Fort Belknap

After visiting Lake Mineral Wells State Park (see previous post), Donna and I spent the night in nearby Weatherford. The next morning, we drove up to Winstar World Casino for a couple of days of gaming.

We left Winstar early Thursday to return home, but we would make a couple of stops along the way. The first stop was at Fort Belknap a few miles west of Graham, Texas. We had passed by this old military post years ago, probably in the late 1970's, but I had forgotten anything about it during the past 40 years or so.

Entrance to Fort Belknap

The post was established in 1851, and over the years would mainly serve as a supply post or base of operations. During the War Between the States, it was abandoned, and the Texas frontier retreated as a result during the war years. Following the war, it was reoccupied briefly, but was soon abandoned for good. During its existence, the fort served as a hub for numerous roads, and the Butterfield Overland Mail route ran through it.

I recently read a book by Cynthia Haselhoff, Kiowa Verdict. The book was a fictionalized account of the trial of Kiowa chiefs Satanta and Big Tree for a raid they led on a wagon train just east of Fort Belknap in 1871. The trial itself took place in nearby Jacksboro, the home of Fort Richardson at the time. This was the first time that native Americans were tried in a court of law for violence against white men. It was very unique and is quite an interesting story.

The fort itself is not that well preserved today. It is out of the way, located just south of Newcastle on a lesser used highway. I'm not sure what organization owns the fort, but it may be the county. I saw no evidence of state control or funding. Most of the buildings standing today were restored or rebuilt in the 20th century, as most of the original buildings were cannibalized by local residents for building materials a century or more ago.

There is a small museum in the old commissary building with some very interesting artifacts, some related to the fort and some not. The grounds are covered with beautiful old trees, and the place is pleasantly quiet and serene.

Museum is located in the old commissary.

Rattlesnake rattles on left, arrowheads on right. There were several arrowhead collections in the museum.

Donna viewing the display cases in the museum.

More of the artifacts in the museum.

Beautiful old trees with some of the restored buildings in the background.

One of the restored buildings.

Group of buildings near the front of the post.

Unusual grape arbor makes a nice, cool spot for gatherings on a hot summer day.

We enjoyed our visit to the old fort. The countryside is really nice, and the Brazos River runs just a few miles to the west.

Lake Mineral Wells State Park

In March 2006, Donna and I hiked a long loop trail in Lake Mineral Wells State Park. A year or two before that, we hiked several miles of nearby Lake Mineral Wells State Park Trailway, which connects to the state park via a spur trail. Now, Donna is not especially good at recalling places, but for some reason, she recently began remembering our hike in the park. She even recalled landscape details. So, by executive order, "we" decided to return to the park for another hike.

The park is located just east of Mineral Wells. It contains about 640 acres, and includes a nice little lake. There is even a location in the park called Penitentiary Hollow which is considered by many to be the most popular place in North Texas for rock climbing.

Unfortunately, because of recent rains, all trails in the Cross Timbers section of the park were closed when we arrived at the park gate. (see park trails map). This is precisely where we wanted to hike. Now, there is another trail in the southern section of the park that was open, but it is very short and we were not interested in it. So, we made the best of a bad situation.

First, we decided to visit the aforementioned Penitentiary Hollow. We parked in the nearby day use area, then made our way down the short path to an area that provided an overlook to the hollow. I then worked my way down a serpentine set of rock steps to the bottom of the hollow. I'm not good at distances, heights, and such, but the bottom of the hollow looks to me to be about 2 stories or so below the land above. Rock climbers will hone their skills on these rocks. It is quite a unique place and worth a visit if you are in the area.

Approach to Penitentiary Hollow. The site was closed to rock climbers on the day we visited.

Lake Mineral Wells. The tops of the rocks at the bottom of the picture are found in the Hollow.

Some of the rocks of Penitentiary Hollow with the lake in the background. I snapped this photo as I was descending the steps.

The Hollow. The trash can gives some idea of the size and height of the rocks.

The steps leading into and out of the Hollow.

Donna with Lake Mineral Wells in the background.

After visiting Penitentiary Hollow, we decided to take a short hike along the Trailway. The Trailway follows an old railroad grade from Weatherford to Mineral Wells, a distance of about 20 miles. Years ago, we hiked 5 miles west from the Weatherford trailhead and back (total distance of 10 miles). We followed the connecting spur trail past a very nice and large amphitheater. A short distance beyond this, the trail then switchbacks down a slope before crossing an open meadow and connecting to the actual trailway.

