HEADING WEST, THE FINAL CHAPER

Well, it's the final chapter of this trip.  It's going on two weeks since we arrived home and I figured I better sit down and write this post before I forget where we have been.  We crossed into Texas still sticking to the blue highways.  We found another COE campground on Steinhagen Lake near the small town of Jasper.  The campground boasts 76 sites, but the campground was nearly empty.  We found a nice lake view site and settled in for the night.  The next morning after a leisurely breakfast, we headed to Collage Station with the primary goal of seeing the  George H.W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum.  It did not disappoint, one of the better presidential museums that we have visited. 

DEEP IN CONVERSATION

There was a class being held in the replica of the Oval Office by the The Bush School of Government and Public Service.  Part of Texas A&M University where the Museum is located.

Besides the history of his life and his accomplishments in office, there were a few larger items on display.

BUSH'S BOAT HE USED AT KENNBUNKPORT

THE BUSH 4141 LOCOMOTIVE 

Keeping on the westward journey we headed next to Austin, the State Capitol of Texas.  As you may have gathered we visit state capitols and Texas was on our list.  We headed downtown on Saturday morning figuring being a Saturday the traffic would be light.  Well, first up was an accident slowing the freeway down.  Adding to the mess a large building was being moved on the freeway mind you.  No escorts or blinking lights, just a leisurely drive Texas style.  When we finally got downtown, taking the Capitol exit, we discovered another problem.  It turns out, within sight of the Capitol is the Texas Longhorns Stadium and being a Saturday there was a football game about to begin.  The Stadium, which has a capacity of 100,119 was in all probably to capacity knowing the fanaticism of Texas football fans, parking was going to be an issue.  So much so that there was just no place to park.  And we didn't want to be around when the game was over so we decided to return to Austin on some future trip.  By the way, the Longhorns lost to Georgia Bulldogs 30 to 15.

Since our plans for Austin were squashed, we left the next morning and headed to Fredericksburg, in the heart of Texas Hill Country.  We stayed in a city campground appropriately named after Lady Bird Johnson.  The Johnson Texas Ranch and White house is here, but we have already been there.  If you haven't seen it, do it.  It's a interesting tour.  Our reason for being here (at least my reason) was the National Museum of the Pacific War. If you're into WWII history, this place should be added to your bucket list.

Also nearby is Enchanted Rock State Park, which offered some hiking opportunities. As is my practice and early start was in store.  Since this is not Cathie's practice, I made a quiet exit from the RV and headed out in the dark for the drive to the park.  I like these early starts as you beat the crowds and the likelihood of spotting some wildlife is greatly enhanced.  Besides the normal birds, rabbits, and squirrels, I spotted several deer, one a nice sized buck and a pair of coyotes.

THE ROCK

I had a really nice 5 mile hike around the rock and didn't see a soul.  Most people who come here climb the rock.  I think I made a better decision.

We turned slightly north aiming to get to Lubbock, Texas.  A long day for us at 320 miles, but still on blue highways.  Lubbock was on the itinerary for one reason and one reason only.  The American Windmill Museum .  For those who know me, if there's a windmill, I'm gonna stop.  There is a huge collection of old and not so old windmills here.  From big to small, most American windmills are on display both inside and out.  And most of them are in working condition.  I was in Windmill Heaven.

 

220 windmills in the collection.  That's a whole lotta windmills.

Continuing north to get to Interstate 40 for the push home, we spent a couple of days near Amarillo at Palo Duro Canyon State Park.  Another gem of a campground with about 145 campsites spread out over 6 miles of  the canyon.  Reservations a must on weekends as this place is popular with the locals.  A great place for hiking with numerous marked trails, some more difficult that others.

Our final stop before hopping on the freeway was Cadillac Ranch on Route 66.  Not really a ranch but a row of old Cadillacs buried nose down in a field.  People come from all to for this.  Bring your own spay paint or buy it when you get there.  A spray graffiti to your heart content.  There is so much paint on these old cars that it is inches thick in most places.

Well fans, that about does it.  We hit the interstate and left the blue highways behind.  We really enjoyed the slower pace of the trip and for me it was a less stressful way to get around the country.  7600 miles of slow travel is the only way to see America.

     

ON TO MISSISSIPPI AND LOUISIANA

 We hopped back on the Blue Highways after a couple of nights in Nashville.  Our intended plan was to take the NATCHEZ TRACE PARKWAY the 400 plus miles all the way to Natchez, but after 100 miles we made a change.  “Natchez Trace Parkway is a 444-mile recreational road and scenic drive through three states. It roughly follows the "Old Natchez Trace," a historic travel corridor used by American Indians, "Kaintucks," European settlers, slave traders, soldiers, and future presidents. Today, people can enjoy a scenic drive as well as hiking, biking, horseback riding, and camping along the Parkway.” (NPS brochure). We have enjoying the Blue Highways, but the trace was really slow.  Speed limit 45 mph, watch out for bicycles, and views, beautiful to a point.

I may have mentioned this before, but the scenic part involves trees. You can’t see past the trees which line both sides of the road.  After a while you crave for a view of something else.  So we hopped off the Trace and hopped back on the Blue Highways generally heading in the same direction.

We stopped in Jackson, Mississippi for a couple of days and I managed to get in a couple of early morning bike rides.  Being the state capitol a visit there was in store.

 

We continued south and found a RV park on an old plantation, with the plantation house serving as a B&B.  Located halfway between New Orleans and Baton Rouge in was a convenient for us to visit both cities.

The NATIONAL WORLD WAR II MUSEUM in New Orleans has been on my bucket list for a long time.  We were headed this way last year when our trip ended when Cathie fell and broke her knee in Kansas City.  This time we made it.  If you ever go, give it plenty of time.  I don’t was to say that I was disappointed, but the layout of the buildings made it confusing, at least to this old man.  Also some displays behind glass were so dimly lighted that it was difficult to see what you are looking at.  But overall it’s still a must see.  The best part, at least in my opinion, were the stories of different servicemen and women.  Told in letters, photos and in their own words, it brought home the sacrifice they made.

Since we were so close to the French Quarter we thought we would pay a visit.  But nooo, the place was packed with cruise ship passengers, it was near impossible just to walk through the masses.

As we are want to do, we paid a visit to the Capitol in Baton Rouge.  An imposing building due to its height of 24 stories, the entry was beautiful and without a dome, unlike most capitol buildings.  You do get to go to the top for a view of the city.  We learned about the assassination of Huey Long, the former Governor and US Senator in a back hallway of the capitol.

 HUEY LONG was shot a month after announcing he would run for president in 1936. He was at the Capitol building attempting to oust a longtime opponent Judge Benjamin Henry Pavy. “House Bill Number One,” a re-redistricting plan, became Long’s top priority; if it passed, Judge Pavy would be removed from the bench.  At 9:20 p.m., moments after the House passed the bill, Pavy’s son-in-law, Dr. Carl Weiss, a physician from Baton Rouge, approached him in the Capitol’s main hall and shot him in the abdomen from four feet away., Long’s bodyguards immediately gunned down Weiss. Long was rushed to a nearby hospital, where emergency surgery failed to stop his internal bleeding. His last words were, “God, don’t let me die. I have so much to do.”  The coroner who conducted the autopsy on Weiss said he quit counting bullet holes at 60.