here on the outer banks turns out to be a webcam cache. Whenever you encounter a webcam cache you want to try and get it. They're no longer added so once they've been archived, they're gone. "Sun n' Surf" (GC2585) webcam was atop the Shrimp Shack looking out over the pier. How webcams used to work was a two-person activity. You'd have to stand in the correct spot, call someone at a computer who could screen shot the photo. Now with smartphones, you can do it yourself.

Leaving the OBX on US-158 north back on the mainland. Another one of those "Hey Lookie There" moments! Passing through Poplar Branch, I spot the Grave Digger monster truck and the Digger's Dungeon shop! Oh, I just HAD to pull over for some roadside attraction photos! Posing the GeoJeep next to the oversized Grave Digger of course. And how about the fastest mailbox in the world too.

Making my way back, I entered into Camden County and picked up a quick roadside geocache in some trees (GCTEQN). Nothing special about the cache or the place, but I did get a photo of this disturbed young bird that I wasn't sure it could fly yet. It was just hopping from branch to branch. Then just gave me that look like I just woke it up.

One more quick roadside geocache (GC4MHAH) for Pasquotank County and then I call it a day. Time to get back and prepare for work tomorrow. I picked up a lot of new caching counties this weekend. Hmmm now to plan next weekends county caching run. See you then...

2019-05-11: Geocaching Counties in SE North Carolina Finding Some Creative Caches and an Abandoned Amphitheater

Welcome back friends, geocachers, road trippers, and fellow backroad explorers. If you remember back from last weeks blog post, I had arrived in North Carolina to start building a new solar farm here in Beaufort County near the town of Wilkinson. After working all week, now it's the weekend and time to go geocaching and exploring! And time to fill in some of those empty spaces on my North Carolina County map! 

My first stop was at a Bojangles for breakfast and also a quick geocache (GC381EA) in the parking lot to claim Pamlico County. Further down the road another quick parking lot geocache (GC7BY75) in Craven County. Then down in the town of Maysville in Jones County, there was small library with my next geocache (GC6WW4B). My next geocache was in Carteret County at the Hadnot Creek (GC1NEZK). Over in Onslow County by the White Oak River was the Bridge to Stella geocache (GC7R2VB).

Still in Onslow just a few miles away are my next three geocaches. Placed on Riggs Road, by a cacher named RiggsNC, the first was at the Riggs Family Cemetery" (GC6CFJP). And this really cool "Riggs Farm - TB Bed and Breakfast" cache (GC6JB0Z).

A travel bug hotel cache is large enough to hold lots of swag and and trackables. This one is themed like a farm. It very creative and well done. It had a lot of favorite points. (Unfortunately this cache has been archived since I had found it. The Riggs have moved away and since this was on their property, it went with them to be relocated as well.)

Then there was the "Meet Me at the Corner" cache (GC6F5BJ). Another creative cache by RiggsNC. Now if a photo is worth a thousand words, then I guess it's best if I describe this cache with a short video clip:

Driving south on US-17 on the way to the next county, I stopped in Holly Ridge for a bite to eat. While eating I was looking up the geocaches close by. Then I saw this puzzle cache called "Elite Bling Series #7 Geocaching Daily News" (GC74AGJ) with some favorite points. I don't usually do puzzle caches because most of the time I can't figure them out. But this one had potential. First the coordinates take you to a war memorial where you had to answer questions for clues...

Then drive over to the final location where you'll find this:

Moving on next door to Pender County, I make a quick stop for a virtual cache called "I See the Light" (GCEFA7) at the Topsoil Baptist Church. I gathered the information I needed for the lighthouse and continued on my way.

It was a short drive to the next roadside attraction. This next geocache was called Hooper's Tale (GC24PPT), perhaps in reference to a 70's movie. It was located near this giant shark. Not too scary as it didn't have much for teeth. Unless maybe you're afraid of it gumming you to death.

Moving along into New Hanover County, I make a quick stop for another roadside geocache (GC1TZ41).

Driving north on up to the town of Kenansville in Duplin County are my next four geocaches. The first was a virtual cache called Cowan Museum (GC9BBC). The Cowan Museum of History and Science was founded in 1981 within this historic 1800's house. Also on the grounds is a historical park which includes many buildings and a botanical garden. The buildings include a general store, blacksmith shop, log cabin, smokehouse, schoolhouse, and a tobacco barn.

