Texas, 2/11/12

On the Road Again Saturday Feb. 11. Brrr, it was cold again last night. 34 which is not as cold as at home in IL. We are grateful for our furnace which kicks in overnight. It was 32 the other morning. I know....many family and friends in the Midwest are saying, quit complaining. We're not. Just sharing a fact.


We stopped at Luckenbach, a tiny hamlet settled by Germans in 1850.


This is another place people told us we have to see. Unpainted general store is interesting!!!!


Hats for sale.


The edging on the hats are pop tops.


Look close. In the "items for sale" pot is a sleeping cat.


Penny candy for sale in the glass front compartments.


The bar is eclectic.





Stage for banjo pickers, guitar strummers and fiddlers.


Look closely for the hangers for hats.


And more places to hang your hat.


Traveling through limestone country.


We stopped at Sonora, TX. at the Old Ice House Ranch Museum. Since the TX. Travel Guide said tourists would learn about ranching, I thought that it would be about cattle ranching. Instead learned the area had sheep and goat ranching before cattle ranching.


Samples for the buyers to compare wool to know the proper "grade" of wool.


Goats produced wonderful mohair wool.
http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/asw02


Shearer from early 1900's.


Sack of wool to go to market.


Scales used to weigh wool. My Dad had one like this on the farm fo weighing grain.


Machine used to MAKE ice by using ammonia.


The Wild Bunch: Butch Cassidy, Sundance Kid and friends.


One of the friends was Will Carter. He refused to put down his gun when the law stopped him. Will was shot 7 times. He died. The other man with Will was shot 5 times. That guy survived.


Metal cacti.


Metal artwork abounds.





We were told this area is in an 18 month drought. The live oak trees that have leaves year round are losing their leaves due to the drought. They had only 4 inches of rain last year. There was a drought like this in the 1950's.


A quick stop at Ozona. The "Biggest Little Town in the World.". It is the only town in the county of Crockett. The county is 3215 square miles. Unfortunately the Museum was not open. The vast ranching and oil area is also a top producer of mohair production.


Statue dedicated to the pioneers of this area.








Dry, dry land.

We attended Mass at St. Agnes Church in Fort Stockton. Their dynamic young priest is on fire for the Lord!

We are staying at Comanche RV Park. Furnace is running as I close off.

Y'all be safe now!

Location:Luckenbach, Sonora, Ozona and Fort Stockton, TX.