Our first little "stop" is to check out Wills Point. The depot draws Mister's attention while I am wanting to see the original brick roads of the downtown area. Very cool. The old buildings are so fun but as I look around I notice that the quilt shop which was located in one of them has closed. Oh so sad. Wills point is named for William Wills whose log cabin served as a resting spot for those who were traveling between Shreveport, Louisiana and Dallas. The buildings downtown are from the 1890's.
Back on the road we go. Our next stop is in Grand Saline. I had read about a "Salt Palace" here and thought it would be cool to check it out. Well, palace is a pretty long way from what we find BUT this is a treasure indeed. We pull over to the museum (which is the palace) and the first thing I spot is a very large block of salt. Well, dang, that is pretty cool.
It sits in the entry to the building and I have to check it out as well. I am not quite willing to lick the actual building but I do clean an area and then wipe my finger on it and lick it. Shock of all shocks -- I think Mister licked the actual building. Yep --- it's salt.
It's time to go inside. The lady working inside is Tomasa King and she is a veritable wealth of information. We are both in shock to learn that there a huge salt dome right here in Grand Saline. When I say huge -- I don't think that gives you a good enough idea. It is 20,000 feet deep and has been mined down 750 feet so far and although people have been extracting salt from it since way back when. In the 1930's Morton Salt acquired the land and started mining down inside the dome. The salt here is 98.5 percent pure NaCl and is unusually hard and stable which allows the mine to operate without the expense of a roof bolting program making this a very competitive mine with regards to cost per ton. The dome is also 1.5 miles in diameter at the 750 foot level and the temperature inside is typically 75 degrees year round. There is enough salt here to supply the entire country for many thousands of years. There is so much more information here about the packaging, grades of salt, and uses. If you are in the area or wish to learn more please check out The Salt Palace. Here is a picture of a picture taken in the mine. Up until the 1960's people could tour it but OSHA put a stop to that. Drat. (No there is not a window or large overhead lighting in the mine, that is the reflection of the building I am standing in.)
Out front there is also one of the old cooking kettles that were first used to get salt. They would take water from the salty marshes and boil it down to collect the salt. It was done this way for many years and by many different people before they built the mine.See, I told you this was a cool stop. We will be telling people about this for a very long time. This mine produces 1/3 of the table salt in America in addition to ALL pretzel salt (yep if you eat a pretzel, you are having Grand Saline salt) and also a very large percentage of the salt used in medicine due to it's purity.
Okay, enough enough. Back on the highway - we are avoiding the interstate on this trip if possible - we make a turn north and decide to check out Winnsboro, which also is our entry into the Piney Woods area of Texas.As we pass the courthouse (I love old courthouses almost as much as old churches) we notice that there are events going on here today. There is a sign about an Arts and Crafts Fair so we look at each and say "why not?" Following the signs takes us to a park where the show is being held and we find a parking place and head on in.
Now I would dearly like to say this is the best show I have ever seen, but the truth is that it was pretty poor indeed. The best stuff was outside and perhaps one or two little booths inside. The biggest problem is that they have this wonderful BIG building and only about 10 vendors inside. Kinda sad and made even more so by the amount of foot traffic there. A lot of people drove out here.
Putting Winnsboro behind us we head east towards Pittsburg. Nope, not Philadelphia -- still in Texas. This area is a large peach producer along with black and blue berries. Ha ha -- that sounds like they are bruised. I would like to come back here some time during harvest and check it out. Pittsburg also is home to Pilgrim Chicken --- another little item I had no idea about. We decide to pass on that but do make a stop at Witness Park and Prayer Tower. This delightful little park and chapel are right along the highway yet feels isolated and serene. The fountain is going, but alas, the clock is not. There is a little chapel in the base of the tower that is always open and the stained glass windows inside are absolutely beautiful.
Prior to entering the chapel there is a cool statue of Jesus washing the disciple Peter's feet. Nice.
