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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

2017-04-16: Geocaching in 7 New South Texas Counties for Ghost Towns, Cemeteries, and History

Another weekend off and another opportunity to hit the road for a Geocaching adventure. Yesterday after lunch, we drove south along the Rio Grande to Eagle Pass, Texas. Today we explored South Texas and found caches in seven new counties, bringing our total up to 168 of 259 counties.

So this morning after a couple of ordinary Geocache finds along US-277 south, we stopped at our first non-cache site of historical interest. I found this place looking through the Find-A-Grave website for old cemeteries. According to the Historical Marker along the roadside, this is called the Burleson Cemetery.

Among the earliest settlers in the area later named Dimmitt County, the Burleson family settled near Carrizo Springs between 1865 and 1970. James A. (1869-1895), Joseph E. (1870-1895), and Samuel (1877-1895) Burleson died suddenly , probably of food poisoning. The following July, Marion M. Burleson (1853-1895) succomed to heat stroke and was buried on family land with his brothers and a Burleson child. As time passed, the graves on this site became a mystery. Investigations at the end of the Twentieth Century by the Texas Department of Transportation found it to be the final resting place of the Burleson Family. (1998)

I am assuming from the marker that while construction of US-277 took place, the Texas DOT researched the history of the graves and constructed these pavers in place along the roadside to mark the graves. 

After a quick cemetery cache (GC68Q3P) in Carrizo Springs, we continued onto US-83 and a few more quick picnic area and roadside caches. 

Several miles to the south, we came to the ghost town of Catarina and our next geocache (GC1B4CV). The tiny town of Catarina was on the Old San Antonio Road -- El Camino Real -- an important travel corridor in early Texas history. The name has been associated with the area since at least 1778; legend holds that it is the name of a Mexican woman killed by Indians on or near the site.

The town was established after Asher Richardson, a rancher, decided to build a railway link from Artesia Wells to his planned town of Asherton. In return for an easement through the nearby Taft-Catarina Ranch, Richardson agreed to allow the ranch to establish a railroad depot, with cattle-shipping pens, on his railroad. By 1910, when the Asherton and Gulf Railway began operations, these cattle pens had become the nucleus of a small community built by Joseph F. Green, the manager of the ranch. Green moved the ranch headquarters to the depot and added a bunkhouse, a commissary, a hotel, a post office, and a small schoolhouse.

By 1915 the little town had twenty-five residents, and had become famous in the area for the Taft House, an expensive mansion that Charles Taft, the owner of the ranch, supposedly built with oversized bathtubs to accommodate his brother, President William Howard Taft. Catarina Farms, a development project, built roads, sidewalks, and a waterworks and an impressive new hotel and installed electric power and a telephone exchange. Agent Charles Ladd imported entire orchards of fruit-laden citrus trees to impress prospective investors with the area's agricultural possibilities. 

By 1929 Catarina had between 1,000 and 2,500 residents, a bank, at least two groceries, a lumber company, and a bakery. A water shortage (precipitated by the drying-out of the nearby Artesian wells), marketing problems, and the Great Depression hurt the town. By 1969 some of the town's most picturesque old buildings had been abandoned, and the population was 160.

C. H. Kearny and Lee Peters designed and built this hotel in 1925-26 in the Spanish Eclectic style, with features including tiles roofs and mission elements, cast stone detailing, and a U-shaped plan with courtyard and fish pond. The building, which once also housed a bank, cafe, shops and offices, is a reminder of the towns boom era.

Turning north on I-35 to start the loop back to Eagle Pass, we come to the Nueces River at the southern edge of the town of Cotulla. Here we found another historical marker and our next cache (GC3AMC7) at the Old Mexican Border. Until 1836, the Nueces River formed the undisputed western boundary of Texas. By the Treaty of Guadalupe Hilgado, signed in February 1848, the boundary line between Mexico and the United States was fixed at the Rio Grande.

