The Gang in Mexico

The gang in Mexico

We went to Mexico today and, of course, went to our favorite bartender, Santiago.  After drinks (I had water) we went over to Old Town Cafe for lunch.  We have been by this place several times and always thought it would be a good place for lunch so today was the day.  The food was good and the strawberry margarita was exceptional.  They put us in the back of the restaurant so we had lots of room back there.

The toenail trio

We all went to Rubens for haircuts, pedicures, and I had my eyebrows waxed.  That is a little painful process but worth it in the long run and it lasts for about a month if I keep all the little hairs out.  Bob Boynk and GW Harley were in the chair for a haircut while Jan, Steve and Pat Boynk were getting their toenails done.  I got the eyebrows then Ken had his head shaved while Lee and Jan got haircuts.

Ken joining the baldy trio

It was off to Joe's for square dancing in the evening and ice cream later.  We had a great day!

Thanksgiving at the Pottingers

Today is Thanksgiving and we have a lot to be thankful for.  We have a great family and good friends.  Since we cannot be with family on this holiday we will be with our friends.  We had dinner at our house this year and everyone chipped in with the food.  We had a lot of good food and it is always nice to try something someone else has cooked.  Good food, good wine, and good company...nothing is much better except having family around.

November 26, 2011

After a late start this morning "we slept in" and not going to Weight Watchers "Thanksgiving blew that", we went to El Teo Chuey's for lunch then went geocaching.  Our trip today took us to a 900 year old Montezuma Bald Cypress tree practically right in our back yard in a little community called Abram.  There is a paved road through Abram then we took off on a dirt road, up over the border fenced area and down another dirt road.  The tree can be seen from the border fence and is easy to get to.  The geocache was a little more tricky but can be seen from the road if you know what to look for.

900 year old Montezuma Bald Cypress

Yturria and LaPuerta

We decided to do a little geo-caching today and wouldn't you know, the computer was down so we couldn't get to the information we needed but Hardy had a few in his IPad.  We took off to LaJoya and found two caches in the conservation area.  We stopped at the gate and there was a sign stating you had to have permission to enter so we decided we better leave but then we noticed a parking area just down the road so stopped there and they had a walking trail into the area.  We found the caches but the last one was a little harder to find and off the beaten track, through the brush and under a tree.  There were lots of thorns on the bushes so Hardy went after the cache and I guarded the road for critters.  We took our chairs out of the car and had a picnic under the trees in the parking lot.  It was a nice day for a walk in the area.

 Yturria and LaPuerta
These disjunct areas of the Lower Rio Grande Valley National Wildlife Refuge are located directly on US 83 between La Joya and Rio Grande City. Both are undeveloped except for some old roads allowing foot access, both are narrow tracts of land stretching north for a couple of miles from the highway, and both, with their upland thorn scrub habitat, are known as good places to see birds associated with more arid country farther west.

Hardy's Birthday

Today is Hardy's birthday and we have had a busy day.  We started out with breakfast at home and he wanted waffles with pecans so after spilling the batter all over the counter and floor,I was finally able to put something together.

We then went to the McAllen Library and worked on some genealogy.  They have a great section and i need to spend more time there.  They have lots of books on the Mayflower Descendents and as I am one of them, I want to go through those books.  I also found something on my great great grandfather, William Campbell.  Apparently he fought in the the War of 1812 as there is a pension mentioned for him.  I am sure it is my ancestor as it listed his wife as Nancy Barter with a marriage date of 1814 and this matches the information I have.  In Index to war of 1812, pension files. White 1989, there is a William Campbell married to Nancy Barter (WC25776) married October 14, 1814, Lincoln City, ME, sd Mar 1878 Boothbay, ME.  wd July 1883, srv Ellis Percy's MA Mil. Lived in Lincoln City, ME.

We then went to dance C1 with Darryl and out to dinner with Jan and Steve at Macaroni Grill.  They sang happy birthday to Hardy in Italian so that was different.  He had the most decadent chocolate cake there.  Later we went to the C2 dance with Darryl and had a great time there too.

It is hot and humid tonight and our air conditioner is not working properly.   I don't know if it will get fixed but it is very warm in the house tonight, even with the fans running.

Breakfast at Angels

We went to our Sunday morning breakfast with Jan, Steve, Pat and Bob at our favorite "Angel's Restaurant".  After breakfast we came home and I washed the car.  That was a mistake as it showed every little water spot so Hardy took a rag and went back over it while I cleaned the inside.  Hardy also cut down some aloevera plants that were taking over the west side of the house and I used the hose to wash some of the dust off the house so it was a busy morning.  I did nothing in the afternoon but watch a couple of TV programs, work the crossword puzzle and cryptoquip.

