Saturday, November 20, 2010
Last night was one of the better ones.....as the evening wore on, the traffic settled down and things were quiet in Big Sandy. Occasionally a train would pull up to the station behind me, sit there for maybe 20-30 minutes, and then move out. I figured it was waiting for another train to pass, but wasn't sure. It never got cold last night, just a comfortable coolness in the air. I slept almost to 6 when the wake-up call came. I packed quickly and walked a few blocks to the convenience store for ice.
As I walked back to where I had camped, noticed a train stopped and walked over to see why. The reason......it changes crews in Big Sandy. Much like airlines do with its crew, trains must do the same way. A van brings in a new crew, they switch, and then the van takes the other crew to wherever. Makes sense, but I just never thought about it. They didn't have much time for talking, so I headed out. It was foggy again this morning, more than yesterday.....maybe that's why it's been so warm at night. I passed a large campus named the International Alert Academy. I concluded it had something to do with terrorism or something, but the purpose is quite different.
The soil out here is mostly black, kinda like the red clay back home except softer. Most of the creeks have good level of water in them, unlike the dry beds from west Texas and the other states. It's still cool in the mornings, and occasionally I'll smell wood burning in a nearby home. Someone should bottle that smell.......Firewood #5. Use some of that girls, and you'd have a man in no time! A pickup truck passed me towing 2 fishing boats, one behind the other......think about that. Don't think I've ever seen anything like that. I saw a couple more armadillos alongside the road, but none alive yet.
After several hours of walking I came to Gladewater. Gladewater is connected with some famous people, so check out that link. Inquired about a place for breakfast, and the woman suggested the Pea Patch, so I headed there. I walked a while, never found it, so asked another person. They suggested the Silver Spur, so I headed there. Along the way I found the Pea Patch, it advertised wi-fi, so I stopped there. Ordered my usual breakfast, and started up the computer while waiting. The food arrived, I wolfed it down since I hadn't had anything today, and worked a while on the computer. I'd seen some pie in the display case, so figured since it was near lunch time, I'd top off breakfast with a piece of coconut pie........very good.
Some of the folks coming into the Pea Patch noticed the cart, so we talked about the walk for a while, and then I had to move on. A ways out of town I passed 4 ponies, none of them tall enough to even reach my waist. We used to call these Shetland ponies, I tried to get them to try the peppermints, but no luck with that. A state trooper pulled a car over ahead of me, I noticed they wear cowboy hats.....what's not to like about that? I passed through a small town named Clarksville City, and another named White Oak. I crossed over a lake named Lake Devernia, and noticed a couple of good camping spots around the lake.
About 6 miles from Longview I called Lynn Paddie and told her I was on the way. Lynn and her husband Joe are meeting me at Guy Gauthier's business, where I will stay tonight. Guy owns Texas Awning & Canvas, Inc. Lynn and Joe met me at the building, showed me around, we talked a while, and then Guy and his wife Sherry arrived from a trip to Dallas. In addition to awnings and canvas, Guy builds and repairs hot air balloons, and his balloons have set many records. He was chief engineer on one of the balloons that attempted to set an around the world record. Very interesting talking with both he and Sherry.
They took me up the road to get dinner, and brought me back for the night. The building is comfortable and warm, with a shower, TV, etc. So, a good hangout for the evening.
About the picture: never allow your Paint horse and a donkey to graze in the same field!
Last night was one of the better ones.....as the evening wore on, the traffic settled down and things were quiet in Big Sandy. Occasionally a train would pull up to the station behind me, sit there for maybe 20-30 minutes, and then move out. I figured it was waiting for another train to pass, but wasn't sure. It never got cold last night, just a comfortable coolness in the air. I slept almost to 6 when the wake-up call came. I packed quickly and walked a few blocks to the convenience store for ice.
As I walked back to where I had camped, noticed a train stopped and walked over to see why. The reason......it changes crews in Big Sandy. Much like airlines do with its crew, trains must do the same way. A van brings in a new crew, they switch, and then the van takes the other crew to wherever. Makes sense, but I just never thought about it. They didn't have much time for talking, so I headed out. It was foggy again this morning, more than yesterday.....maybe that's why it's been so warm at night. I passed a large campus named the International Alert Academy. I concluded it had something to do with terrorism or something, but the purpose is quite different.
The soil out here is mostly black, kinda like the red clay back home except softer. Most of the creeks have good level of water in them, unlike the dry beds from west Texas and the other states. It's still cool in the mornings, and occasionally I'll smell wood burning in a nearby home. Someone should bottle that smell.......Firewood #5. Use some of that girls, and you'd have a man in no time! A pickup truck passed me towing 2 fishing boats, one behind the other......think about that. Don't think I've ever seen anything like that. I saw a couple more armadillos alongside the road, but none alive yet.
After several hours of walking I came to Gladewater. Gladewater is connected with some famous people, so check out that link. Inquired about a place for breakfast, and the woman suggested the Pea Patch, so I headed there. I walked a while, never found it, so asked another person. They suggested the Silver Spur, so I headed there. Along the way I found the Pea Patch, it advertised wi-fi, so I stopped there. Ordered my usual breakfast, and started up the computer while waiting. The food arrived, I wolfed it down since I hadn't had anything today, and worked a while on the computer. I'd seen some pie in the display case, so figured since it was near lunch time, I'd top off breakfast with a piece of coconut pie........very good.
Some of the folks coming into the Pea Patch noticed the cart, so we talked about the walk for a while, and then I had to move on. A ways out of town I passed 4 ponies, none of them tall enough to even reach my waist. We used to call these Shetland ponies, I tried to get them to try the peppermints, but no luck with that. A state trooper pulled a car over ahead of me, I noticed they wear cowboy hats.....what's not to like about that? I passed through a small town named Clarksville City, and another named White Oak. I crossed over a lake named Lake Devernia, and noticed a couple of good camping spots around the lake.
About 6 miles from Longview I called Lynn Paddie and told her I was on the way. Lynn and her husband Joe are meeting me at Guy Gauthier's business, where I will stay tonight. Guy owns Texas Awning & Canvas, Inc. Lynn and Joe met me at the building, showed me around, we talked a while, and then Guy and his wife Sherry arrived from a trip to Dallas. In addition to awnings and canvas, Guy builds and repairs hot air balloons, and his balloons have set many records. He was chief engineer on one of the balloons that attempted to set an around the world record. Very interesting talking with both he and Sherry.
They took me up the road to get dinner, and brought me back for the night. The building is comfortable and warm, with a shower, TV, etc. So, a good hangout for the evening.
About the picture: never allow your Paint horse and a donkey to graze in the same field!
No comments:
Post a Comment