We are currently staying outside Jefferson, TX again at a COE Lake -Lake O' The Pines and at a COE campground, Buckhorn Creek, to be exact. Wednesday, after another GPS malfunction (Bruce said we need to have that thing updated or rebooted but I think it will work awhile longer)
we finally found our campground and pulled in to an end spot facing the lake on one of the windiest days I can remember in awhile. And the wind hasn't really let up except late in the evenings. It was cool the night we arrived and the windows remained open until Friday, but then that predicted warming trend arrived and today (Saturday) it is 94 outside. As you can imagine, the cats demanded that we start the AC for them. Because we care about their comfort, we complied and it is a temperate75 inside The Beast as I write this.
Lake O' The Pines is a reservoir that was created by the Corp of Engineers when they dammed Big Cypress Creek/Big Cypress Bayou and today provides water to the NE Texas Municipal Water District, flood control for the Red River and of course is the center of every water activity you can imagine (OK, probably not surfing). Apparently Jefferson experienced the worst flood in their history April 1945, when Big Cypress Bayou rose to a flood stage of 30 feet, leaving more than 60% of the town under 5 feet of water. As a result Congress passed the Flood Control Act of 1946 which eventually established flood control reservoirs in the Red River Valley, including Lake O’ the Pines. We are very happy it is here as it is a wonderful place to sit in the morning with coffee and in the evening with adult beverages and provides a relaxing view out the window of The Beast.
Jefferson, 10 miles down the road (pop 2500 or so) is a quaint town that seems to be rejuvenating itself with multiple B&Bs, antique stores and restaurants - OK the tourist business.. And we have been tourists - exploring all of the antique/junque/junk stores looking for a cast iron cooking surface for my air baker ( I am going to bake some bread and I am sure you are on the edge of your seat with anticipation as to how that activity is going to succeed), driving the back streets looking at the big old houses and historical buildings, and we toured Jay Gould's private rail car, the Atalanta. This is the rail car he had built to travel on his railroads the last 5 years of his life - think of it as a railroad tycoon's RV. But first - a little history. How many of you reading this actually have any knowledge of Jay Gould - robber baron, railroad magnate, considered one of the richest men in America and a contemporary of Vanderbilt? Want to know more about the men who changed the face of America? Read The Age of the Moguls by Stewart H. Holbrook. It is the story of the empire builders, robber barons and tycoons that changed the course of our history in their pursuit of wealth and power. I read it 20 years ago and now am going to go back and read it again - very good.
But back to the Atalanta - The rail car was brought to Jefferson by the Jefferson Garden Club. They found it in a field of wees and purchased it for $1200 - then had it moved to Jefferson and have restored it as much as possible. It me though that they actually wanted it here, since Jefferson refused Gould the right-of-way when he wanted to bring his railroad through (he went to Dallas instead) and he told them that would be the end of Jefferson as a city. Apparently he was not the actual cause of that demise, although Jefferson did go from an important inland seaport city of 30,000 to 3000 when the log jam that had diverted the Red River was removed by the Army corp of Engineers and it returned to its natural course, draining Big Cypress Bayou and leaving Jefferson high and dry, for all practical purposes.. Who knows why it was purchased the Atalanta, maybe they just wanted to have the last word? The interior is mahogany and curly maple woodwork and the floor plan includes 4 bedrooms that could sleep 6, dining room, 2 baths - including one with an actual bathtub/shower, observation room, butlers pantry, kitchen and areas that could be used for office work. If you are in NE Texas, stop in Jefferson and take a look, the tour is only $2.50 and the proceeds are used to keep up the rail car..
Yesterday we explored the other COE campgrounds on the Lake - Brushy Creek, Johnson Creek and Alley Creek. They are all nice and I am sure we will be back in the future, maybe even to volunteer at one of the parks to experience Texas over several seasons. How can we ever know if we want to relocate anywhere else unless we spend time in an area through all the seasons? So, we have decided this might be an option for the future. I would have to know if I could stand the summer here, even with somewhat less humidity than Jacksonville and what winter is really like, so maybe next year or the year after we can consider something like this - but not now. This year we have to be home for the birth of our grandchild!
I can hardly wait.
Today we ate Texas BBQ at Joseph's Riverport BBQ (yum, and I have never been a fan of beef brisket BBQ), purchased pieces of homemade apple/walnut/caramel and chocolate meringue pie at The Hamburger Store and found Star Doughnuts - homemade light, fluffy and sweet morsels that supposedly were bought to eat tomorrow for breakfast (as if we waited that long - a dozen donut holes were gone in minutes). Yes, we went on our first food frenzy- trying something different at multiple locations. You have to diversify when you have so little time. We are both in sugar overload right now so it seems the perfect time to sit in my La-z-boy and write some words, after I first took a quick nap of course. Now that I am finished with my words for today I guess it is time to fix some supper - BBQ left overs of course. Just because we get all that food doesn't mean we eat it all at once- and we saved the pie for tonight too. Will report on its deliciousness later.
And yes, I realize no pictures have been posted - but the connection speed out here in the boonies (even 10 miles outside Jefferson is in the middle of the country) is less than optimal most times for uploading pictures. So, I will make a commitment that they are uploaded when we travel Monday at the latest. We will be on the interstate going through Dallas so connection speed should be no problem.
Until then- Drive Safely & Retire Early.
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