November 11, 2011

Several of the square dancers went to Progresso today for our usual margarita but we came back to Wesleco to eat at Fat Daddy's.  This is a BBQ joint and very good but too much food.

We went to the movie down at the hall with Jan and Steve.  The movie was called "Water Horse" and was a cute little "Puff the Magic Dragon" type.  It was filmed in Scotland near where Shonas is from.  
 

                                                       
The Water Horse

Angus, a young Scottish boy, finds an enchanted egg. Taking it home, he soon finds himself face-to-face with an amazing creature: the mythical "water horse" of Scottish lore. Angus begins a journey of discovery, facing his greatest fears and risking his life to protect a secret that would give birth to a legend.

November 10, 2011

We have had a busy week dancing with all our callers and ended today and this week with Randy at a C-2 dance.  There is no more dancing until next Monday as Darryl and Decca are gone this weekend so we will have to find something to do for a few days.

November 6, 2011

I remembered to change the time back last night so we were on time for breakfast with Jan, Steve, Bob and Pat at our little Angel's Restaurant.  We did a little grocery shopping in Pinitas at Walmart and then just laid around all afternoon working on the blog, doing laundry, etc.  Tonight we watched the movie "Certain Prey" by John Stanford who happens to be a writer that I really like.  Mark Harmon played Lucas Davenport and Mark is an exceptional actor and played a very good part.  We are able to get the Military Channel for this month so we have been watching military movies and documentaries too.

International Space Station

We were able to watch the International Space Station fly over again tonight.  Last night we went down the road to watch and it was quite dark.  Tonight we watched it from our front yard with artificial light but it was far enough overhead that was quite visible, even with the clouds rolling through.

November 5, 2011

Kites at South Padre Island

We went to South Padre Island with Jan and Steve to fly our kites. This is just a group of friends getting together and flying kits.  They get together the first Saturday of every month (weather permitting).   We then went to eat at Daddy's Restaurant which is a favorite of ours and serves Cajun food.  I always get the shrimp salad.

Palo Alto

 We stopped and picked up two virtual geocaches; one on the way off the island and one at Palo Alto National Park near Brownsville. On May 8, 1846 troops of the United States and Mexico clashed on the prairie of Palo Alto in the first battle of a two-year war.  Palo Alto Battlefield National Historical Park is the only unit of the National Park Service designated to focus on the war between the United States and Mexico.

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November 4, 2011

Darryl Lipscomb

Here I am catching up on my blogging instead of sleeping but I woke up at 5:00 and couldn't get back to sleep so thought I would just use the time to get this caught up. We have decided not to dance this morning but will dance this afternoon.  We went to our C2 dance and saw several friends we had not seen in several months. It was a good dance with Darryl calling.

November 3, 2011

Bentsen State Park

We started off the day with a dance in the morning with Randy. It was such a good dance and he is a very good caller. We decided to finish up the geocaching at Bentsen State Park. When we got to the park we noticed border patrol in the area so asked them if it was all right to go into the park. They assured us it was no problem so we went in and found our cache. On the way out of the park we stopped at the visitor' center and got into a conversation with the volunteer who just happened to be from Ennis, MT which is about 100 miles from where I am from. While we were talking to her the border patrol came whizzing by then we say the patrol on foot running toward the entrance. We thought they were on a training mission but it turns out it was the real deal. The park called the volunteer and told her she could lock the doors if she was uneasy about what was going on so we decided we should probably leave the park. On the way out of the park the patrol was standing near the entrance with several bundles of marijuana they had found inside and told us there was more in there too. They still had not found the carriers but apparently they had the marijuana in back packs when they crossed the river and dropped the packs when they spotted the border patrol. The helicopter was hovering overhead and there were more patrol looking for the illegals. The sheriff's department told Hardy and I that we should get on the other side of the levy so we decided it was time to leave the area but it was exciting watching our tax dollars at work. It would probably have been more exciting if we had run into those illegals while we were taking our hike in the park. That kind of excitement I can do without! 

Bentsen-Rio Grande Valley State Park is best known among birders and "Winter Texans" who flock to the park for its diverse bird life and subtropical climate. Located on the U.S.-Mexico border, the park's 588 acres include two large resacas (old oxbow lakes formed by the Rio Grande). These resacas are bordered by dense, brushy woodlands which provide shelter for endangered mammals such as the ocelot and jaguarandi; opossum, javelina, coyote and armadillo are more common. 