Trailhead for spur trail from park to Trailway

Once we reached the actual trail, we headed west. We crossed the footbridge that crosses US 180, then turned back.

Amphitheater along the spur to the Trailway

Distant view of the trailway footbridge over US 180.

Our approach to the footbridge.

On the footbridge

Looking west towards nearby Mineral Wells from the footbridge. 

Looking east towards Weatherford from the footbridge.

Once back to the car, we decided to drive around the park. We always enjoy cruising through the camp grounds and checking on potential camp sites and seeing the rigs RVers have. To get from the east side of the park to the west side, you must cross below the dam. On this day, the wind was really strong and was blowing quite a bit of water over the dam.

A park vehicle is crossing below the dam.

We cross below the dam.

Recrossing the dam. In this picture, you can see some of the small whitecaps that were sloshing over the dam.

This is a nice park. There is a small store along the lake just east of the dam. The campsites are well developed, though I did not see any with full hookups. Water and electric sites are plentiful, though. There are lots of trees, and many campsites offer views of the lake. Should we ever RV again, this park will be a place we hope to spend some time.

Angelo Civic Theater

We went to a play at Angelo Civic Theater (ACT) last Friday night. The play was a comedy called Crimes of the Heart  written by Beth Henley. Here is the summary from the ACT website:

"The three Magrath sisters have gathered to await news of the family patriarch, their grandfather, who is living out his last hours in their local Mississippi hospital. This is the story of how they escape the past to seize the future—but the telling is so true and touching and consistently hilarious that it will linger in the mind long after the curtain has descended. Winner of the 1981 Pulitzer Prize and the New York Drama Critics Circle Award."

The play was well received as evidenced by its awards. So why didn't Donna and I enjoy it more than we did? It's been a long time since we have really enjoyed a play at ACT. We've been season ticket holders since we moved to San Angelo, but that may change soon. With the new San Angelo Performing Arts Campus I wrote about recently, we may start transitioning to that venue. The shows there utilize professional traveling troupes. The price is higher, but the offerings are more varied and there are more of them to choose from.

I hate to give up on our little theater. Angelo Civic Theater prides itself on being the longest continuously running community theater in Texas, with its first performance dating to November 21, 1885. That's a long run. The theater relies largely on volunteer support, as a community theater should, and employs only 3 or 4 full-time people. So we really want to support the theater. Hopefully, performances will improve.

Ice Storm Blows Through

When we last saw our intrepid adventurers, they were drying out from an unexpected walk in the rain at the state park. After drying out and warming up, they fell asleep in their warm abode, only to awaken to rain and ice.

A winter storm blew threw early Wednesday morning. We had no plans for the day, so we were able to stay home, warm and dry. Rain fell throughout the day. Late in the afternoon, I emptied the rain gauge, which had almost an inch of rain. That is the most rain we have received in a few months. It was good to get enough moisture to seep into the ground. I'm sure the farmers enjoyed the rainfall, as it will help their winter wheat and get the ground ready for spring planting.

Of course, an inch of rain does not break a drought; it doesn't even put a dent in in. For us, we need enough rainfall for runoff to fill our lakes, and the ground soaks up a slow rain like this as soon as it touches down. I doubt we will see any noticeable improvement in the lakes as a result of this rain.

We hope we will get some more rain in coming days, as the forecast does call for scattered showers into the weekend.

This is the tree in our backyard. If you look closely, you can see ice in it. You can also see a frosty coating in the general landscape. Notice there are no leaves in the tree.

I took this picture of the same tree as above just a few minutes ago before the sun came up. There is a street light as a backdrop. Remember, this tree has no leaves, but the ice makes it look as if it does.

Ice was building up at the base of the water spout near our back door.

What a beautiful sight! Our gauge has not had that much rain in a long time. Notice ice along top of wall.

What Is This Wet Stuff Falling from the Sky?

For the past 3 or 4 days, we've had a chance for rain. The most we have been able to get, though, is just a dampness . . . until today.

