More aptly titled Colombia, Nuevo Leon. Nuevo Leon only touches Texas on a little finger of land at the Colombia Solidarity International Bridge. That bridge is part of a greater system of bridges that moves pedestrians, vehicles, and commercial and industrial traffic between Mexico and the United States. There's one little catch, though… There's only … Continue reading An Illegal Border Crossing? →

I had previously assumed that Cotulla was some older Mexican settlement that had been here since the days before the sky was blue and water was wet. Imagine my surprise to learn it was named after a Polish immigrant, soldier, and rancher, who donated land for the railroad. Receiving a railroad depot and a post … Continue reading 187. Cotulla, La Salle County →

There were two big takeaways from this trip: 1. Fun as it sometimes was to have them around, the girls are not made for trips like this.  I already suspected this would be the case, but this was confirmation.  I've always suspected that they pretend to find interesting what interests me because they love me.  … Continue reading Lessons? →

We've been through Pal-Es-TINE many times both directions, too.  Yes, the locals call it Pal-Es-TEEN, as does everybody surrounding them.  Yes, I use the same name as the alternate state for the Arabs of Israel.  Yes, I am that guy (not to be confused with That Guy).  I believe that all people are that way about … Continue reading 186. Palestine, Anderson County →

I pulled into town late in the day with two little ones in the back.  I had hoped that we could get going early and hit six or seven on the way down like on the the way up, but prying grandchildren away from grandparents is harder than dissolving gold in acid.  Our stocks of … Continue reading 185. Henderson, Rusk County →

On the way back from Gilmer, I stopped for an extra cache.  I had been given a couple of trackables that the owner requested only be placed in rural caches to move.  So while I was up there in the pines, I stopped at a cache that hadn't been logged in over a year and … Continue reading A Promise To Fulfill →

I nod approvingly at this building.  I reference Gilmer more than you might think I would.  A buddy of mine is from here, which is ironic because I met him independent of the the entire Longview exodus to Austin (my ex-wife used to joke that she still hung out with half the people she went to … Continue reading 184. Gilmer, Upshur County →

Better.  Much better...  Man!  That's a huge memorial for such a small town!  Seriously.  Sure, Sulphur Springs had their entire square, but this may be the biggest memorial to courthouse size I've seen thus far.  Well, maybe.  Having a jet on your courthouse grounds definitely put you in the running for that honor, but that's … Continue reading 183. Pittsburg, Camp County →

Sad, sad, sad.  Not as sad as Rockport (it's got an excuse), but definitely sadder than Van Horn.  It's like a prefab storage building that someone threw up and then decided to make it a courthouse.  Sure, small counties have to make due with what they can afford, but sad, sad, sad. The cache was … Continue reading 182. Daingerfield, Morris County →

Suitably picturesque.  Another small county bunched up together here with a bunch of other counties.  This is nothing like having to drive hundreds of miles between locations way out in the West.  The part of me that is goal oriented is pleased that I can just zip from one location to the next and get … Continue reading 181. Mount Pleasant, Titus County →