Anyway, we went square dancing later on so got to tell our exciting story to our square dance friends.

November 2, 2011

Joe Saltel

Randy Dougherty

We continued with the square dancing today with an A at Randy's and then a C1 in the evening with Joe Saltel. Joe always calls a good dance and he is just such a nice guy too. Jan and Steve were there so we all went to the Dairy Queen afterwards. I had some coupons to give out but they did not have my fudge cycle so I ended up with water while watching everyone else eat ice cream. They assured me they would have it next Wednesday.

November 1, 2011

Well the season has started in full swing so we are off and square dancing. We started out with Randy Dougherty at 10:00 with the C2 workshop. We only had one square with one extra couple but he put us through our paces. At 1:00 we continued dancing with Randy at a C1 workshop which was also very good.

October 31, 2011

Estero Llano Grande

Resaca de la Palma

We followed up with the geocaching today and went to Estero Llano Grande and Resaca de la Palma near Brownsville. Estero Llano Grande is fairly close and very nice except the facilities were closed so the rest rooms were not available for use and this put a strain on the trip. The cache was easy to find and we had a very nice hike around the area. The Resaca was harder to find and we had to back track a couple of times just to get to the park. They were working on the road so we went down a few more roads and finally found another way into the park but it was also closed. We just parked the car and went into the park and took a hike down the trail to the geocache. This was also an  easy find and a nice walk in the park.

October 30, 2011

Mustang Island Visitors Center

Choke Canyon

We continued our state parks geocaching quest and went to Mustang Island for a quick cache.   The earliest known inhabitants of Mustang Island were Karankawa Indians, known for their fierceness and cannibalism. The Karankawas were a hunter-gatherer people, and depended heavily on shellfish and mussels for food. Encountered first by Spanish explorers, the Karankawas survived in the region until the 19th century. The island was first named "Wild Horse Island," then "Mustang," because of the wild horses, called "Mestenos," brought to the island by the Spaniards in the 1800s.  We then drove over to Choke Canyon for our final cache on this trip. We stopped and got lunch at Subway and took it to Choke Canyon with us. This is a very pretty park with large camping areas and a nice picnic area. The hike on the trail was easy and very pretty and the geocache was easy to find. They actually warn about alligators at this park but we did not see any although we did see lots of birds and there were several boats on the lake. Established as a water supply for Corpus Christi, the reservoir is now home to roughly 200 bird species and abundant wildlife, such as white-tail deer, javelina (collared peccary), wild turkey, greater roadrunner, and golden-fronted woodpecker. American alligators are occasionally observed in the Calliham Unit's 90-acre lake, adjacent to the tent camping area.

October 29, 2011

Lake Corpus Christi

We decided to continue our state parks geocaching so took off toward Corpus Christi. We went to Corpus Christi Lake State Park thn on to Goliad  The presidio was at the crossroads of several major trade and military routes. It quickly became one of the three most important areas in Texas.  We then traveled on to Goose Island and found the caches and then stayed outside of Corpus Chisti for the night. We had a steak dinner at a local restaurant very close to the motel. 

Prisidio LaBahia in Goliad, TX

October 28, 2011

Dot Smith and Santiago in Progresso

The gang

We went to Progresso, NL, Mexico today with our group of friends.  Santiago is the bartender that we all like so well but he made the drinks very strong today so I only had half of mine and gave the rest to Hardy.  We had a large group of us there and we were all square dancers.  We left the bar and then went to the Red Snapper for lunch.  They always have good food too.  I was going to get my toenails done but decided I had better wait to find out what happened to the lady that used to do them.  Her name is Cherokee and she married a man from Mexico.  They then came over the border and he was caught and sent back so they all moved to Progresso and she set up shop.  She is still a US citizen and they sent their children to school in the US and they have all attended college at UTPA.  Just goes to show that if there is a will there is a way.

