Our Travelogue...

[Copenhagen1]

Ok...next leg of the trip. We had planned to meet Carson on Saturday April 29. As it got closer, I found out that my daughter and son-in-law were going to close on their first home on Friday April 28 in Austin. I was just sick that I was going to miss this leg of the trip to deliver the batons to the DFW metroplex guys. That is why I met with my guys at Stanley's BBQ (previous post) on the Tuesday before. I transferred the batons to @TylerTX and @LXGXFJ just in case I couldn't make the trip west from Tyler.

Well it turned out that my daughter did close on Friday, my wife and I helped them move on Friday and Saturday. Also turned out that Carson @cbmontgo and my guys changed the meeting to Sunday, so we left out of Austin at 6:45a and I was able to get my 40 and join the convoy. Carson asked if we could meet in Terrell instead of Wills Point and that was great with us. Steve and I left Tyler and drove out Hwy 31 west to Athens, then up 175 to Kaufman, then 34 to Terrell. We were trying to avoid the Canton area, because it was just shut down from several tornadoes that had passed thru the night before.

In fact, Stuart had text Sunday morning that he couldn't go because his mothers house was right where one of the tornados had started. Her home wasn't damaged but she had a lot of trees down. As Steve and I were passing thru Athens, I called Stuart and he was in Mabank, and was able to break loose and go with us. Just really a crazy weekend and even crazier that it all worked out for all of us to be there.

 

[Copenhagen1]

Some photos in the shade.....

 

[Copenhagen1]

Then pulled them out in the sun....

Passing of the batons....

 

[cbmontgo]

I was thrilled that we were able to connect on the 30th. It was a lot of fun meeting this group.

When the Cross-Country thread started in 2016, I had envisioned this baton handoff happening over beers, late in the afternoon, rooftop tents and steaks over a fire, with no cares in the world. But, as time compressed, my long-scheduled trip to Big Bend was only 48 hours away and I had a lot of work to do on my latest project, a 1977 FJ40 called Pikachu. I still had to install my soft top and bows, get it registered and tagged, get the temp gauge working, wire in a power inverter and CB, adjust the brake booster, flush oils, replace alternator and belts, redo vacuum hoses, and put some miles on her before setting off into the desert. Here she was on the 72-hour Big Bend countdown, 24-hours to the baton handoff:

So, I loaded up my 9-year old son and we fired up the ole HJ47 diesel, headed for Terrell, TX with a 1PM ETA. On the way, we stopped at the [locally] famous Hard 8 BBQ and had a fantastic lunch.

We navigated the urban jungle on the way, which was a world away from the Outback that this HJ47 grew up in.

Soon we met up with @Copenhagen1, @LXGXFJ, and @TylerTX. Great group of guys, and I really wish that we could've had those beers and steaks together over a campfire. I won't duplicate the great pictures that Kerry posted above, but these guys had some beautiful rigs.

Then, the batons were loaded up in the long bed and headed towards Denton County. My son and I had a great day together.

 

[Copenhagen1]

Carson that is a great addition to this thread. I kind of had the same thoughts about leisurely moving this along. All of the previous couriers know, and all of the future couriers will eventually know, that it is tough coordinating these legs of the trip. Everyone has a lot going on. Coordinating a free day between the passer and the receiver is hard enough, but then if you start throwing in coordinating multiple passers and multiple receivers, the odds of everyone having a free day together on the same day become very steep.

Pikachu looks fantastic! That might be my new favorite rig (other than my own, of course)!

 

[AlaskanWheeler]

Pretty f'n cool man

 

[Tennessee80]

Awesome, thanks for keeping the baton going!!

 

[cbmontgo]

So I am traveling a lot in May, but know that it's imperative to keep the batons moving forward. Luckily, @1911 and I both had a schedule opening and were able to coordinate a really fun handoff location: our Lone Star Land Cruisers monthly meeting in Dallas. The BBQ was good, beer was cold, and the day's iffy weather cleared up just in time to drive our luxury tractors across Metroplex traffic. Our club's own professional photographer, @chris777 was even there, and took two pictures that were particularly good. I'll share one for now, and am hoping to submit the other to TLCA.

