Tag Archive | roads

Texas ~ The Way I See It

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YOU ARE INVITED

…to travel with me across some of the 268,820 square miles of TX over the next few months. The contrasting topography with its wide-open spaces, mountains, hills and valleys, river boundaries, and shorelines (longer than either SC or NC) defines the State of Texas.  Its unique “shape” marked by jagged edges, curves and straight lines is internationally recognized.

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A BRIEF HISTORY 

Multiple incursions and battles between Native Americans, settlers, frontiersmen, soldiers and conquerors established, refined and changed Texas. Long after half of the United States was settled with stable growth, Texas fought for and won its independence from Mexico in 1836[1].  Known for its “independent” attitude and spirit, Texas cannot help but  be a product of its upbringing.

Texas history doesn’t fit easily into a timeline or narrative because Texas has had many frontiers and a collection of settlers broader than most states. The story of Texas was still in its formation and infancy when missionaries, explorers, ranchers, immigrants, tradesmen and families pushed into the regions of the canyons along the Rio Grande River, the bayous along the Gulf of Mexico, East to the Sabine River and Piney Woods, and North to the Red River ultimately harnessing the vast arid land of the Panhandle Plains.

ONE TEXAS TRAVELER  

Traveling back roads and lesser known towns often provide the untold story or long-forgotten history. These posted segments are NOT intended to be an official Travelogue or History record.  I’m simply a TEXAS TRAVELER who is intrigued by the geography of Texas and compelled to peek in on some of the dusty old corners of Texas courthouses and buildings. Through the Texas Historical Commission’s Courthouse Preservation Program and Main Street Cities[2], travelers have available to the them revitalized downtown areas offering restaurants, businesses, shops, museums, and historic buildings and architecture.

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Left: Chisholm Trail sign, Decatur, TX; Middle: Majestic Theatre, Eastland TX; Right: Main Street, Junction TX

Hopefully you’ll discover something new about Texas or find a place you’d like to visit. Come back soon for new information and photos. I will be posting various sources and references for travel to or within the State of Texas. Some travel tips will direct you to a specific historic site, an Interstate road or multiple paths to get you from here to there.  But just as intriguing are the off-road experiences when you leave the bypass and head to the “historic downtown.” You never know who you’ll meet in the city square with a monument to their memory.

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Maybe you’ll find your own reason to travel~

Perhaps you share the same wandering spirit I possess.

                 Don’t need a map to get there—

                 you  can get there from anywhere

                 when you’re going in your head.[3]

DISCOVERING  THE STORY 

Whose name is on that building? And is the year scripted in stone when it was built?  What exactly is in a name?  Proprietors once had their name proudly displayed on the building’s façade, or in other cases, they had it set in tile at the building’s entrance.  That street has an unusual name.  Why is the street sign in German?  A lot of the names are Hispanic.  Was that an old depot?  There’s always a story.

Here is part of mine.

  • I was born in a small town in West Texas called Eastland (see how that works?)
  • I even grew up in a small town in South Texas – Clute.
  • I recently revisited Abilene (medium-sized town in West Texas where I lived in 60s-70s)
  • After years of living in Ft. Worth, I found another small town in which to retire.

Small towns have a uniqueness that can be either loved or loathed. You know there’s no Starbucks™ and the chain restaurants are limited or nonexistent.  The high school sports and activities bring out the entire community limiting when the town’s businesses close down on Friday nights.  You’ll see monuments to veterans of various wars.  You may arrive just as the parade begins (and you don’t even know why there is a parade!) There is probably more than one festival or celebration each year. In the county seats of government, you’ll find the “old courthouse” either serving as current business for the county or maybe standing only as a museum or historic site now.  It’s not uncommon to see US flags staked and waving in the wind or booths set up around the square.

WP_20150506_15_22_52_Pro  20160227_142106WP_20150506_13_58_40_ProWP_20150506_13_59_58_ProWP_20150506_13_58_21_Pro(Left to Right: Jackson County, Edna; Hood County, Granbury; 3, 4 & 5 Wharton County, Wharton)
Left to Right: Jackson County, Edna; Hood County, Granbury; next 3 Wharton County, Wharton

Don’t be surprised if there are antique cars parked around the courthouse square. If you love small-town living, you’ve found your paradise because those town squares still exist.  If you want to be amid the hustle and bustle of business, trade and entertainment, you’re probably happier in the city.