October 27, 2011

Falcon Lake

Geocache at Falcon Lake

Blanco State Park

There is a geocache trip to the area state parks that we decided would be fun so we packed a lunch and went on our road trip up the Rio Grande River. Our first stop was at Falcon State Park. We have been to this park many times and really like it. The water is fairly low right now but it is still nice there. We stopped and had our lunch at a picnic table overlooking the water and then went on the geocache hunt. We found the cache out on a trail and under a tree so Hardy was happy about that. We then took off and went to Laredo for the next cache at Blanco State Park. This one was very hard to find and was out at the edge of the lake. The coordinates were a little off but we kept looking and Hardy finally found it under the reeds about 10 feet from where we thought it should have been. The dust was really kicking up when we were ready to leave that park so we headed toward Hebbronville. We stopped and had dinner at a little hamburger joint and I believe it was one of the best burger's I have ever had. We finally arrived home around 9:00 p.m.

Octpber 22, 2011

We went to Padre Island with Jan and Steve for Sand Castle Days. Unfortunately the red tide was still there so we coughed and hacked our way around the sand sculptures until we finally had to leave the area. As soon as we got away from the beach everything cleared up again. We stopped at our little favorite bay side watering hole and had something to drink and shared a plate of boiled shrimp. After the shrimp and booze we stopped at Daddy's and had dinner. I always get the shrimp salad and it is so huge but so very good.

October 21, 2011

Everything is fine when you have water. The water company came and turned on the water around 4:00 last night so we can take a shower and wash clothes and dishes again. We stopped to see Jan and Steve and let them know we were here again. They have had to live in their Texas Room as their trailer is in the shop getting the furnace and air conditioner fixed. Apparently bees had moved in and the repairs were minor compared to what they had been told in Arkansas.

October 20, 2011

We had a decent nights sleep and were off to the grocery store and to the water company to get the water turned on. We went to Angels for breakfast and to HEB to stock up for a few days. Our mail has not arrived so we are back to that problem again this year. It would not be a big deal except that we are waiting for our credit cards.

October 19, 2011

We left Gun Barrel City and headed for the valley, arriving here around 7:30 in the evening. The house was in pretty good shape when we got here except we had no water. Apparently our extra funding payment had run out so they shut off the water so that will have to be taken care of in the morning.

October 16, 2011

After saying goodbye to our square dance friends in Paris and having lunch with Jan and Steve, we left for Gun Barrel City to visit with the folks for a few days. Along the way we stopped at an old cemetery and found a geocache. This cemetery is in poor shape as they have let cows run through it. The fence is down and many of the tombstones have been knocked over. What a shame.

We arrived at the folk's for a few days stay. Hardy's mom is in good health but unable to see and it is a struggle for his dad to keep up with everything and take care of her too. They have their house for sale and when it sells they will move back to Kentucky. This will be better for all the kids and more centrally located too.

We always try to help out when we get there and do a little maintenance work. This time Hardy repaired the bathroom door and I then painted the door on both sides white. It looked pretty darn good too so then Pop wanted me to paint his door. I got that job done but the rest of the doors now need painted. The next time we go up there I will finish the rest of the doors, if the house doesn't sell first.

October 12 2011

Ken, Joe, Hardy, Harlen

We are off to Texas for the winter with a stop over to dance in Paris, TX for the weekend. This is always an exciting time for us as the dancing is great and we get to see many of our friends from the valley. The trip down was uneventful and we found our motel without any problems and I even did not miss the turn to Paris.  While in Paris we visited the Eiffel Tower.  Joe and Harlen had spotted our car with Rolla license plates and followed us to Ken and Lee's trailer then we all went to the tower.

October 11, 2011

We decided to drive to Columbia, Mo to see the kids before we leave for Texas and our winter home. Along the way we stopped at McDonalds to get our ice cream and ice tea and see Sharayah for 30 seconds. She was working and very busy so we didn't get to talk but did get a hug.

Stacie and Isaac were available and Isaac wanted to take us to his secret spot. The poor little guy has an emotional problem that the doctors are trying to help him with so I hope they can get that under control so he can live a normal life. Anyway, we walked along the river at the "secret spot" and Isaac showed me a rocked in area that he had built and we were able to find some artifacts along the banks. We had a rock throwing contest at a piece of bark floating down the river and Isaac won, of course. It is amazing how patient I can be with the grandchildren. I don't remember having that kind of patience when my kids were small.

After all the walking at the river we went to dinner, again at Isaac's favorite place to eat. We had the best hamburger and fries. Joseph and Linda were able to join us at the hamburger joint so it turned out to be quite nice being with those family members. Unfortunately, Hardy IV and Debbie were working and they had something scheduled for their kids that night so we didn't get to see them on this trip, although they informed us they were coming to Texas for Christmas. Yeah!!!!