I had never met Lee in person. No surprise that he is a great dude. After all, he's got a 40.

 

[Honger]

So I am traveling a lot in May, but know that it's imperative to keep the batons moving forward. Luckily, @1911 and I both had a schedule opening and were able to coordinate a really fun handoff location: our Lone Star Land Cruisers monthly meeting in Dallas. The BBQ was good, beer was cold, and the day's iffy weather cleared up just in time to drive our luxury tractors across Metroplex traffic. Our club's own professional photographer, @chris777 was even there, and took two pictures that were particularly good. I'll share one for now, and am hoping to submit the other to TLCA.

I had never met Lee in person. No surprise that he is a great dude. After all, he's got a 40.

View attachment 1458910

"Luxury tractors"... =) I love that... I'm gonna use it.
Really enjoy seeing the baton moving along.

 

[1911]

The saga continues...

So, all three batons having come together, now begin to split up once again!

The red (orange?) tool box



took a trip to Albany, Texas and left in the custody of @graham5david . The tale of how it got there:

I took it (and the other two batons) from @cbmontgo , nine days ago in Dallas. Drove home, two counties west, that night in the dark, so I didn't take any photos of Dallas, Fort Worth, or any places in between. Nothing worth photographing there anyway.

Starting out from my place today - I'll try to give a little flavor of what my part of Texas is like. I live in the Western Cross Timbers ecoregion, a belt of heavily-treed hills and valleys drained primarily by the Brazos River and it's several tributaries. It was called the Cross Timbers by the early white pioneers and settlers, who found the the mixing of the western species of trees with those of the eastern part of the state created dense thickets that were difficult to navigate and find a path through. Water and wildlife are abundant, so it was prime territory for the Comanche and the Kiowa long before the arrival of the white man.

So here I am, starting out from home this morning. The bluebonnets are finished blooming for the year, but other wildflowers are still going:



Leaving our property and heading west, this is one of the closest buildings to my place; the second house built by the original settlers here:







The details are in the historical monument plaque. We bought our land from the same Tucker family, so we are the second owners since 1853 and the Comanche.

 

[1911]

About 12 miles away is Weatherford, Texas; the county seat, and where our mail comes from. There is a pretty ornate county courthouse. Many Texas counties take pride in their courthouses, and tried to outdo neighboring counties.



At the eastern edge of Weatherford, I hit US Highway 180, a relic of the time before the interstates. It will take me all the way to my rendezvous in Albany with @graham5david . Along the way are small towns that are like a time capsule from 50-60 years ago, before the interstates, before the advent of fast-food chains and all the mind-numbing boredom of interstate travel. I love to travel these now almost deserted highways, and see how people still live without chain big-box stores and the like. Most of them west of here are ranchers, farmers, and some small-town oil field workers.

Most (but not all) counties in Texas are squares, 30 miles on a side. The founding fathers set them up this way on purpose, to keep the government broken up into small pieces, hopefully none with too much power or influence, and easily managed by the local residents. So, on a lot of highways in Texas, you will go through a town every 30 miles like clockwork. Makes it easy to figure your gas stops, even without a map or a GPS.

The next town of any size west of Weatherford is Mineral Wells. Mineral Wells was a famous resort/health spa in the early 1900's because of it's mineral springs. Just on the east side of the town is the remains of Camp Wolters, where from 1956-1973, the Army trained helicopter pilots. So anyone who's ever flown in an Army Huey helicopter in Vietnam (medivac or otherwise) was flown by a pilot trained here. There is a Vietnam War museum nearby:





A little farther into Mineral Wells is the iconic Woody's Bar, in a WWII-surplus Quonset hut. Greasy cheeseburgers, cold beer, and fights over the local women since the days of the helicopter pilots. It's still open and serving today:



Right downtown is the historic Baker Hotel, the largest and grandest of all the health spas from the turn of the previous century:





Unfortunately, it has been boarded up for ages; it has numerous water leaks and structural problems. It is said by the locals to be haunted, and is a favorite place for adventurous explorers, despite all attempts to keep them out including the threat of large fines if caught.