I enjoy trading the comforts of a city for the local café with its mismatched dishes. I feel comfortable in small towns so that is where I began and continue my story of adventure. More than a year ago, I set out on a mission of traveling old roads as part of my conceptualized blog –

 NEW JOURNEYS ON OLD ROADS

Those words described the revolution within myself. I was moving from some health issues to a more normal and peaceful place. Blessed beyond my expectations, I was able to retire, and found I could return to traveling and discovering.  I became much more confident so I set out to mark my new journeys.  I didn’t know how many miles that idea would include.  If you’ve traveled here with me before, you know Music is my Second Language; therefore many of my travels are woven into and scheduled around concerts, live performances, bands and oprys.

Many of the towns I put on my list to visit were remembered from my Daddy’s stories—he had traveled EVERYWHERE! My mother gave me insight into some of the little farm towns or the oilfield towns of the 30s, 40s, 50s.  My grandparents were travelers, too. They often traveled to CA. How far was that? I wondered.

COUNTY COURTHOUSES

As a second thought – but maybe because I’m a lover of history – I started looking at courthouses.  Those old buildings, with both new and innovative architectural designs, seem to be standing not so much as a beacon of activity and business but more as a starting point to see how the Texas residents, settlers, landowners and government representatives designed the past to shape its future.

Texas was settled with immigrants from Germany, Austria, Poland, Czechoslovakia, Mexico, South American countries and Baltic States as well as the African-Americans here as slaves and the Native Americans (estimated around 50 tribes in the region.

These original immigrant founders constructed what they had seen in the Classical Revival, the Romanesque or imagined other architectural styles. I find all architecture design intriguing (even if some of these historic sites are a bit ugly). The blending of many cultures is evident in the architecture, town names, or artwork in Texas.

WP_20150523_13_40_03_ProHood County, Granbury Texas, Second Empire with Romanesque.
WP_20151125_14_02_31_ProBurleson County Courthouse, Caldwell, Classical Revival

 

THE TRAIL’S ENDth[8] (2)

The State found itself looking for methods to rebuild war-torn Texas after the Civil War. Other than crops (impossible to grow in some regions of Texas), stock trade became the primary means of trade and livelihood bringing about the well-known history of the “cowboy” life style. Brahman cattle were imported from India, and the Longhorn breed was specific to Spanish settlement.  Early cattle drives were initiated by Nelson Story and Charles Goodnight.  Cattle were driven across the Chisholm and other trails to railheads (i.e., Abilene KS/Dodge City KS/Ft. Worth TX).

Life on the open range changed forever with the invention of barbed wire. Fences, combined with the back to back killer winters of 1886 and 1887, changed the cattle industry.

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The need for water for stock and way stations for people/goods traveling the stagecoach and pony express routes created stopovers and towns simply for the need of water. I’ll introduce you to some of these towns in later segments. Many of the original routes are preserved today as a testament to the harshness of Texas and the strength of those who shaped it.  Once Texas roads served to provide wealth and distribution of product.  Now some roads lead you through towns in major decline.  These roads have witnessed the new highways and interstates and re-routed railroads all whispering the cycles of boom and bust telling the story through generations of the land and its people.

Not only the geography and climate of TX reflects the differences, but the ways in which towns grew to cities and rural turned to urban.

TEXANS

thOW6YB2LFA traveler to Texas should never make an assumption that all of Texas has oil wells, cattle, gun-toting citizens or cowboy hats. Yes, you will absolutely find those, but you’ll find the folks in business suits handling the business of oil/gas production, real estate and financial services.  You will definitely see the workers in the oil/gas fields wearing flame resistant coveralls and covered in dirt and mud. But you’ll also witness advanced technology utilized by oilfield crews.

You’ll see many Texans devoted to the fine arts with world-class music, art and design displayed in the performance halls and museums, community theatres and town centers across the state. Hundreds of universities and colleges with various concentration (i.e., Technical, Liberal Arts, Science & Health, Agricultural & Energy) are preparing tomorrow’s workers, owners and educators for an ever-growing Texas which should be able to rise & develop future energy systems as well as advancements in science health and product development.

Left: WagnerNoël PAC Midland/Odessa TX; Right: Bass Hall, Ft. Worth TX

 

Reference notes: 

[1] http://www.u-s-history.com/pages/h306.html

[2] Texas Historical Commission www.texastimetravel.com the.state.tx.us (512) 463-6100 c. 2014.

[3] Lyrics to Ozark Mountain Jubilee recorded by The Oak Ridge Boys; Songwriters: SCOTT ANDERS, ROGER MURRAH © EMI Music Publishing, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Universal Music Publishing Group; Release 1983.