October 9, 2011

Baby Tristan slept in until 11:00 AM. I went in to check on him several times and he was just snuggled down in his quilt. After we finally got him up, dressed and fed we took off to St. James for the yard sales. They were having huge sales all along the road leading to Meremac Park. I had a chance to spend some money on baby clothes for Tristan. He took it all in stride and was such a good baby. We went out to eat and Debbie, Salem and Tristan left to go back home to Jefferson City. I sure had a great time loving that baby.

October 8, 2011

Trying to walk

Loving that bath

 Debbie and Salam came down to spend the weekend with us and they brought baby Tristan. He is just the sweetest baby and so darn good. I had finished his baby quilt that originally started with a quilt given to Sharayah by my mother, her great grandmother. The back was totally worn out so I put a new back on it and retied it with yarn. Tristan loved it too and it was nice and warm for him.

We left to go to Old Iron Works Days in St James, MO. These are held each year at the Meremac Park. This are was a huge mining area during the civil war and each year they put on displays for the public with old equipment and booths depicting the food and music of the times. The spring is a great attraction as there is a fish hatchery and you get a chance to feed the fish, The spring is beautiful and comes out of the ground in a huge pool that empties into the Meremac River. There were sure lots of people there this year. We stopped to listen to the Blue Grass music and kept Tristan with us so Debbie and Salam could wander around and look at the displays.
We stopped at a Chinese restaurant for dinner that night and the waitresses were quite taken with Tristan and he was putting on a good act for them too.

October 3, 2011

Jan on the Current

Hardy on the Current

Hardy at the Cave

My son turned 48 today so how did this happen when I only feel 40 myself.

Steve on the Current

Jan and Steve came for breakfast and we went down to Acker's Ferry and rented canoe's to float the Current River. The weather was just perfect for this trip with a high in the mid 70's and no wind. All was going well on the river when suddenly Steve hit a log and their canoe flipped them into the river and all their stuff went floating down the river. No one was hurt, thank goodness but Hardy and I chased down the life jackets and other stuff. Hardy and Steve finally got the canoe turned over to empty the water and we stayed put on a sand bar for about an hour so we could dry out a bit. They lost their camera in the flip so we were out looking for it in the area where they turned over. I finally spotted the camera and Steve was able to fish it out. I lost my footing and into the water I went so I was also wet. We had dry clothes packed so I was able to get out of my shirt at least. They had lost their water sealed bag that had Jan's wallet so when we finally took off again we looked along the shore line and there it was! It had only leaked a little bit of water so all was well. The rest of the trip went just fine except we ended up paddling more than we wanted because we were trying to make up a little time. We did stop at Cave Springs on the river and ate a snack and took some pictures. We pulled into Pulltite around 4:00 p.m. and changed clothes and cleaned up a bit. Jan and Steve took off for Arkansas and Hardy and I waited for our ride on the bus back to our truck at Acker's Ferry. We met another couple that were from Kansas City and had a nice visit with them on the bus ride. We stopped at McDonald's for a burger and fries and made it home around 8:00 p.m.

October 2, 2011

We went out to breakfast at Zeno's with Jan and Steve, CE and Joanie.  We left CE and Joanie and Jan and Steve, Hardy and I all went to Laurie to square dance.  The caller was late getting in but we sure had a great dance after he arrived.  We did not stay for the BBQ joint but drove into Lebanon and ate at Doud's Catfish.

October 1, 2011

Jan and Steve came here for breakfast and then we took a drive down to Montauk State Park which is near us.  We stopped and got a sandwich and took it to the park.  We took them to the springs and just spent some time in the area.  We then took the scenic route back through Steelville and on to Peaceful Bend Winery where we met up with CE and Joanie Thomes,  We had to sample the wine and even bought several bottles to bring home.  When we left the winery we all came to our house where we made kraut and brats along with potato salad and baked beans.  We also started a bonfire and did a little sky watching.

September 30, 2011

My daughter is 46 today and it seems like just yesterday that she was a little girl with long blond hair and a zillion freckles.  We drove into Jefferson City and took her and Salom along with baby Tristan out to dinner .  He is sure a good baby and so darn cute.  We made it home about 9:00 and met Jan and Steve at their motel and then we went out pub crawling, except we only went to one pub and didn't have to crawl out.  We have this nice little micro brewery in the old Powell Hardware building.  This is a nice addition to Rolla and it is quite busy in there so maybe they will do OK.