 

[1911]

The next town on US 180 west is one of my favorites, Palo Pinto, Texas, population 333. There's only 28,000 people in the whole county. But it is in a beautiful place at the edge of the Brazos "Mountains", and not far from the Brazos River. The county courthouse dominates the town:



In fact, today I am the only vehicle and the only person in sight on the whole courthouse square - took this photo standing in the middle of the street:



There is some great motorcycle riding roads nearby, and canoeing and tubing on the Brazos River. There used to be a nice home-cooking restaurant across the street from the courthouse in an old house, but it closed - not enough business, even with the motorcycle riders and canoers.

Some shots of the Brazos Mountains and the Brazos River, from the road:

 

[1911]

The next town west is Breckenridge, Texas, another county seat. An old oil field and ranching town. Larger and more prosperous than Palo Pinto; it's downtown still looks much as it did in the 50's and 60's, complete with angled parking in front of all the stores along the main drag. Life in these little towns goes at a slower pace than most people are used to now.



The next town west is Albany, Texas, our arranged rendezvous for the transfer of the southernmost baton. It is over 100 miles for me, but as it turns out more than 200 miles for @graham5david . I thought it was a little closer to half-way, sorry David! As anyone knows who has driven across Texas, the distances become quite large, especially in the western half of the state where David is from. Albany is another county seat, and is a pleasant town of 2,000 souls. We had agreed to meet at a local steak house for a late lunch, but it was not open, so we had to go with choice #2, a Mexican restaurant in an old house near the edge of town. David and his lovely wife showed up minutes after I did, and we had a leisurely lunch of fajitas, flautas, and enchiladas before repairing outside to compare trucks. David graciously bought my lunch - a scholar and a gentleman! He and his wife are native Texans though, which are known for their hospitality and good manners.

A nearby restored gas station from the 1920-30's provided the backdrop for our baton exchange. While we were taking photos, the owner of the gas station came by and talked for a while. He was pleased that we were using his station for photos, and we had a good chat about Cruisers, jeeps, and old motorcycles. Typical Texas hospitality again - he could have complained that we were trespassing on his property, but instead he was happy that were enjoying it and told us about it. He thought the whole relay was pretty cool, and he couldn't believe that David drove an old truck all the way from Odessa, just to take a few pictures and then turn around and drive home again.



David's wife took the photo of the actual baton pass, and he posted it once already in the other thread: FJ40 Cross-Country Expedition: Will YOU join us???

So now the southern baton and its tale is in his capable hands in Odessa, and I will have one more (shorter) report for the transfer of the other two batons next week. Thanks for reading, and keeping the batons going!

 

[Honger]

Hot dang @1911, this is an amazing update to the thread. The photos and description of your local eco-region right on down to the county courthouse photos... lots of the what makes America so beautiful wrapped up in your photos. I just LOVE watching the baton move. Makes me feel like a chump for being an expat.

"But down by the Brazos I courted my dear. Singing li, li, li, le, le, le Lend me your hand..."

 

[handcannon]

So that gas station is in Albany (Texas that is). I live outside Abany (Oregon that is). I find this station very interesting, primarily because of the "pumps". My comments about this are in the other thread. I can remember when the population of Albany (Oregon that is) back in the mid to late fifties was somewhere around 13,000. Now it's somewhere around 30,000. Ohh, but I sure would like it to be smaller again. I h8t crowds.

Don

 

[1911]

On the Road Again, with the two "northern" batons.

Starting from (my) home again, this time heading northwest. Took 2-lane county roads to Texas State Hwy 199; on the way there, I pass Veal's Station, a cool piece of local history:





Veal's Station was a combination general store, post office, school, and a private fort for the early settlers in this part of the county. The original building was built in 1857. From then until the end of the Comanche and Kiowa threat in the 1870's, white settlers would gather there for mutual defense during the frequent Indian raids. The nearest army fort for Indian protection was 40 miles away at Fort Richardson (see below), too far to be of any practical use.