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To begin your Texas travel journey, visit:

www.texastimetravel.com

Texas State Travel Guide is a comprehensive directory for all the elements of your Texas adventure. www.TravelTex.com

Back to the Beginning

I had the chance to drive through my birthplace a few days ago.  Does anyone know what you are supposed to feel when you re-visit the past?  I didn’t have a plan or a place to put that experience.  But when you arrive, you might as well see it all.

It’s just Small Town, Texas.  It has the obligatory “old” post office, the usual run-down Main street, and more than one place that is older than me!  The highways leading to it are dotted with either farms, crops growing or dying from drought, “fracking” for natural gas sites or oil wells pumping. The land is so flat you truly can see for miles!WP_20150114_09_35_39_Pro

I felt a little warm hug when I turned off the Interstate and saw that “welcome to” sign.  It’s not like I was raised there–only first grade then we moved.  But I am sure I saw some shadows around the old theatre and the original hotel of folks who had lived there longer than I’ve been alive.  Those kind of towns don’t change much.  They don’t usually have a Starbucks or a dozen choices of drive thru restaurants.  They still conduct business at the courthouse on the town square.  There are still a few stores operating on the perimeter of the square.  And they usually have a “town opry” or a “fairgrounds”or at least a “city park” or “town square.”WP_20150114_09_56_25_ProWP_20150114_09_59_37_Pro

Not sure what I expected to do on that short drive through town.  But it did make me feel grateful that some things, like Small Town, Texas, still exist.  They make good places to drive into and out of taking just a little piece of memory.  Most of the tour around town was more in my mind than through my camera lens.  I probably can’t explain what I felt to anyone, but then, they are my own memories. So glad I took that turn off the fast lane.

Back to the Interstate, set the cruise control, and head on toward more flat land in west Texas.

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Is there a town like this in your past? Hope you have a chance to re-visit and reminisce.  WP_20150114_10_15_29_Pro

Don’t Miss the Chance

 

It is often hard to distinguish between the hard knocks in life and those of opportunity. ~Frederick Phillips

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Seize every opportunity along the way, for how sad it would be if the road you chose became the road not taken. ~Robert Brault

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A pessimist is one who makes difficulties of his opportunities and an optimist is one who makes opportunities of his difficulties. ~Harry Truman

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Grasp your opportunities, no matter how poor your health; nothing is worse for your health than boredom. ~Mignon McLaughlin

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Traveling With Me

 

Today is the first anniversary of this blog, so I wanted to let you know I appreciate your spending time here.

If you’ve been traveling with me for the last year, THANK YOU for hopping on board.

If you are reading this post and visiting this blog for the first time,  WELCOME to my journey. 

 I’m reminded about the message of love I gave my children:th3US0WZ7J

If I could write a blueprint for living, I would wrap it in love, tie it with ribbons of hugs & present it to you anytime you need to be reminded you are God’s child.”

I hope my message has been clear, both to my children & grandchildren.  I believe in treasuring the wonderful times & even the troubled days…for how can you know you are blessed if you haven’t seen the other side. 

To say that I’m in my second “life” would be an understatement…I’m living again and maybe fully for the first time…but I can clearly see it’s right for this time.

When I retired, I wasn’t exactly sure what I was going to do.  I thought my purpose was over.  Now I’m finally understanding that I am here EVERY DAY for a purpose.  It has amazed me the people who have followed my blog or tweets who connect because of a comparable belief, thought or interest.  I never imagined some of those casual contacts would become true friends across the miles – but that’s what has happened.  I didn’t imagine either that old acquaintances would re-visit me emerging from this new tool.

I’m honored to hear from my readers with comments such as:

  • “I needed your thought today” 
  • “Thank you for caring”
  • “ Welcome to my world”
  • “Hope to meet you”
  • “Good to see your post”

With a dream in my heart, I knew it was time to live it! Nothing fades faster than an opportunity not explored.  Writing has been my passion, so I began this journey one year ago. It is here on these blank pages I can pour out my thoughts, beliefs, ideas & words.  It has become my peaceful place to offer a word of encouragement or a lesson learned in my life. 

Having come through some health issues, daily I’m grateful I’m still standing upright & even standing!  I’m really careful about where I step, walk & things I do…but for the most part…I’m trekking down paths I never thought I would be able to explore.

New Journeys on Old Roads has become more than just a title for my blog; it has come to describe my life more than I ever imagined. 

  • Sometimes the roads are rough, so I slow down and approach with caution. 
  • Sometimes they have detours, so I look for an alternate route. 
  • Sometimes they are brand new black-topped roads over what used to be dirt, so I speed up a bit. 
  • Sometimes I get lost…but I get out my map, connect to my GPS, and try again…a lot like what happens when you fall down or fail.