It was about 60 degrees when I awoke this morning, so I thought I would walk early and get that behind me for the day. In winter, I normally walk after lunch, but with morning weather this warm, I thought I'd knock my walk out first thing in the morning. But as I was getting dressed, I heard rain began to fall. It was just a light rain, though, lasting only a couple of minutes, but I decided it was probably best to postpone the walk. I checked the rain gauge later and saw only a drop or two there.

After lunch, Donna and I drove the 2 miles down the road to the state park (San Angelo State Park) to walk on the roads within the park. Sometimes we hike out there, but more often than not, we simply walk on the roads because it is so peaceful and easy. We have a route that takes us up and down several hills, so we get a good workout. The route is almost 5 miles long.

The skies were overcast, but they had been overcast for days and we had gotten nothing. So, we grabbed our ponchos from the back of the car and set off down the road. The skies were really interesting, so I snapped several pictures.

The skies were really threatening as we began our walk. Note the small clear spot near right center.

Those are some pretty stormy looking skies.

Someone to the north of us is getting some rain in this picture.

You can clearly see the horizon in the center of the picture, beyond the lake. To the left, though, the horizon blurs into the rain. Lake OC Fisher, by the way, is at just over 5% capacity. We are in a drought, and one which is getting more serious with each day.

We had gone about 1.5 miles or slightly more, when we felt some sprinkles. We continued our walk, thinking the clouds would quickly move on. Then the sprinkles got heavier. When we finally decided to break out the ponchos, it was too late. We both were soaked as the sprinkles turned into a downpour. I had told Donna before the hike that we were going to sacrifice ourselves in order to get some rain, as I figured the only way the rain would fall is if we were out there in the open.

We finally got the ponchos on and then plodded on a quarter mile or so to a restroom where we could get some shelter. By that time, the rain was slacking off but we were drenched. I wanted to take a picture of Donna so that my blog readers could see what a drowned rat looks like, but Donna gave me a good lookin' at when I pulled out the camera, so I wisely returned the camera to my pocket and backed away slowly.

Interesting bird nest, sort of wedged between to upright branches.

This armadillo crossed the road in front of us as we were finishing our walk. Yes, that is water on the road.

When we got home, I checked our gauge. There was not a bit of moisture in there. We live only 2 miles away, and we did not get a drop. After changing into dry clothes, we sat on our back patio. Before long, it did actually rain for a few minutes. The amount was less than a tenth of an inch in my gauge, but we are thankful for anything we can get.

Yes, that is actually water coming out of our downspout. It's not much, but it's something!

It's raining! This is our across-the-street neighbor. Look at his dark truck and you can clearly see the rain drops. We love the flag you see. It is our wind gauge.

What better way to end a brief rain storm than with a lovely rainbow.

As I write this, the temperature is 48 degrees. About 2½ hours earlier, it was 82 degrees. We have a winter weather advisory in effect, and temps are expected to dip down below freezing tonight and tomorrow night, with a high tomorrow in the mid 30's.

Same Old Same Old

Not much happening with Donna and Keith these days. Yep, seems we are getting boring. Most of you would say that I've been boring most of my life.

Does the wind ever stop blowing in West Texas? I doubt it. Calm days are rare out here. But I can't complain with the weather lately. We've had some good temps. Wednesday almost reached 80, and Thursday actually climbed into the lower 80's. I just wish we could get some rain. I think I heard on the news the other night that we now have about 20 months or so of water in our lakes. Now, things aren't quite that dire for us, as San Angelo wisely purchased some property about 60 or 70 miles east and developed wells there. But we only use that option when the lakes dry up. Still, it would be nice to get some good sustained rains that replenish our lakes. At least we aren't in as much peril as South Africa. My heart goes out to those folks.

Donna and I had a nice Valentine's lunch at Red Lobster. I really enjoy eating there. The place is always clean, the service good, and the environment very pleasant. I love their Cheddar Bay bisquits, their Caesar salad, and their baked potatoes. What I like least about the place is their seafood, and I think that is really because I just don't enjoy seafood that much. Still, I get a seafood craving from time to time, and in West Texas, there aren't many seafood options.

We've had some new eateries open in town lately, and we've tried to sample them. About a month ago, Panda Express opened about a mile from our home. We enjoyed a nice meal there about a week after it opened. More recently, Taco Bueno returned to San Angelo after an absence of several years. Their new place is actually on the north side of town, a fair distance from our home. The place was really busy and the folks there were still working out the kinks. I enjoyed the food, but I didn't care for all the activity. Teriyaki Grill will be opening soon, and Jimmy John's just opened a sandwich place about a mile from our house. San Angelo continues to grow.