A mile or two past Veal's Station is the original Woody Ranch homestead, dating back to 1854:





This same Woody Ranch is actually my immediate neighbor across my western fence line, but their ranch is 4,000 acres and so the ranch house is a number of miles from my place. Fortunately, it is held in a family trust that preserves the ranch and prohibits selling or otherwise developing the land. The ranch house has seen a number of additions and improvements over the years.

The first town on this trip is Springtown, Texas. A small town of about 2,500 people, it is not a county seat so they don't have a court house square, but they do have a downtown of old buildings. Springtown was settled beginning in about 1859.

Downtown Springtown:

 

[1911]

A drive of about 30 miles farther on Hwy 199 through more of the Cross Timbers woodlands brings you to Jacksboro, the county seat of Jack County:





Jack County was one of the very few Texas counties to vote against secession before the War of Northern Aggression ("civil war" for you yankees. ). It is also the birth place of 4-H Clubs. Fort Richardson (mentioned above) was built nearby in 1868 to protect settlers from the depredations of the Comanche and Kiowa.

At Jacksboro, the road becomes U.S. Hwy 281. Another 40 miles or so of very pleasant driving through the oak woods interspersed with small family cattle ranches and dairy farms



brings you to the town of Windhorst, population 509. A nice little town of mostly dairy farmers, it was settled by German immigrants in 1891. the local Catholic church has a shrine, built and paid for by all 64 citizens that served in WWII; every single one survived the war and returned home, an amazing statistic considering many other Texas towns which lost 1/3 or more of their servicemen to WWII.



A point of trivia - Windhorst is only 10 miles east of Archer City, the hometown of author Larry McMurtry (Lonesome Dove), who's book and later movie The Last Picture Show was a thinly-disguised autobiographical story about growing up around Archer City.

Only 8 miles more down 281 is the even smaller town of Scotland, Texas. You might think it was settled by Scots immigrants, but no, it was also settled by German immigrants, the same as its neighbor Windhorst. Scotland was named for its founder, Henry J. Scott. Driving through on US 281, you can't miss the only restaurant in the whole town, Thad and Paisley's. Lo and behold, there is a mustard '77 40 parked right on 281, and I pull in to find a movie crew filming my approach. Actually, it is @Fireman making the movie, and of course his nice mustard 40. After the traditional ritual Comparing of the Trucks ceremony, we retire inside the restaurant for burgers, chicken-fried steak, homemade pie, and Mud Tales.



Even though Fireman and I have never met (though we have attended some of the same TLCA events, notably The Roundup at Katemcy Rocks), it turns out we have many friends and acquaintances in common from the Cruiser and Mud communities. A testament to the small world of Cruiser aficionados. After finishing our pie, the two remaining batons are passed on for further travel to the west and north.







Thanks to Fireman for the good company and good conversation, and my portion of the travelogue tale is now at an end. I look forward to the next installments!

 

[myquestoyota]

You have certainly set the bar for documenting your leg.

 

[Honger]

...and my portion of the travelogue tale is now at an end. I look forward to the next installments!

I'd be okay if you just kept driving and storytelling... wonderful updates.

 

[POTATO LAUNCHER]

Todays relay of 490 miles driven so far ends after an early start in Amarillo, TX. Followed RT 66 on its pre 1937 route through NM. Stop #1 is Adrian, TX. The midpoint between Chicago and Los Angeles. Next was Tucumcari, NM. The whole route is dotted with cool iconic remains of "The Mother Road". Turned north just west of Santa Rosa on Hwy 84 to Romeroville. @4Cruisers was having some last minute radiator issues so we traveled west on I-25 for a meet on the SantaFe Plaza. Had an excellent lunch and continued to MonteVista CO for the HotRod Dirt Drags. Will continue north to Salida CO for a handoff to @PWCO70crusier of the final baton.
I have very poor service here so I'll update pics when possible.
A couple of the pics are of local to Amarillo attractions.