If something I’ve presented here has been helpful, I invite you to post a comment or contact me in other methods listed here on this blog.

THANK YOU FOR TRAVELING WITH ME ON  MY 

NEW JOURNEYS ON OLD ROADS!

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Understanding Yourself

This is what I want from now on:

a slower pace~

a more centered existence~

and the feelings of perfect happiness to be found

in the moments I come home to myself.”

Linda Weltner

 

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U-Turns May Still Get You There

INSTALLMENT #1 TRAVELOGUE OF 2 SISTERS ROAD TRIP

Have you ever made so many U-turns you’re not sure if you are headed back to the beginning or on a completely different route?

That recently happened to me on a road trip.  Best laid plans and all that! Had maps marked, turn-by-turn directions, GPS, and many other devices that should have made the traveling a little easier.  But, you know, when you pass up that exit and you’re in the wrong lane, things fall apart right then.

And it doesn’t even have to be on a multi-lane interstate.  It can be a highway junction in a small town that throws you off.  Seems more and more junctions are being laid out to give an “easier” way around the town.  Large or small, roads can get you mis-routed in an instant.

So after you try a couple of new perspectives on it and you’ve still not found your connection, you do the unthinkable: ASK FOR DIRECTIONS FROM A LOCAL. That doesn’t often turn out well even from the first statement when they begin:

You know where the old post office was?  Well, you go down four or five or maybe six blocks and you turn by the old gas station.  ‘course it’s closed down now and they’ve bulldozed it all down and widened the street there.  I think it’s a flea market now or something.”

If I knew things like that and if I was from ‘round these parts’ I probably wouldn’t be asking for directions.  Just then another voice chimes in:

“You know where old man Smith’s place is?  It’s past that a bit…can’t miss it”

Oh, my, hasn’t that been helpful?  You smile and return to the car and try to readjust your antennae…and, with a renewed spirit you start toward the old post office.

But I’ve learned in traveling (as in life) if you have to turn around and try again, something different will happen.  It won’t be the same journey [even if you do see old man Smith’s place]…and you may still be lost.  Why didn’t you ask them to draw you a map?  But then why would their map be any better than all the ones you got from the travel agent, the state or the one you pulled up on your smart phone?

Oh, gosh, do you think that place we just passed was old man Smith’s!!  I know the guy said ‘can’t miss it’ but I think we just did.

On one dreary afternoon when my sister and I realized we weren’t anywhere close to being able to tackle the up-coming city (because of an “alternate” road we’d taken in our approach), we made a major decision.  We just threw all caution to the wind, tossed the state & city map into the back seat and braved the city one street at a time.

My comment was:  You know our parents and grandparents traveled across this great United States in the 30s,40s & 50s with no map.  Surely we can do it.

And we did.  We found more things in that city than they’ve ever put on a tourist guide.  We found beautiful scenery, expensive homes in a well-to-do suburb (even a Frank Lloyd Wright designed house).  We located and identified six various kinds of art deco architecture within a 4-block area of downtown.  We tasted that city’s grit to grime believing our new route through the run-down section would connect to another road.  It did…just not the right road.  When we photographed our last shot in the dying sunset, we found the right highway connect.  At that moment we felt we had enjoyed that city more than any that could be on our trip.

If you missed the turns in your life, you’ve got some options:

  • You can make a u-turn and head back looking at it from the other side
  • You can analyze that if you “square it off” you’ll get right back where you were before (but remember…you were lost then, too)
  • You can take the new directions from the locals and get a chance to see that old post office
  • You can throw up your hands, toss the map out the window and wing it from there and see something else that wasn’t even on your list.

You can do any of these things…and none are really wrong decisions.

But, failing to try again can be the most unpleasant of all.  You’ll never get on the right road if you don’t turn around; you’ll never get to see the old post office and you’ll miss the entire journey.

Be brave! U-turn now…go back and see where you missed that turn…go back and try it again!  Remember the last time you missed a turn and you just kept going? Yes, you do remember how that turned out, don’t you?  Make some decision…because indecision is the same as standing still.

You’ll never know what you’ll discover on “alternate” roads.  Here’s a few things I would have missed if I’d followed the exact directions.