September 29, 2011

We broke camp and went into town for breakfast at the Zepher Cafe in Piedmont.  They had a good breakfast but I was the only woman customer in the whole place and there were certainly lots of men in there.  We went back to the park and hitched up the trailer and headed for home, arriving here early in the afternoon so we were able to unpack the trailer and get it ready for winter.

September 28, 2011

Big Springs

Yount Church

We drove over to Van Buren and Big Springs and hiked on the Slough Trail.  We took a picture of the Yount Baptist Church outside Van Buren.  Hardy talked to a lady about the church's name and she said she thought the name came from a Yount who had worked on the church years ago.  She knew Younts and Sitzes in the Marble Hill and Bessville area.  We stopped at a roadside park outside Piedmont on MO34 and took a picture then went to Gad's Hill near DesArc on MO 49.  This is the sight of the first train robbery by Jesse James gang on January 31, 1874.  There is a large tailing pile from a mine next to the railroad and the railroad goes to Poplar Bluff. 

September 27, 2011

On highway 34 east of Silva and highway 67, there is an 1860 cemetery in Wayne County.  I took a picture of an old barn with the name B.G. Ho..dagson.  We picked up an artesian well geocache outside Glen Allen.  There was water gushing from the pipe at the well and Hardy filled one of the water bottles.  We then went on to Saddlebrook Subdivision and cache in Cape Girardeau Co.  This is a pretty area and several new mansions for sale with one costing $350K.  The entry to Saddlebrook was very pretty with man made waterfalls and shrubs on both sides of the road.  Some of the houses in the subdivision are built around man made lakes but  they were all pretty and well maintained.  We left that county and stopped at an 1879 single land bridge with a wooden deck at Old Appleton and a cache at Apple Creek's St Joseph Church in Perry County.  This is a very beautiful shrine and in the bottom of a small sink hole with a natural waterfall.  The alter was placed June 7, 1973.  They also had a very friendly cat that liked to leg crawl and it was hard to get him to leave us alone long enough for us to drive away.

We drove on to Yount, MO in Perry County but it is not marked on the highway so we think we drove through it without really noticing it was there.  We decided it must have been the area that had a farm house and a barn with a bridge over the Whitewater Creek.  We drove into Fredricktown and picked up two caches at cemeteries.  We also went to a "cut" on the highway off 72.  There are old lava beds making dikes across the road that the highway department has cut through for the road.

All in all this was a great day.  I found a small inch worm working his way up my pant leg.  They are unique little critters.

September 26, 2011

We packed up the camper and took off for Sam A Baker State Park down near Piedmont, MO. This park is from 1927 and named for Governor Sam Baker, a local resident. The park is very nice and had very little activity at this time of year.  Sam A. Baker State Park, located in the Francois mountain range, in Patterson, Missouri, is one of the oldest in the park system and perhaps the most classic. We set up camp them went out to explore a little.  We found a stray cat that was very friendly and I would have taken him if we didn't travel around so much.  Later after dinner we were sitting outside when Hardy noticed the cat running by.  I looked quickly and said to him that it wasn't the cat but a skunk wandering through.  A little later as we were sitting there, Mr. Pepe came back through our camp.  He stopped and sniffed at my foot then wandered through the camp on his way to the next campsite.  The next campsite had a little dog that was barking and then let out a short yip and we could smell the skunk shortly after that.


We went to Fort Benton near Patterson, MO in Wayne county.  This was a union held fort which is now on the national historic registry and maintained by Wayne County.  This is the artist, Joe Huett's conception of how Fort Benton may have looked.  Fort Benton is a Civil War Fort, built by Union troops on the hill behind the old school in Patterson, MO, between 1861-1863.  The Fort measures about 150 sq ft.  The internal packed earth walls may have been 5 ft high using 2 in thick vertical plans on the inside.  Outer walls were of packed earth and Gunny sacks filled with earth topped the wall.

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We drove to Clearwater Lake in Reynolds County to find "The Well's Gone Dry", a geocache at an abandoned Corp of Engineers campground.   The pump is an old NFS style pump with a tank.  There is no sign of the old campground left but it was a nice drive to the lake.Clearwater Lake is a reservoir on the Black River six miles from Piedmont, Missouri. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers uses Clearwater for flood control in the White and lower Mississippi River Basins.  Construction began in 1940 but was halted temporarily at the advent of World War II. Clearwater Lake Dam opened in 1948.  

Piedmont, MO

Piedmont has a WalMart and McDonald's so it is a nice town to camp near. It is near to Sam A Baker and sits in a fairly narrow valley and quite pretty.