While in Cotulla, we stopped by the LaSalle County Courthouse and Cotulla City Park. The Presidio Rio Grande Road brought travelers to this area for centuries. In 1852 the U. S. Army  built and garrisoned Fort Ewell for protection. The first permanent settler William A. Waugh (1832-1901), an Ohio native who found gold in California in 1849, opened a ranch near the Cibolo Crossing in 1856. On February 1, 1858, the county was created and named for Robert Cavalier, Sieur De La Salle (1643-1687), the first French explorer of Texas.

Polish immigrant Joseph Cotulla (1844-1923) migrated to the county in 1865. In 1881, when the International & Great Northern Railroads pushed through South Texas, Joseph Cotulla offered part of his homestead in exchange for running the track through his property. He platted a town site with a central plaza and a row of store front businesses that drew cowboys and homesteaders for miles around. The town of Cotulla was founded in 1882 and became the county seat in 1883.

Before leaving we stopped by the Cotulla Cemetery where both William Waugh and Joseph Cotulla are buried and to grab another cemetery geocache (GC69ADM).

Another exit further up the northbound I-35 brought us to our next Geocache (GC69ADH) at the Millett Cemetery. Since starting Geocaching, I've been to a LOT of cemeteries looking for caches.

But I don't recall ever seeing anything like this next headstone: "The Arm of Sam B. Tyree." I just had to take a picture. Researching further, Samuel Burnham Tyree was born in 1896. While attempting to tame some wild horses at the age of 14, somehow the rope severely tangled around his arm. Badly damaged in the accident, his arm then had to be amputated. His family then buried his arm in the Millett Cemetery with a marker and cross.

He lived another 76 years and died in San Antonio on November 22, 1982, where he is buried nearly 100 miles from his arm.

While on the way to the cemetery, I spotted something and made note to stop on the way back. And while taking a quick stroll through the cemetery, I saw these concrete steps with a plaque stating that they used to be the front steps leading into the Our Lady of Guadalupe Church. So I stopped back at the other display and found that was where the Our Lady of Guadalupe Church once stood.

The original mission began Circa 1900 with Priests coming from San Antonio. In 1911 a church was built northwest of here. It burned down in 1920. For 22 years mass was offered in private homes. In 1942, Father M. Reis bought the small grocery store located on that very spot. He converted it into a chapel under the title of Our Lady of Guadalupe to serve the ranchers and farmers of this area.

Father John Van Lare came to South Texas in the 1950's. In 1976, he became the Pastor of Sacred Heart Church in Cotulla. He spent over 30 years ministering to the communities of Cotulla, Fowlerton, and here in Millett. He retired in 2004 at the age of 84 and returned to his native Holland.

The church which had fallen into disrepair was closed in 2005. It was then later demolished in 2008.

At this point my phone was nearly dead and I forgot to bring my car charger. Fortunately though I had loaded all the caches into my old GPS. This meant caching the old fashion way with only a compass. No turn-by-turn navigation through the unknown streets going from one town to the next. This also meant not knowing anything about what I was looking for in the way of size or difficulty. I did have a general idea of the highways needed to continue the loop north and then back to the west for Eagle Pass. Several times I almost decided to just skip the remaining caches and head back to the hotel. But I'm glad I didn't and as you'll see below.

Anyway, we passed through and found eight more Geocaches in several different cemeteries. They were larger still active cemeteries and being Easter Sunday were busy with visitors paying their respects to loved ones. There was one we stopped at where they were having a picnic by a grave site with about 10-12 family member in attendance. At yet another there were some too close for me to search for the cache and so had to DNF it.

Moving forward and now on our US-90 westbound loop back towards Eagle Pass, we stopped in the town of Hondo for our next cache (GC707EJ). From the historical marker:

The first rail line reached this area in 1881 and town lots were sold that year for Hondo City. The line was built by the Galveston, Harrisburg and San Antonio Railway. It connected with the Southern Pacific System building east from California. The railroad was vital to the early growth of Hondo, but rail traffic began to decline in the 1940s. The last passenger train, pulled by engine No. 6, left the Hondo Station on June 8, 1958. The Southern Pacific Depot was moved to the present location in 1970 from the original site, seventeen blocks east.

