Abilene Living - Fort Phantom

I am in Abilene for a week watching the boys while Jen and Louis take Bekah on her graduation cruise.  And this is my abode.

I have Bekah's domain to call home for awhile and I like what she has done with the room.  I'm curious to see how much it will come apart when she leaves for college at the end of the month.,  At any rate, it's mine for the next week.



I had originally thought this would be a day to day post but it's just regular life going on here and one can only take so many pictures of kids playing video games.  I have been sewing and catching up old blog posts so not much on my part either.  Not even any fancy cooking.  Blah, blah, blah.

I arrived on Saturday and by Monday I am ready to get out of the house awhile.  It rained this morning so the temps are decent and Fort Phantom Hill is a place nearby that I want to explore a bit.  Load up boys, we are out of here.

The drive lasts about half an hour before our destination is in front of us.  I pull my little car into the parking lot and switch to tennis shoes as all the reviews I read said there are rattlesnakes in the area.  I'm ready to go now.

Welcome to Fort Phantom Hill.  As I pass through the "gate", the first sign I see reminds me again of the rattlesnakes.  What it doesn't talk about are the fire ants EVERYWHERE.  There will be no holding still today.

The first structure we come to in is the one most intact still.  It is what remains of The Guard House.  This is basically a jail and I guess that's why it was made stronger and still stands.  According to the literature, it "was an essential part of maintaining Army discipline.  Soldiers were most often sent to the guardhouse for fighting and drinking whiskey, called 'bug juice.'  This stone guard house was the last constructed and only surviving portion of the three attached rooms used as the jail.

There are cactus all over and I have to admit that I love the visual they give.

The next two chimneys I come to are part of what was the Commanding Officer's Quarters.  As many of the buildings were constructed from vertical pickets, rough logs, hewn logs, stone, canvas, and thatch, it makes sense that the part remaining is the stone.

The boys are ahead of me and I'm trying to catch up as I can hear rattles going off all around me as I walk.  No, it is not the cicadas.  I know the difference.  Yes, there are cicadas as well.

Across the field, I see the remnants of a covered wagon.

Oh look --- the cactus have tuna -

I reach the boys at the remains of The Stone Commissary.  This was a two-level permanent commissary built of stone and a heavy log floor frame.  Logs enclosed a small room at the south end.  Of all the forts in Texas, the commissary at Fort Phantom was known as one of the best constructed.

A little further is what remains of the bakery.  The Bakehouse was crucial to the Fort and its importance is indicated by this separate structure.  The bakery was also constructed of jacal and easy to reconstruct in case of fire.  The remains of the stone oven that produced over 300 loaves a day can still be seen.

As we wander along the Officer's Quarters. North Group, several chimneys still stand there as well as some of the actual walls and steps leading out.

A cannon is spotted (blurry -- sorry)

and needs to be explored closer

As we start our return to the entrance, I look off towards the side we didn't wander through and see many chimneys left from where The Hospital and Surgeon's Quarters were.  The Hospital was made up of three large log rooms under one long thatched roof.  Each room had it's own fireplace.  Nearly everyone on the post spent time in the hospital due to various illnesses.  These included fevers, stomach ailments, and scurvy caused from the lack of fresh fruits and vegetables in their diet.  The Surgeon's Quarters was a private, two-room house behind the hospital that was occupied by the surgeon.  Behind his house was the large privy, or latrine, which also served the hospital.

A closer look at the covered wagons.  Not too close though -- I hear rattles.

And a glance back at where we were.  The chimney stacks look like sentinels, simply waiting for a purpose again.

Just before we leave, I notice a building across the road.  Walking over to it, we discover that it was called The Magazine.  It is made of stone and specially designed with air vents and an arched roof for keeping gunpowder and shot dry.  The building originally had a shingle roof.  Besides muskets and rifles, the Fort's main arm,s were two brass canons that fired six pound shot.

This has been a great activity and I feel as though perhaps I've leaned a bit with this peek into the past.

As we cross the road again, I tell the boys to do an "Abbey Road" think.  They have no idea what I am talking about and after explaining, this is the best I get.

Now for some lunch.  They mention a place called Pizza By Design and describe it to me as a Subway with pizzas.  I'm game.

It is an accurate description and the pizza is pretty good too.  I order a Caprese which has olive oil on the crust and then topped with buffalo mozzarella, tomato, and basil.  It is finished with a balsamic vinegar.   It truly is as good as it looks and I'm happy cos everyone (some taking longer than others) ate their lunch.  Yep, wasting food brings out the grump Gammy in me.

Oh yeah, we let Josh pick out our table.  Everyone's knees - except his- are hitting the top.  Lesson learned.

8/8  It's another typical home day except that Jacob has band practice and I am picking him up at 8:00 p.m.  There is a beautiful sunset happening and I'm a bit early so I run (literally) up to the top of the stadium and grab a few pictures.

A military plane comes by right overhead and then circles back around.

Thus, showing up in my sunset picture.

Later in the evening, I do marvel at Jacobs hairstyle.

8/9  I've decided that today is a "clean" day.  Laundry is being sorted, bathrooms bering cleaned, living room and bedrooms vacuumed, etc.  Jake, Josh, and I are tackling the refrigerator.  Jake mans the sink as I tear the fridge apart and scrubs each part.  Josh takes up the post near the ground (too hard for these old knees) and scrubs the bottom and back, followed by cleaning the condiment bottles.

An hour and a half later -- we have achieved our goal.  Okay back to your games boys.

8/10  The only think noteworthy today is that we are going to Buffalo Wild Wings for dinner to fulfill my personal crazing.  The two older boys order pretty spicy wings, with Jacob really taking on some power.  It doesn't take long before they are begging the waitress for milk and counting the minutes until it arrives.  Jacob actually requires TWO bottles before he is finished.

8/11  It's my last day here as I am leaving early in the morning.  ALL laundry has now be done and put away.  I've cleaned up my area and packed.  The boys are making sure the house is in order and as a reward, we are grabbing a quick bite at Chick Fil A.  TA-da --- dinner.

And that's it.  On my way home for more deadlines and activities.  I had a great time with the boys -- happy to do it again sometime.