The 19th century general store and Natural Wells Post Office was once operated by James C Boone, who was postmaster from 1892-1903. The structure was located about four miles west of Rose Hill. The building was renovated in 2018.

This schoolhouse building was originally a corn crib from the 19th century. Now used as an example of an 1800's one room schoolhouse, it is made of hand-hewed timbers chinked together. 

A few blocks away is the "Kenansville Spring Earthcache" (GC178NW) and "The Spring" virtual cache (GC9BBE). According to tradition, a sea captain by the name of Capt. Benjamin Beverett had arrived in the area in the 1740's with his wife Barbara Gastor Beverett and son Jacob. He settled his family near present-day Kenansville, returned to sea, and never returned. The legend continues that Barbara was walking with downcast eyes when she saw a goldpiece. Hoping for buried treasure, she began hurriedly scratching the earth with her bare hands, and she uncovered the spring.

Over time the spring was walled in with brick. Concrete steps and an approach area was installed in 1909. Then once again refinished in brick in 1971. Even though the water became contaminated in 1994, the county turned the surrounding area into a small park and gave the spring enclosure a facelift. The water still flows from its original location, but it is no longer drinkable.

Probably my most favorite location of the day is the "Amp It Up" cache (GC29FE2). Constructed in 1976, The abandoned William Rand Kenan Jr Memorial Amphitheater was once said to be the finest amphitheater in the state. Music reviews and musical dramas were presented July through August and at Christmas by the Duplin Outdoor Drama Society. Long abandoned, it is now in the process of being reclaimed by nature. Sitting there in the peaceful quiet of emptiness, you have to wonder why it didn't have a very long life. The photo below is from the stage area looking up. The first photo at the top of the blog page is from the top looking at the ticket window and entry.

Moving on up to Wayne County, I make a quick cache stops at the Pineview Cemetery (GC5DWAR) which dates back to 1900 and the Grady Family Cemetery (GC5JDB7) that dates back to 1911. Continuing on my way back, next up is Lenoir County and another quick roadside geocache (GC1ADD8). And finally one last stop in Greene County (GC3Y888).

Well that was it for Saturday. Eleven counties and a little bit of history later and I make it back to the rental house in Blounts Creek. Join me back here again tomorrow for a Sunday county caching run. See you soon.

2019-05-05: Moving Day Roadtrip from Texas to North Carolina Day 3 in SC and NC

Good morning friends. If you're just now dropping in on this roadtrip, you may want to catch up first on Day #1 and Day #2. Starting out this morning in South Carolina on day #3 of this roadtrip from Texas to North Carolina. I start a new solar farm project tomorrow, so gotta get there today and get settled. Then gonna find the jobsite so I know where I'm going and get some groceries for the week. But I'm getting ahead of myself. Let's get driving... 

Checking out of the hotel in Lugoff, SC, I grabbed the geocache (GC22BH6) down the block for a Kershaw County find. Then drove up the Interstate and crossed the border into North Carolina.

Continuing up the highway and continuing to pick up new counties, I stopped for a quick geocache (GC3AFP2) in the town of Wade, NC for a find in Cumberland County. From there I drove over to Spivey's Corner, NC for a virtual geocache called "Holler if you Hear Me" (GCAD33) and a find in Sampson County. Spivey's Corner is known as the "Hollerin' Capital of the World" since 1969. Though on this day it was fairly quite.

On the way to my next geocache I reached a milestone. At just one week shy of being a year old, my GeoJeep hits 60,000 miles! That's a lot of roadtrips!

Stopping in Wilson County for my next geocache (GC6H2T8), not too far away was this old abandoned church. The Corner Line Primitive Baptist Church was a predominately black church built around 1900. The first pastor was Sam Brystern who led the congregation until he passed in 1930. Wiley Barnes took over the role until handing it over to his son Tom Barnes in 1964. I'm not sure when it was last used, but I saw a photo from 2012 that showed it abandoned. You can find out more on this church and the area's early history afamwilsonnc website.

The geocache container attached to a butterfly in the woods.

I arrived in Washington, NC and checked into a hotel. Then I drove up to Pinetown and saw where the jobsite was and how long it took to drive there. I checked for geocaches in the area and there was one right around the corner (GC35QJN). That gave me a find for Beaufort County. Back at the hotel, there was another geocache so I grabbed that one too (GC3N3YA).