The next two caches (GC14PPJ & GC14PPF) were probably the best of the day and just solidifies the reason we like to go Geocaching. There are no signs along US-90 and travelers along the route would never know this historic place is even here.

The town of D’Hanis was the third settlement founded by Henri Castro, an Alsatian employee of the Texas Congress charged with populating the desert with European immigrants. He named the village after one of his top employees upon its groundbreaking in 1847. It was inhabited by a just few dozen families in mesquite shacks.

As the town grew the shacks were replaced by European-style stone buildings. A post office and a schoolhouse made it a real town. The church of Saint Dominic was built, and priests from another of Castro’s settlements held mass there.

D’Hanis wasn’t quite substantial enough to be included as a railroad stop though. When the newly laid tracks skipped over D’Hanis, residents picked up and moved closer to the tracks. The new D’Hanis just a mile and a half away, centered around a railroad depot.

The only thing that remained in Old D’Hanis was Saint Dominic’s Catholic Church. Churchgoers continued to attend mass there until a fire ravaged the old building in 1912. In 1915 new church was built closer to town and the ruins of Saint Dominic’s were left behind.

Little is left of Old D’Hanis aside from the ruins. The history of the town might be lost to time if not for the cemetery attached to the church, in which D’Hanis’ original settlers are interred. The grave markers themselves are French-German in style, and the epitaphs, though difficult to read, tell much about the people who lived in Old D’Hanis.

Alexander Bohemia Hoffman’s gravestone reads, “Killed by Indians in Uvalde County;” Mary Anne Rudinger’s sadly states hers was “The first death upon arrival of settlers at Dhanis May 25, 1847 Carrying smaller children over streams she became ill and died on above date.”

New D’Hanis is still small, with a population of 550 or so. The ruins of Saint Dominic Catholic Church and the D’Hanis Cemetery are part now of the D’Hanis Historic District. The district was added to the National Register of Historic Places on June 24, 1976.

Again, so glad I decided to continue Geocaching along the way using the old Garmin GPS. We didn't know what the caches were or where they would take us because we didn't have the names or descriptions of the caches. But we managed to find them old school style and were rewarded with this historic treasure.

It was now getting late in the afternoon and we still had some miles to go back to the hotel. So even though we found six more cemetery caches, we didn't have much time to really explore the cemetery looking for those interesting stories. They were also still active cemeteries with recent burials. As you may have noticed, I prefer the older historic cemeteries.

So that was the end of our day today. Another great day of history and adventure. Tomorrow we head back home and I already have some great stops planned. Thanks again for stopping by and reading about our adventures. Be sure to follow our blog nfor the latest updates and feel free to share us with your family and friends.

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...

2017-02-26: FINALLY Geocaching Again Grabbing Some Caches in Hobbs, NM

WORK WORK WORK WORK WORK!!! That necessary evil keeps getting in the way of our fun hobby! For the past 2 months or more, I've had to work 6 days a week. Including drive time that's 70+ hours a week! That doesn't leave much time for Geocaching and sight seeing!

Browsing through the cache listings for events and other recent hides, I discovered a yet un-found cache up in Hobbs, NM that has been there a week. Knowing that it is difficult to get motivated in the morning when you only have one day to sleep in, I contacted a co-worker (Noerjr) to see if he wanted to go caching too. He agreed and now we have no excuses but to get going out the door.

Looking up other caches of interest in Hobbs and along the way there, I discovered another yet un-found cache between Seminole and Hobbs along US-62.

