2017 Aug 21 – Minden, LA to Paris, TX

No. we did not see the eclipse. It was overcast and we were in a museum.

And, about that, WARNING! WE WERE IN A MUSEUM TODAY!

That means I took tons and tons of photos. And the rule is that if I find something that interests me I will just naturally insert it into my blog on the assumption it may interest you. So, be ready….

We left Minden and headed back in a northwesterly direction before going due west across the border to Texas. In case you are wondering about our travel itinerary, it is all John’s fault. He found the timeshare week in Branson and another one (beginning Aug 27) in Pagosa Springs, Colorado. Since we needed to drive south through several states, and we had a free week between time share weeks, John felt it would be good to not only get a geocache a day during our trip but find a cache in 16 different states before we get home. This little jog down, across, and up again is to log caches in Arkansas, Louisiana, Texas, Oklahoma, and New Mexico before we get to Colorado. Just so you know.

We crossed this hill bridge over the flood swollen Red River and when we went down the other side the landscape changed from trees to open farm land. Very soon afterward we crossed the border into Texas.As we drove through the northwest corner of Louisiana and into Texas we saw many very old, rusty, but still working, oil pumps.We have learned on this trip that American geocachers love, and I mean love, to hide caches in cemeteries. We make a list each night of the caches along our route the next day and if there is a cemetery near the road you can almost guarantee there will be a geocache hidden nearby.

This cemetery was not too far from the community if Plain Dealing and the cache was called Moseley. It was about a quarter mile down a narrow paved road and then on a track through the bush to a large mowed pasture. At the back of the pasture was this cemetery. Well taken care of, neatly fenced and hidden from the world. There was a large headstone with the name Moseley but the hint for the cache said “sometimes its brown.” In the row of markers in front of the Moseley headstone were several family members named Brown. This little bunny was the cache container hidden in a bushy plant at the base of one of the Brown markers. Geocaching takes us to the most interesting places. (Cache finding aside note: We have had to find caches in a few places just because I like the names of the towns: like Arkadelphia – what a great name that is. And Cotton Valley. And Plain Dealing.)

We arrived in Jefferson, Texas and located the Jefferson Historical Museum right away. This is a VERY eclectic museum. Usually you can access three floors plus the basement but the basement area was closed. Still I had a great time looking at all the various things and taking photos of many of them. THIS IS THE SECTION I WARNED YOU ABOUT. LOTS AND LOTS OF PHOTOS TO FOLLOW. Feel free to skip past them. I won’t know about it; nor feel insulted – because I won’t know about it.

This 1934 Shirley Temple doll and clothes are all original.

This is a letter requesting the presence of all of Comanche chiefs to come to a council meeting and discuss peace terms. The writing is clearly legible. Very cool. Texas loan debt and Texas currency. The panels on both sides of this lovely screen are all hand painted on silk. The keys on this piano are mother-of-pearl, not ivory. This lovely needlework piece was done in the Victorian period. John was surprised that the Ipod and wrist case were already being used by athlete’s this far back in history. Tee Hee. Isn’t the hand lace work in the white over-blouse above and this gorgeous black piece just incredible?

And then there were these lovely displays in the attic. And, finally, we walked out of the museum! We crossed the street to a little restaurant and had homemade Coconut Cream Meringue pie for lunch. And a some great chats with the servers and other customers.I did mean to ask what the ‘Debris’ is that gets put on the N’Awlins traditional Po/Boy sandwich, but, sadly, I forgot.

We drove a short distance down the road to see this lovely fountain. These pics are front and side of the same house. There was a geocache hidden at this little old stone Texaco station but there was too much traffic going by for us to get a chance to do a good search for it. I loved the building though.

We reluctantly left Jefferson. What we did see of the town we really liked and wished we had time to explore further – but we needed to be on our way. I have yet to remember to ask someone what this beautiful flowering bush is. We have seen it in Arkansas, Louisiana and Texas. Usually it is pink, but we have seen a few white ones.

Once again the search for a geocache took us to a place we would never have heard about. It was a very unique cemetery (told you they love cemetery caches down here) that looks like it has been shaken up by an earthquake or something the way the walls and some off the graves have toppled. This marker says, “Our sister. C.E. Jones. Daughter of J ? and ME Jones. Born in Stewart Co. Georgia Jan 19, 1843. Died in Marion Co. Texas June 30, 1891.

There was supposed to be a geocache hidden here, but it has gone MIA. I love the strong pattern of the bark on the pine trees. Cotton fields. You can see the white bolls of cotton.

We finally arrived in Paris and we had to find the Eiffel Tower. Only in Texas would it wear a cowboy hat. It is only about 60′ tall as well. The most striking thing was the beautiful Veteran’s Memorial beside it. We spent quite a bit of time here. TThe pathway to the gate is made up of messages of remembrance from sponsors.

Inside there are paving stones for each of the veterans from all the wars.

Panels with dates and information about the all wars.And the inside of the large center circle stones have the names of all those who made the ultimate sacrifice in WWI, WWII, Korea, Vietnam, and the War on Terrorism, with several blank panels available should the need arise; a bit of a sad commentary on the future, but probably and realistic one.