So that's it for my three day roadtrip from Texas. I was glad to have you riding along. I'm scheduled to be here at this project for 2-3 months. North Carolina has 100 counties and I have only found geocaches in 30 of them. So be sure to check back in frequently as I drive from county to county finding geocaches and exploring North Carolina. See you again soon.

2019-05-04: Moving Day Roadtrip from Texas to North Carolina Day 2 in AL, GA, & SC Historic Cemetery, House, and Gas Station

Well after 16 hours of driving and geocaching yesterday, it's time to hit the road again for day two of my roadtrip from Texas to North Carolina. Todays drive will take me from Alabama, through Georgia, to South Carolina. So jump in and let's see what we can find!

My first stop was for the "Trussville Civitan" Alabama's First Geocache (GC126). This cache was hidden way back on January 2001. The are only 48 geocaches left that were hidden during that month. For geocaching statistics, there's a Jasmer Calendar that lets a cacher know what months their found caches were hidden in. I only had one open spot for 2001 and it was January.

So I arrived near the geocache location in the parking area of a park. At the center of the park was this Veterans War Memorial. Took a quick photo before I went for a walk.

There was a walking and biking paved trail down along the Cahaba River. There were quite a few people out getting their morning exercise along that trail. I'm more interested in what was in the woods and headed for that. Only a few hundred feet in and away from the curious eyes of the muggles, I found the 18 year old prize that has been found nearly 1700 times and added my name to the log. YAY! Now just two more spots for July and August of 2000 to fill in the blanks. Even harder as there are only seven of those in the United States.

Before leaving town I spotted this old gas station and just had to stop for a photo. The building was originally constructed as a Gulf Service station in the late 1950's. In 2013 the building was bought by Rocky Neason who turned it into the Classic Cars and Garage Museum. The station was transformed into a Standard Oil Gas Station replica and filled with many 50's & 60's era antiques collected by Rocky Neason during his 31 years in the industry. There was a 50's 2-seater T-Bird and a 60's mid-year Corvette behind the bay doors during my visit. But I understand the cars get traded out with his collection from time to time.

Moving along for a cache in St. Clair County, Alabama. "Final Resting Place" (GC7ETF0) is a geocache located in the Moody Cemetery. There are over 900 interments here dating back to 1860. With the muggle here mowing the lawn, I just found the cache and moved on.

A few quick park and grab caches for Calhoun County (GC82XM4, GC36J12) and a Dunkin Donuts coffee. Crossing the state line into Georgia, I exit I-20 for two more quick caches in Carroll County (GC7F5J3, GC7F5GY).

Now I'm in downtown Atlanta. Not my favorite place to be. But there are some "must do" geocaches there. Fortunately it is Saturday so traffic isn't too bad. The first is a D5/T5 challenge cache called "The Lower 48 States" (GC5EQQT). Located a couple blocks from the state capital, it is an easy cache to find yet a very difficult cache to claim. It requires you to find at least one cache in each of the lower 48 states. I've managed to find one in 49 states, only missing Hawaii.

Then I take a drive over to the historic Oakland Cemetery. It was established in 1850 as the Atlanta Cemetery on 6 acres of land southeast of the city. It was expanded to 48 acres by 1867 and renamed in 1872 to reflect all the oak and magnolia trees. The magnificent entry gate pictured below was constructed in 1896. From 1936 to 1976, the cemetery is neglected and fall into disrepair. The cemetery was placed on the National Register of Historic Places and a restoration began. Eventually the Historic Oakland Foundation was created and maintains the grounds. An average of 105,000 visitors tour this cemetery every year. Today it is my turn.

There are two virtual geocaches there. The first one I found is for "The Master" (GCD42A). The geocache is dedicated to one of golfs greatest players, Robert Tyre "Bobby" Jones, who won multiple Masters Championships in the 1920's. You'll find his headstone at the coordinates.

The other virtual geocache is called "The Lyin' Cache" (GC64DF). Oakland’s most centrally located character area is the final resting place of approximately 7,000 Confederate soldiers, many of whom are unknown. Following Oakland’s acquisition of additional land, this four-acre portion of the cemetery began its transformation in 1866 by the Atlanta Ladies Memorial Association (ALMA). Several hundred of these graves were originally marked by simple painted wooden headboards, then replaced by marble markers with rounded tops in 1890.