East TX road

Solitary road found during a U-turn in TX

Frank Lloyd Wright house Tulsa

Frank Lloyd Wright designed house in Tulsa

Graceland Gates

Gates swinging open at Graceland

Monument to desegration of school in Little Rock

Monument to school desegregation in Little Rock

Rock of Ages Barn

Rock of Ages Farm Barn Route 66 OK

Route 66 in KS

Smallest portion of Route 66 (13 miles) in KS

Santa Claus IN

Town of Santa Claus IN – decorated 365 days a year and lights turned on each night

wildflowers in TX Wildflowers in TX

turn around in Hendersonville

Quiet road found during U-turn in TN

World Trade Center sculpture Oak Ridge TN

Metal from World Trade Center sculpture (ORNL)

Oak Ridge TN

coal countryCoal-mining country in WV

Cumberland River in Nashville

Cumberland River in downtown Nashville

which direction 2 3

Directions are easier to see once you turn around!

I can’t guarantee you’ll find exactly what you are looking for with a U-turn or change in direction.  I can guarantee that it’s different–and isn’t that what we are hoping when we’ve realized we made the wrong turn?

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I looked into the sun, squinting to make out the road sign;
As I U-turned to look from the other side, it was clear.
Not clear that I ‘d found what I needed but clear I was lost.
Sometimes, discovering you are lost is as good as knowing where you are.
Make the journey; start the adventure; map it out;
But when best laid plans come up short, make a new plan.
Never too late to start a new journey on an old road.
 
 
 

2 Sisters’ Road Trip Comes Home

2 Sisters' Road Trip Comes Home

ALL ROADS LEAD TO SOMEWHERE…and that’s where I’ve been for the past month. After 28 days on the road; after crossing 11 states and 15 major rivers…a familiar road led me back home!

After nearly 3,600 miles, I can truly say each turn and each straightaway brought unexpected views and amazing vistas. Some were paths; some were dirt roads; some historic drives; some interstate highways; and some should not have even been where they were!

I believe even more now than before that there’s only one reason I venture down the pathways of life…and that is to find New Journeys on Old Roads.

Welcome back! I’ll begin posting stories, photos, trip routes and ramblings over the next few weeks. Follow along…let’s travel across this great country of ours. See part of America through my eyes!

Wildflowers Are Like Worries

Fields, roadsides & ranch lands are in full bloom.

Texas wildflowers have arrived!

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Bluebonnets and Brown Eyed Susan
 
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Indian Paintbrush and Indian Blanket
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Evening Primrose – from white to lavender to pink
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Bitterweed and cactus blooms
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The scenes look like a Monet painting.

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Wildflowers always surprise me when they shoot forth randomly among grass, rock and hard dirt.  They are a bit like your life being interrupted with troubles.  Neither worries nor wildflowers seem to care when or where they appear.  They are just there!

Does a problem, concern, or fear seem to appear out of nowhere?  It’s like that with wildflowers, too.  A week ago there were no blossoms.  It even seemed maybe they wouldn’t come this year–like something or someone had intervened and there would be no wildflowers.  But they’re here!

Do you think you could learn to see a purpose and beauty in the thing that appears uninvited in your life?  Like some folks, I tend to want to spend some time with my worries.  I want to bemoan them, even show them off to others. 

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There’s another similarity between your worries and wildflowers.  They are right in front of you.  If you think you can just hurry down the highway and ignore them…think again!  The same is true with your worries.  You can’t ignore them or outrun them.  There’s a formula for dealing with both–your worries and wildflowers.  You must:

Slow down.

Stop and face them.

Spend time with them.

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We know Bluebonnets don’t have to face the fear of spring storms, the pain of hail, the pounding rain or the long-suffering drought alone–because they are joined by their friends:  Indian Blankets, Paint Brush, Evening Primrose, Bitterweed and Brown-eyed Susan.  Like the Texas Bluebonnet, we are not alone.

Just as hard as it was for the wildflower to work its way up through rock and limestone, your worries will push through to your thoughts.  Wouldn’t it be refreshing if your next worries looked a little more like the wildflower that comes but then goes.

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There are rules about each–worries and wildflowers.  They are there to remind you that pleasant or unpleasant surprises often catch us unaware.  Here’s another rule about wildflowers and worries.

Don’t pick them.

They are not yours.

Leave them there.

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…And when you turn away from the wildflowers…or the worries…

when you need to get back to your journey…

you’ll leave less burdened…more joyous…

and ready for your next experience.

 

Wintertime

Wintertime

I prefer winter and fall, when you feel the bone structure of the landscape — the loneliness of it, the dead feeling of winter. Something waits beneath it, the whole story doesn’t show. ~Andrew Wyeth

Wintertime http://wp.me/p466rU-4g

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