Category Archives: Texas

Water Water Where are You?

In May we were running from the high water in Louisiana and now in Texas they are praying for any amount of water.

We have all heard about the drought in Texas.  Laurie’s sister lives outside of Austin and whenever we talk with her, the drought is a prime topic.  So yes, we knew about the drought, yet to see it first hand is totally different.  Today we passed fields of crops that were totally brown and others that were struggling to survive.  Crossing bridges we saw little to no water where rivers and lakes should be.  We don’t know how much water Texas needs to get back to normal levels yet it has to be a large amount.

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The Baron and Stephen F. Austin

Felipe Enrique Neri, Baron de Bastrop, a prominent Dutch nobleman, was one of Stephen F. Austin’s primary negotiators with the government of Mexico for the original Angelo American colony.  Because of this Mina was renamed Bastrop in the Baron’s honor.  The only problem was the Baron was a fraud.  He was born in Dutch Guiana to ordinary Dutch parents.  None the less, the name remained and Bastrop is a thriving community with
more than 130 historic structures listed on the National register of Historic Places.  Bastrop is also home to The Bastrop Advertiser, the oldest weekly newspaper in Texas which has been in operation since 1853. Continue reading

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Another Town, Another Engine

Another town, another engine.

Like many areas we have visited, Livingston, TX’s economy was largely influenced by timber.  The W. T. Carter & Bro. Engine #5 is a coal burning steam engine which signifies the importance of the timber industry established in Polk County over 150 years ago and continues to be of importance today.  The engine was built in 1911 by Philadelphia’s Baldwin Locomotive Works and was in operation until 1952.

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No Place to Run

There is no place to run; the heat is everywhere!

Leaving Lake Charles, LA we headed to Livingston, TX to check out Escapees National Headquarters and Rainbow’s End RV ParkEscapees is an organization catering to Full Time RVers offering mail forwarding services, RV insurance services,  financial planning  services, Escapees Care Center, easy access to Texas auto registration and licensing, etc.

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Riding the Rails

“Feel the wheels rumblin’ ‘neath the floor”.  Where will the rails take us – a grandchild’s birthday party, a short vacation on the rails, going home after a family visit, for me it was a reunion with my sisters in Elgin, Tx.  It was the adventure not the destination for me riding the rails.  Continue reading

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