Near the center of the Confederate Burial Grounds, Oakland’s tallest monument is a sixty-foot granite obelisk memorial to the Confederate Dead. Erected by the ALMA, the foundation of Stone Mountain granite was laid in 1870, on the day of the funeral of Robert. E. Lee. The monument wasn’t completed and dedicated until Confederate Memorial Day, on April 26, 1874.

Flanking the obelisk to the northeast, the Lion of Atlanta monument commemorates unknown Confederate soldiers who died in the Battle of Atlanta. The large sculpture carved in marble from Tate, Georgia was commissioned by ALMA and unveiled in 1894. With the famous Lion of Lucerne as his model, T.M. Brady depicted a weeping lion, representing courage, dying on a Confederate flag.

(Jumping ahead to 2020... Sadly, political and civil unrest has led to vandalism of this nearly 130 year old memorial. On the nights of May 28, May 31, June 5, and June 6, 2020, members of BLM and Antifa went into Oakland Cemetery and vandalized the Lion statue, the Obelisk, some of the headstones, and one of the historical markers within the Confederate Burial Grounds. The geocache has been archived.)

The monument at the Neal family plot is one of the most beautiful in Oakland Cemetery. Mary Elizabeth (Lizzie) Neal was the daughter of Thomas Neal and Mary (Mollie) Cash. Before moving to Georgia from Louisiana three years earlier, she lost six siblings. She suffered from rheumatism for several months before her death. Her sister, Emma, cancelled a trip to the Arctic to care for her Lizzie in the last days of her life. Created by her father after her and her mother's deaths, Lizzie is thought to be represented by the woman on the right of the monument.

Three more interments here worth mentioning. Joseph Jacobs (1859-1929) was a businessman and pharmacist. While it was John Pemberton who invented Coca-Cola in 1885, it was Joseph Jacobs that introduced it to the public on May 8, 1886.

Also, there's Margaret Mitchell (1900-1949), author of the book "Gone With the Wind." On August 11, 1949, she was hit by a drunk driver while crossing the road at Peachtree and 13th with her husband on the way to see a movie. She died eight days later.

Finally, and jumping again forward to 2020, singer, songwriter, and actor Kenny Rogers was laid to rest in Oakland Cemetery on March 20, 2020.

All in all there are estimated to be about 70,000 interments here. I spent almost two hours exploring this cemetery and didn't get see it all. But I do need to get back on the road. It's late in the afternoon and I still have ground to cover. So let's get moving.

The next six geocaching stops were quick roadside or parking lot caches to get six new counties in Rockdale County (GC5GT56), Newton County (GC84173), Walton County (GC2X92M), Greene County (GC1AFQN), Taliaferro County (GC19WT6), and Warren County (GC1DZ99). Along the way traveling down these backroads, you often see houses or buildings that have long been abandoned and nature is consuming them. If you're anything like me you begin to wonder what they once were and what happened that allowed them to get to this condition.

Continuing over into McDuffie County we stop for some history. "The Rock House" (GC21JD6) is an 18th Century stone dwelling and is the only surviving house associated with the Colonial Wrightsboro Settlement (1768). Its builder, Thomas Ansley, used weathered granite, quarried in its natural form from the nearby geographic fall line, as building material. The granite, along with pine timbers and cypress shingles, gave the house a distinctive Georgia character. The architectural style of the Rock House is similar to stone houses in the Delaware Valley of New Jersey from which Ansley migrated. It is the earliest dwelling in Georgia with its original architectural form intact.

The home is now owned by the Wrightsboro Quaker Foundation and has been rumored to be haunted. The Augusta Paranormal Society visits this location from time to time.

Across the street is a large monument erected in 2002 among many small crosses. "The great tornado (Type 5) entered McDuffie County at RR Mile Post 42. At 12:45 PM, March 20, 1875 the Rock House lost windows, a cook house, corncrib and gin. In the center of the cemetery a giant oak was blown down. This marker was in the center of the tornados path." There are 18 names with dates listed of those who are believed to be buried there. The dates range from 1809 through 1848.

Continuing to research the history of the Ansley Family, the last name was Anne Ansley (born 1801 - died 1848) was the daughter of Abel and Lydia Ansley. Before she died, she married Willey Carter and they had eleven children. One of those eleven children was Littleberry Walker Carter, who eventually became the Great-Grandfather of President James Earl "Jimmy" Carter, Jr.

