Monday, November 22, 2010
Last night was as good as it gets.....if outdoors. Cool, but not cold, the moon was full and bright, the new tent stakes hold the tent firm against the wind, and I slept like a baby. But, the wake up call came at 6am, and time to get packed and on toward Waskom. I'm about 5 miles west of Marshall, and Marshall is 19 miles west of Waskom.....probably too much for one day. For sure there will be one more night in Texas. By 645 I was on the road.
Traffic was light, and in an hour or so I was nearing Marshall. I passed a historical marker about a factory that produced hats for the Confederate soldiers during the Civil war.....that was interesting. I came to a restaurant named the Creamery, noticed they advertised wi-fi, so decided that would be my stop for breakfast. Had my usual, plus orange juice, and worked on the computer a while. Then headed out. A couple of days back I lost my knife and wanted to get another one, so stopped by the hardware store. Found one I liked, bought it, and talked to the owner a while. He asked lots of personal questions, but few about the trip: are you a rich man? (in many ways) What about personal hygiene? (I do the best I can.) How much does this trip cost? (about as much as if i was home.) I thought it was a strange conversation. Marshall is a nice looking town.....I didn't actually pass through the town square, but could see it from Hwy 80, and it appeared very attractive.
I headed out, spotted a State Farm place, and stopped in to ask them to send Michelle an email. They took a picture, and sent the email. As I was leaving town, two bikers on a tandem bike caught up with me and stopped to talk. They are on a 10,000 mile trip, and started in Vancouver, Canada. They will go to Tampa, FL, then leave the USA and fly to another country to continue the trip. They were husband and wife, and from Cornwall, England. I didn't get the names, but they are going to email me their blog and I will post it here.
The road east of Marshall is mostly 2 lane, tree lined, and gently rolling. There are some beautiful homes along here, and a couple in the historical society of Texas. I saw a real, live armadillo. Picture? Well no, but I tried. I have read they are almost blind, so I approached him casually, but he scooted away. I followed, snapped a picture, but somehow it didn't get saved. I guess it's fitting I saw one my last full day in Texas. It is very warm and humid today......my shirt has been wet most of the day. There are some of the biggest pine trees I've seen along the road, both tall and around. They tower over the hardwood trees.
About 5 miles from Waskom, Hwy 80 merges into I-20, but business 80 runs alongside the interstate on the north side. very little traffic on 80, and it was nice having the company of the interstate traffic. I was soon in Waskom, last town in Texas. I passed David Beard's Catfish Village, an interesting looking restaurant and gift place, but I continued on to town. I asked around about places to camp, and decided to head toward I-20 to see what was out that way. Stopped at Jim's Pit Cooked Bar-B-Que and Catfish, and had a great meal of Cajun cooked catfish (washed), slaw, fries, green tomato pickles, and lemon pie. ( "Washed" means they wash off the Cajun spices....I wasn't up for that.) First time I've ever eaten green tomato pickles, and they were good.
As I was coming into the place, I noticed there was a large grassy area behind the restaurant. I asked one of the owners whose land it was, and she said it belonged to the restaurant. I asked if I could camp there, and she said fine. So that's where I ended up the day.....a good safe, comfortable place. The evening was so warm I didn't even need the sleeping bag.
Last night was as good as it gets.....if outdoors. Cool, but not cold, the moon was full and bright, the new tent stakes hold the tent firm against the wind, and I slept like a baby. But, the wake up call came at 6am, and time to get packed and on toward Waskom. I'm about 5 miles west of Marshall, and Marshall is 19 miles west of Waskom.....probably too much for one day. For sure there will be one more night in Texas. By 645 I was on the road.
Traffic was light, and in an hour or so I was nearing Marshall. I passed a historical marker about a factory that produced hats for the Confederate soldiers during the Civil war.....that was interesting. I came to a restaurant named the Creamery, noticed they advertised wi-fi, so decided that would be my stop for breakfast. Had my usual, plus orange juice, and worked on the computer a while. Then headed out. A couple of days back I lost my knife and wanted to get another one, so stopped by the hardware store. Found one I liked, bought it, and talked to the owner a while. He asked lots of personal questions, but few about the trip: are you a rich man? (in many ways) What about personal hygiene? (I do the best I can.) How much does this trip cost? (about as much as if i was home.) I thought it was a strange conversation. Marshall is a nice looking town.....I didn't actually pass through the town square, but could see it from Hwy 80, and it appeared very attractive.
I headed out, spotted a State Farm place, and stopped in to ask them to send Michelle an email. They took a picture, and sent the email. As I was leaving town, two bikers on a tandem bike caught up with me and stopped to talk. They are on a 10,000 mile trip, and started in Vancouver, Canada. They will go to Tampa, FL, then leave the USA and fly to another country to continue the trip. They were husband and wife, and from Cornwall, England. I didn't get the names, but they are going to email me their blog and I will post it here.
The road east of Marshall is mostly 2 lane, tree lined, and gently rolling. There are some beautiful homes along here, and a couple in the historical society of Texas. I saw a real, live armadillo. Picture? Well no, but I tried. I have read they are almost blind, so I approached him casually, but he scooted away. I followed, snapped a picture, but somehow it didn't get saved. I guess it's fitting I saw one my last full day in Texas. It is very warm and humid today......my shirt has been wet most of the day. There are some of the biggest pine trees I've seen along the road, both tall and around. They tower over the hardwood trees.
About 5 miles from Waskom, Hwy 80 merges into I-20, but business 80 runs alongside the interstate on the north side. very little traffic on 80, and it was nice having the company of the interstate traffic. I was soon in Waskom, last town in Texas. I passed David Beard's Catfish Village, an interesting looking restaurant and gift place, but I continued on to town. I asked around about places to camp, and decided to head toward I-20 to see what was out that way. Stopped at Jim's Pit Cooked Bar-B-Que and Catfish, and had a great meal of Cajun cooked catfish (washed), slaw, fries, green tomato pickles, and lemon pie. ( "Washed" means they wash off the Cajun spices....I wasn't up for that.) First time I've ever eaten green tomato pickles, and they were good.
As I was coming into the place, I noticed there was a large grassy area behind the restaurant. I asked one of the owners whose land it was, and she said it belonged to the restaurant. I asked if I could camp there, and she said fine. So that's where I ended up the day.....a good safe, comfortable place. The evening was so warm I didn't even need the sleeping bag.
Yippee! So glad you finally saw a live armadillo in TEXAS.
ReplyDeleteSafe Walking,
Connie Wiggins
Started reading your blog after the story in the Star Telegram. I have been reading older post. Good luck and happy walking.
ReplyDelete