As we are preparing to leave, Mister spots a daddy longlegs spider and I have to admit that they are very rare to spot down here. I don't think I've seen one since I moved to Texas. He gently grabs a leg to give me a chance to snap a picture then releases it and we watch it scurry away.We casually walk back to the car and remark as to how the rain stopped while we wanted to peek. Now it is starting back up again. We continue on our way passing through Dangerfield and Hughes Springs before turning south to drop down towards our main destination for the day.
After Hughes Springs we come to this cool little roadside town called Avinger. It is so quiet and calm here that we have to stop just to look for a minute or two. Is this not what you think of what someone says "small town along the road?" However, it is not a forgotten town -- note the banner hanging on the light pole. Seems fairly new. Nice.
My tummy is starting to growl so let's point this car towards Jefferson and settle in for the day. As we enter the town, we both spot a logging truck. Now THAT is definitely something new for me to see in Texas. Having lived in the Flathead Valley of Montana for many years, this was an everyday occurrence, but in Texas? I guess that perhaps this really IS the piney woods.
We find a place to park and take a quick walk around town looking at what there is to offer in restaurants. I spot this great old church and walk up to check it out -- it is locked. Dang. Moving on, we find Kitt's Kornbread and sandwich bar where they make all their sandwiches with cornbread. The food is okay. Not wonderful and almost not worth showing pictures of but here ya go. I am not a huge cornbread fan so I opt for soup and salad. 
It does the job though and we are both ready to go find out about a sign that Mister saw on the way into town. It said, "Mill Tours 11 & 3." We ask about it in the restaurant but no one seems to know about a mill. Hmmm. It is 2:15 now so as we work our way back to the car we stop in a few antique shops before driving out to the mill. We arrive, sign in at the gate (who also doesn't know about a tour) and proceed to the mill entrance. When we walk in they ask, "Are you here for the tour?" We say yes and are soon decked out with hard hats, ear plugs, and safety glasses. Let's get going.
We walk across the grounds until we come to an enormous pile of logs and a crane that picks them up and deposits them into a type of shredder. It produces wafer thin "flakes" that will then go into a dryer.It all smells so very good. Takes me back to cutting firewood in the Flathead Valley one winter. Love that aroma.
It is loud here and having the ear plugs makes it even harder to hear the guide. We really have to stick close to him to get the information.
The flakes then travel through tubes to another building across the way. Here is where they are coated/mixed with a type of glue and then moved along to another section of the plant.
We are finally moving inside and the place is huge.There are several levels working where the flakes or chips are now mechanically being placed in a certain configuration to prepare for pressing the layers together.
Once they are pressed into a flat surface, they emerge again and are now cut into the rectangle shape we all associate with plywood.
Check it out: We are literally right beside all the machines as they work. This is an awesome tour.
The tour comes to an end and as we return to the lobby a gentleman asks us who we have as a family member working here. We smile and say that we don't, we just saw the sign on the road and wanted to take the tour. He gets a funny look on his face and says that it is a "family safety day." Perhaps we weren't supposed to have this incredible tour but I am so glad that we did. As we leave the property, we check the sign again and it doesn't say anything about family only. I guess we were lucky today.
It is only a few miles back into Jefferson and as we arrive, I mention to Mister that I had written down a place he might like to check out. It is the Museum of Measurement and Time and is owned by an elderly couple who do this as a hobby. Oh my goodness. What a collection! One of the owners, Edith Ingram, is on hand to walk us through and share stories. There are some amazing clocks in here and way too much to see in the hour before they close. Wow.
Reluctantly, we say good-bye to Edith and continue back into town. There is also a bike rally going on here today so the streets certainly have their share of motorcycles moving about. We walk down towards the river to see the point where riverboats used to actually come into Jefferson. It is a walking park now and the history here is amazing and it used to be one of the largest cities in Texas. Obviously these areas are no longer in existence. Witness the train tracks and bridge that are totally overgrown with vegetation. From here we wander through a few more antique shops and somehow manage to walk out empty handed. We walk down by the train depot and by now it is getting late and we have not solved the issue of where to stay for the night. We decide to drive on to Karnack which is 10 miles away and find a place there. Well, Karnack really doesn't have much and soon we are on our way back to Jefferson. We get a room and go in hunt of a place to have a nice evening together to celebrate. We find The Cork Yard and decide it is perfect for us. And it is. We have a great little booth in the corner and order a cheese plate and a bottle of wine, and settle in to visit and talk. The wine is excellent and our cheese plate is stellar. What a truly nice evening.
