I turned off I-20 and cruised into town. A few quick turns and here I was. Modern-ish courthouse with an older seeming feature behind... I was even thinking how cool it would be to put a cache in that gazebo. Maybe something magnetic up in the inside of the dome or something similar? Nice thinking, … Continue reading 100. Stanton, Martin County →

Downtown Midland was a ghost town. Admittedly, it was early yet, but it's obviously one of those places where downtown is only for Monday-Friday business. The nights are probably dead and therefore dangerous. I bet I wouldn't want to walk these streets after dark. I actually got that feeling about the entire city. It felt … Continue reading 99. Midland, Midland County →

I spent the night in Odessa. Ended up getting a room at a chain hotel that was a bit more than I really wanted to pay and was a bit more spacious than I needed. I sometimes wish that coffin capsule hotels were more of a thing in the States. One of those and a … Continue reading 98. Odessa, Ector County →

There is an unmistakable connection between Andrews and oil. Two courthouse monuments devoted to oil milestones, a pump jack... Yeah, I think it's a thing. There's a virtual here inside the courthouse devoted to something other than oil. Apparently the first Kirby vacuum factory was in Andrews and, when it closed, they presented a special … Continue reading 97. Andrews, Andrews County →

Now that's a courthouse, a beautiful beast back in the bosom of Texas. But I feel a little bit guilty that I didn't spend much time here. I ended up stopping for a bit for a phone call with my daughters, themselves on the way to northeast Texas to see their grandparents in a county … Continue reading 96. Kermit, Winkler County →

You see, back in Mentone I logged caches 798 and 799. Coming up on another milestone, I decided to have 800 be my first cache in another state (well, another American state. I've been to two Mexican states already). That said, I almost regretted that choice. To heck with New Mexico. First of all, I … Continue reading Oh, New Mexico! →

Paint Rock? Thy have thyself competition! Loving County is the second least populous county in the country (there's a tiny piece of Moloka'i waving coyly at it from the corner). There are fewer people in Loving County than in Paint Rock itself. But you wouldn't know that when you're standing here at the courthouse. The … Continue reading 95. Mentone, Loving County →

Another courthouse, another walk about. I slipped inside and visited the facilities and thought about what I was going to do here. As you can see, the Confederate role in county naming was amply mentioned. A few other small monuments of military memory were around, too but there was work to do and the courthouse … Continue reading 94. Pecos, Reeves County →

So, not the greatest photo I've ever gotten. These places and their trees all obscuring my shots. Of course, it wasn't always like this... At some point it looked like this. Seems a little desolate so I guess the trees are a bit of an improvement. I got this while I popped inside to hit … Continue reading 93. Monahans, Ward County →

Another courthouse that looks like a high school. I ended up running around a couple of blocks to get here but I made it. Quick little walk around revealed relatively bland surroundings. One monument and that's it. The local school was right behind as was the sheriff's department. Down the block, however... ...there was FREEDOM. … Continue reading 92. Crane, Crane County →