Crossing the Savanah River over into South Carolina, I stop at the Welcome Center for a quick geocache for Aiken County (GC1048M). Then take the first exit and drive north a couple miles for another quick roadside geocache to pick off Edgefield County (GC81EPX).

For Lexington County (GC4N3FV) it was "The Duck Inn Travel Bug Motel." A creative geocache container large enough to hold plenty of travel bugs and coins to move up and down the Interstate. And finally the last geocache of the day was in Richland County (GC4GX30).

Another long day of driving and geocaching. I continued to the town of Lugoff, SC where the next geocache is located. But instead of finding the cache, I check into a hotel. It's after 9 PM and I'm tired! Not a bad day though, picking up a lot of new counties and finding some historical places. I appreciate you riding shotgun and hope you enjoyed the roadtrip. We got one more day tomorrow to get to North Carolina. Until then, it's sleep time.

2019-05-03: Moving Day Roadtrip from Texas to North Carolina Day 1 in TX, LA, & MS Cemeteries, Historical Sites and an Old Church

Well it's that time again. I finished up on the wind farm down in South Texas and have to be in North Carolina on Monday to start a solar project. So another roadtrip is ahead of me. Supposed to be 2-3 months there in NC. Unfortunately the wife will still be here in Texas working. But hopefully the time will pass quickly and the next project will be back in Texas. But for now, lets hit the road and see what kinda cool places we can find.

 

My first stop, after Duncan Donuts for iced coffee and a bagel of course, was just outside of Waco, Texas. "Sleepy Hollow" (GC3D0BB) was a cemetery and the location of a geocache. Unlike the typical cemeteries I visit, this one is a pet cemetery! I think I've only encountered maybe one or two pet cemeteries before. This one had a doghouse and a fire hydrant as headstones. One thing I didn't see were any zombie cats or dogs that have been resurrected!

Also a little further east outside of Waco was the "Shootout at the Double EE" (GCGM3X) Ranch Road is a virtual geocache. On April 19, 1993, the FBI and ATF raided the compound of the Branch Davidian Church. After 100 canisters of tear gas being deployed over a 6 hour period, a fire broke out and the compound was engulfed in flames. David Koresh and 75 of his followers, including 25 children, perished in the blaze. Only nine managed to escape. The church has since been rebuilt.

My next two geocaches are in Corsicana, Texas at the Oakwood Cemetery (GC3EXG7, GC4G8EJ). There are nearly 14,000 burials dating back to 1833. There are several historical markers throughout the cemetery as well. One of the caches highlights a native of Huntsville, Texas, Samuel R. Frost grew up in Navarro County and in 1863 enlisted in the Confederate army. After the Civil War, he studied law and was admitted to the bar in 1870. In the years that followed, Frost served as Navarro County attorney, county judge, district judge, and state legislator. He and his wife, Mary (Winkler), were the parents of nine children. The town of Frost (20 mi. W) was named in his honor.

Another interment, and a more recent one, is Aaron Dale Allston (1960-2014). He is the author of 13 Star Wars novels as well as many other science fiction, game based fiction and mystery novels, short stories and technical guides for writers.

But the one historical marker that caught my attention was by the grave of David Reed Mitchell. Like myself, he was also a surveyor. From the historical marker: "Born in 1797 in North Carolina, arrived in Robertson County, Texas in 1845. He was a surveyor by trade, and had surveyed the upper Trinity and Brazos river areas in 1844. He became surveyor of the Robertson County land district, as well as the original land of Navarro County and Corsicana.

Mitchell was also a land speculator of sorts, and by 1847 he owned a large amount of land in Navarro County. With two partners, Thomas I. Smith and James C. Neill, he donated one hundred acres on which the town of Corsicana was founded. For a time he operated an inn in the town, sometimes referred to as the "lower hotel" because of its location in proximity to another hotel run by pioneer Hampton McKinney.

David Reed Mitchell married Mary Ann Higgins, and they were the parents of five children. Mitchell continued to live in Corsicana until his death on Oct. 7, 1853. He was buried in Oakwood Cemetery, and the citizens of Corsicana erected a monument at his grave in 1899. Of the three partners who donated land for the city of Corsicana, Mitchell is the only one buried here."