We are just waking up and looking outside to see the weather when my phone rings. I had called last night to see if there was any chance we could still get a reservation on a paddle wheel steamboat on Caddo Lake. Guess what? There is! We dress quick, grab some breakfast and are on our way to Uncertain, Texas. Our boat leaves at 10:00 a.m. and I am thrilled. This is the one thing I really wanted to do while in this area. We arrive at the bayou and look at our weather. It's amazing.
Simply beautiful.
I cannot resist. It is simply too beautiful. The trees are just starting to turn.
Apparently Mister feels the same.
Look at the moss on the trees and the VERY old boat sitting here. It says "For Sale". We later find out that it has sat there for sale for over 10 years. This is the picture Mister caught me taking.
Cypress knees at their best.
Ah Mister -- what a great pic.
And here is the Graceful Ghost. She is the last wood-fired, paddle-wheel steamboat still in use today. How fun is this?
Let's take a peek around the boat.Look at this wood burner. There is a pretty dang hot fire going in there already. When the whistle blows, we are ready to depart. And let me tell you --- it is loud when it blows. Being the visual person that I am, I grab a spot near the front where I can see everything out ahead of me. I am soooo content right now.
And we're off. We travel down the bayou for about half an hour, then turn around and retrace our route back to the dock and then go an additional half an hour the opposite way before returning. Captain Ron gives a great tour and has a ton of interesting stories to share along the way. The story of Caddo Lake all by itself is worth the fare.
After returning from our little cruise, both Mister and I want to actually "see" the lake. We ask around on how to do that and well, apparently it is not that easy. What? We drive to a nearby marina and find one section of it that is very cool. The cypress trees are just standing in water everywhere. They are huge. It is very calm and serene here as well. The green that looks like grass is vegetation floating on the water.
I am finally up close to the moss on a tree and able to reach out and touch it. This is what people used to use in mattresses once upon a time. Amazing.
Okay --- that's it. We are going to search for a better view of this lake no matter what. We start working our way around the edge following narrow country roads such as this one. It definitely reminds me of home in Montana.
Finally, we are semi rewarded with a view of the lake. It appears that this is as good as it is going to get without going to Louisiana. As we are standing here taking pictures we hear a giant crack and hear the definite crash of a massive tree going down somewhere nearby. There are no voices so we are pretty sure that it was just nature at work. Please don't let it have gone over the road or we will be here for awhile.
There is a dock here, but it is locked up with a very large "Do Not Enter" sign. Drat. It would have given us a great view.
Mister gets this picture from another angle. LOVE the reflection.
A swampy area nearby.
Well that is as good as we are going to get today. We will do some research and come back to the area for some more fun here. As we are heading back towards Dallas, Mister spots something along the road that requires us to turn around and take a second look. Check out this video as it is pretty dang cool.This is at a local ranch that breeds exotic animals and provides a managed reserve. Yep, that's fancy speak for hunting. Still, a great sight that we otherwise would not have been privy to.
At this point we have to head back towards Dallas, passing through Marshall. When we hit Longview, we stop at Dairy Queen for lunch. Yes, I want DQ. It's all me and Mister gives in. The blizzard is worth the stop though. As we are leaving Longview, it starts raining again. And this time it is serious. We take one look at it and I tell Mister to head for the interstate. We might as well get off the small roads since we are not going to be able to see anything anyway. It takes us quite awhile to even get to the interstate as we are seriously traveling about 15 miles per hour. Once we are able to find I20, we start towards home again. We are in a literal downpour until we hit Tyler. Then --- clear skies all the way home. What a great weekend together. I am thankful for this wonderful man in my life and truly appreciate all he does for me on a daily basis. Let's get year 5 started.