Also heard about a proposed interstate coming through town. San Angelo is the largest town in Texas not served by an interstate. The interstate being discussed would roughly follow US 190 and US 87, and nothing is definite yet. In fact, nothing may come of this at all, and even if it did, there's a good chance Donna and I wouldn't even be around at that time. Still, you have to plan for the future whether you will be in that future or not.

Keep us in your thoughts. We have a chance of rain over the weekend and into next week. Just maybe . . . .

To Lubbock and Back

Donna and I made a 2 day trip to Lubbock this week to take care of some business. We always enjoy going to Lubbock. I began my teaching career in earnest in Olton, a small town about 50 miles northwest of Lubbock, way back in the 1970s. Our daughter was born in Plainview, about 30 miles due north of Lubbock. And I taught a few years in Wellman, a small 6-man football school about 50 miles southwest of Lubbock in the 1980s. So, Lubbock has been a big part of our lives.

But goodness, how that town has grown! I think the growth is in all directions, but especially to the south and west. The traffic on the loop and major thorough fares is hectic. But it is an exciting town, with great shopping and great dining opportunities. Of course, Texas Tech is a key factor in Lubbock life, and in recent years the Depot District has become something of an entertainment mecca. Any music fan certainly knows that Lubbock is the hometown of Buddy Holly, and other prominent musicians grew up either in Lubbock or the immediate surrounding area, such as Waylon Jennings (in nearby Littlefield), Mac Davis, Delbert McClinton, the Maines Brothers as well as Natalie Maines of the Dixie Chicks, and numerous others.

I won't go into the long list of things to do and see in Lubbock. You can check out the Visit Lubbock website for that. After we took care of our business, though, we ventured out to the Lubbock Lake Landmark for a brief visit. This is an impressive archaeological site on the northwest side of the city along Yellow House Canyon. There is evidence on site of occupation or human activity stretching back 12,000 years, and exploration continues to this day. I hope to get back this summer when visitors can actually visit a dig in process and interact with the staff. We had originally planned to walk the trails through the canyon, but it was very cold during our visit, so we opted to just visit the warm and informative Visitor Center.

Lubbock Lake Landmark Visitor Center. Much of the archaeological work is done in the draw behind the center.

Donna standing in the entrance to the exhibits at the Visitor Center.

Tribute to some of the folks who have played key roles in the dig over the years.

Life-sized diorama re-enacting a kill of a giant bison.

Creating a cooking pit

In more recent times, Native Americans used the horse to haul goods.

Lubbock is really an attractive town with numerous city parks. Depending on the time of year, one thing you may notice is all the ducks, cranes, and other birds flocking to the lakes in the city parks and nearby areas. They fill the sky each day as they move about, and you can frequently hear them. We drove out to Mackenzie Park on the northeast side of downtown along Yellow House Draw to visit Prairie Dog Town. When Courtney was young, we used to visit this place often, as she enjoyed watching the entertaining little critters scamper about. In those days, the prairie dog  town was fully enclosed by a rock wall. However, we noticed on this visit that the town has grown considerably. The fat little rascals are everywhere!

Close up of a prairie dog in his hole.

I snapped this picture of a dog taking a break from his labors.

This is a picture of the same hole as above. In this picture, the dog has entered the hole to continue digging. You can see the dirt being thrown up.

On the way home, we left a bit early and had some extra time. We planned to meet our daughter, son-in-law, and 2 of our grandsons in Big Spring for lunch. Since we were ahead of schedule, we took our time and detoured through all the towns along the route. First, we drove through Tahoka, hometown of my campus principal when I was teaching at nearby Wellman. We then detoured briefly through small O'Donnell. The tiny hamlet makes claim to Dan Blocker ("Hoss" of TV's Bonanza). Although Blocker was actually born in DeKalb, Texas, he spent many of his formative years in O'Donnell.

The courthouse in Tahoka was undergoing a face lift when we passed through town.

We even detoured through tiny Ackerly, home of Sands, another 6-man football school. I love these little country schools, especially those in West Texas. Some of my best memories as a teacher were from the years I taught in Wellman, a school and town of similar size.