So we drove over to Odessa and met up with Noerjr at Starbucks. After grabbing a couple coffee's, we drove off heading up US-385. An hour later we were on US-62 westbound approaching the roadside picnic area and rest stop. Quickly finding the cache (GC70TG1) and the nice clean log sheet! WOHOO a FTF!! (First to Find)

Our next stop was at the Gateway Arch New Mexico Style (GC3A6RN)! Another quick roadside park and grab, but also a photo opp for the Welcome to New Mexico sign.

Then a couple miles later, we entered the town of Hobbs, NM. You know I think New Mexico must be called the "Big Sign" state! As we entered Hobbs, we were also greeted with another big sign. Here we found two caches "Flea Bag Inn" (GC48M83), a travel bug hotel cache, and the "Old Wood Windmill" cache (GC42QJ2). This also gave me the opportunity to finally drop off a Travel Bug which I've been holding since last November. I feel guilty for hanging on to it for so long, but haven't had the chance to place it in a cache.

Our next stop was for the newly placed "Gold Junction" cache (GC70VYV). A nicely hidden cache for another new cacher in the Hobbs area. I'm sometimes a little hesitant looking for a new cache placed by a cacher with few finds. (only 17 for this one) Sometimes the coordinates may be WAAAYYY off or the container not even there! But this one was a good hide. Well done Boogieman77!

Then up the road to a 6-stage Multi-Cache (GC1X8ZF) at the cemetery. This one was a lot of fun. Started at the front, then to the back, up near the front, you get the idea! Criss-crossing back and forth across the cemetery looking at graves to get hints to the next set of coords. Rated a difficulty of 5, but a fun cache.

Next was another Multi-Cache called "Why Did the Chicken Cross the Road?" (GC3QKHK). Although the 10' chicken statue was no longer there, we did manage to find the egg at the end.

After some fun, it was time for some history. The next cache was called "Ye Old Slammer" (GC1WWNC). This was the Old City Jail from the 1930's. Couldn't see much as it was all boarded up. Too bad. They should make this into a museum or something.

One more cache in town before heading back and we made it a virtual cache (GC3DAE). Located at the old oil well from the 1920's celebrating SW New Mexico and the Permian Basin economy. There's also another historic feature here, but I can't say because that would give away the answer required to claim a find. And that would be cheating! HAHA!

Two more quick roadside park and grab caches on the way back to Odessa (GC24RE6, GC1YEFJ) and that was it for the day. It wasn't a big day for caching with a lot of sites, but it was a much needed break from WORK WORK WORK WORK WORK!! And had a great time with Noerjr who previously only had 1 find and ends his second caching day with 12! Way to go!!

Hopefully soon I'll be back to a 5-day work week and we'll be caching on a regular basis again! Until next time...

2016-11-20: Hiking and Geocaching in the Fort Davis Mountains State Park

Today was a day where the weather was finally cooling down enough here in West Texas to go out and do some hiking. YAY! We decided to start with an easy trail in the Fort Davis Mountains State Park. If you have been following along with us, you'll recall we made a stop here in Fort Davis not too long ago during one of our Geocaching Adventure trips. However at that time we didn't have time to do any actual hiking, just touring the remains of the fort.

For our first hike of the season, we chose the Indian Lodge Trail. With a length of 1.37 miles and having a "challenging" rating, I would have called it more of a moderate hike. The trailhead begins behind the Indian Lodge and ascends to the views of the Davis Mountains. The trail ends connecting with the Montezuma Trail leading down to the campgrounds. Adding in the short walk back to the lodge along the road, and I'd say our total hike was just over 2 miles in length.

And of course, what's a hike without doing a little Geocaching along the way! We found a total of seven caches today, including a FTF (first to find GC6VDZP) and re-found my very first Geocache (GCHE45) which I found back in April of 2006! The log had since been replaced so I couldn't get a picture of my first signed log though.

Overall it was a great hike on a perfect weather day with some great views! We'll have to come back soon and tackle some of the other trails and caches. Thanks for stopping by to read our blog. Be sure to leave your comments and let us know you stopped by. See you next time.

Re-found my very first cache from April 2006!