Funny thing about far East Texas: the farther east you get, the more it starts looking like Louisiana: swampy, damp, scary pines, crappier roads...  And that's what it was like rolling into town early in the morning.  To be fair, it wasn't that damp.  Being morning, it was still relatively cool and dry-ish out. What I … Continue reading 173. Jefferson, Marion County →

So, this was one of the towns they warned me about. I had already heard that it had been (and sometimes still is) rife with white nationalist activity. And of course, few towns get their own documentaries. Fun fact: one of Marshall's nicknames is the "Athens of Texas." Which I find hilarious since I was … Continue reading 172. Marshall, Harrison County →

We've been here many, many times.  Heck, I've even been to this courthouse on several occasions for various reasons.  The girls' grandparents live in a small town on the outskirts of Longview.  Apparently, their town decided to incorporate before Longview annexed them and placed the yoke of their tax rates upon them.  I've never been … Continue reading 171. Longview, Gregg County →

We've been in and through the Rose Capital of the World a great many times in our travels.  With around a hundred thousand people, it's the region's biggest city, a semi-cultural mecca, and a little, semi-liberal island in the red northeastern sea of East Texas, a place whose top three exports are oil, cotton, and … Continue reading 170. Tyler, Smith County →

Now this is a courthouse.  This is a building where the work of the people is conducted.  Even if it isn't old and pedigreed with a storied past, this building imposes itself upon the town, drawing saint, sinner, and supplicant into its orbit.  I would almost think it overpowers the town.  It's small and I … Continue reading 169. Quitman, Wood County →

Remember I mentioned that I had a couple of friends with ancestors who are namesakes for counties?  Well, here's the second one.  The courthouse seems tiny, but I like the aesthetic of it.  Something about the wings coming off it sets it apart a bit.  Otherwise another courthouse down.  At this point, the girls decided … Continue reading 168. Emory, Rains County →

A fine example of the WPA at work, here in this tiny little town. I don't really know what to say about Canton because even in the moment it left little impression. But it is a nice little town, I guess. That being said, the cache location, grabbed on the way into town, was slightly … Continue reading 167. Canton, Van Zandt County →

Another stop on the way to East Texas. Unlike Corsicana, however, Athens has a great loop around it so this is probably the third time I've ever actually been in in town. It was also getting close to lunch time so the girls and I decided to get some food after we grabbed the cache. … Continue reading 166. Athens, Henderson County →

We have been to Corsicana many times.  It's one of the traditional waypoints on our way out to or back from East Texas.  We have specific gas stations we would stop at or specific restaurants to eat at.  Sometimes we would even stop at Collin Street Bakery, home of the fruitcake (as fate would have … Continue reading 165. Corsicana, Navarro County →

This trip was not like the others.  Normally I jump in a car in the middle of the night, begin at or about the crack of dawn at the beginning destination, and then alight from county to county with nothing other than my constitution and local speed limits (usually) slowing my progress.  This time, however, … Continue reading 164. Hillsboro, Hill County →