Before leaving Corsicana, I had to stop and get one more geocache here. "The Fruitcake Factory" (GCF11B) is located at the Collin Street Bakery. Yes, that dreaded fruitcake that usually makes an appearance around the Christmas holidays. The Collin Street Bakery is the largest producer of fruitcake in the world. They have been baking since 1896 and are shipping to almost 200 countries around the globe.

Another goal of this roadtrip is to pickup new geocaching counties. I've already completed my Texas counties. Now that I've crossed over into Louisiana it's time to pick off a few more of those. Bienville Parish was the first one with a quick roadside park and grab geocache (GC5BQVX).

My next geocache and county was in Quachta Parish in the town of Calhoun. "Breaker 19" (GC1V79Q) was a creative cache at a CB shop. I posted a photo below and also my first attempt at bringing you a video. Hopefully it works.

Just up the street in Calhoun was the Mount Zion Cemetery. There wasn't a geocache there, but it's still hard to pass up an old cemetery. There are over 500 interments that date all the way back to 1852 belonging to an eight year old boy named Robert Simmons Gaston who died in 1852 while visiting this country with his mother.

Located in Richland Parish, Holly Ridge was established in the early 1900's as a sawmill town in the middle of a large farming area. The company started with making barrel heads and later changed to the lumber industry. The company that owned all the timber land was Chess and Wymond out of New York state. Mr. Franklin leased all the land and cut all the timber. After the timber was gone it became a large farming area owned by the Franklin family. A quick roadside geocache (GC29MH5) in Holly Ridge off of I-20 to claim that county. Some dark clouds overhead isn't very promising though. I did get some heavy rain along the Louisiana / Mississippi state line.

After the rain and crossing over into the state of Mississippi, I jump off of I-20 and drive up into Madison County and the town of Annandale. There I find my next virtual geocache at the Chapel of the Cross (GC29MH5). After John and Margaret Johnstone arrived in Mississippi from North Carolina in 1840, they lost two of their sons that same year and buried them on their land, which would become the Annandale Plantation. John had the idea to build the chapel but died in 1848 before he accomplished it. The Gothic Revival chapel was erected in the 1850's by his wife Margaret L. Johnstone as a memorial to her husband.

Behind the chapel is the cemetery which now contain over 250 interments, the oldest being the two sons from 1840. The geocache page mentions one grave in particular as a question from which you need to answer in order to claim credit for the virtual geocache. But it doesn't give you the history of the grave. Henry Grey Vick was killed in a duel at age 23, just days before he was to marry Helen Johnstone, the daughter of John and Margaret. Helen was said to have worn her wedding dress to Henry's funeral. And legend has it that the "Bride of Annandale" continued to love Henry the rest of her life, even after marrying George Harris, and that her ghost is often seen sitting on a bench near Henry's grave.

Now that the sun is down and it's dark out, my plan is to keep going as long as I can find the geocaches. If I can't find a cache and need the county, then it's time to find a hotel and wait for daylight.

But next up is another virtual cache in Canton, MS. "Casey's Intended Destination" (GCF5FE) was located at the old train depot, now a museum. Canton was the destination of the famous train engineer John Luther "Casey" Jones when his train derailed after colliding with a stalled freight train 15 miles up track. He was traveling at about 75 MPH when he noticed the broken down train cars still on the track about 300 feet ahead near a side track switch.

While he could have jumped off the engine to save his live, as did the fireman on board, he stayed with the engine pulling on the brake and reversing throttle to protect those on the ground and passengers of the other train. He managed to slow down to approximately 35 MPH before colliding with the caboose and 3 of the freight cars when his train derailed. He died upon impact and time was recorded at 3:52 AM by his cracked watch.

I would liked to have gotten some more photos of the outside and down the side with the tracks in view. It was lit up enough. But there were some shady characters hanging out across the tracks on this Friday night. So a quick photo of what I needed for answers and moved on. (answer covered)

From here to the Alabama state line, I found several quick parking lot geocaches in Leake County (GC3CMVJ), Neshoba County (GCV8ZT), and Kemper County (GC7KCNW). Then I continued over into Alabama where I already had the next  few counties. Getting close to midnight I found a hotel in Birmingham for the night.

A long drive today, but I did get to pick up some new counties and see some great places. I especially like that old chapel in Mississippi and wish I got there just a little earlier to get some better photos.

Anyway, tomorrow is another day and another adventure. Do I make it all the way to NC or stop short. Guess you'll have to come back to find out. See you next time...