Blogs from Sam Rayburn, Texas, United States, North America

This was an interesting day heading south from Sam Rayburn Texas through the city of Beaumont to the port town of Port Arthur Texas. Port Arthur is surrounded by levies, and we were able to drive a short way on top of one of them. Driving east on highway 82 we traveled beside the Gulf of Mexico for some distance. There were a lot of signs of destruction from Hurricane Rita, and there were rubble sites set up along the way to dispose of the mountains of debris left behind. Large groups of F.E.M.A. trailers dotted the landscape, and you could sense a general feeling of despair as the day wore on. We had to wait for a ferry at Monkey Island and I talked with an old Cajun gentleman while we waited. He was pretty ... read more

Today was a wild day indeed. Wild boars, wild vultures, wild buls and wild Mexican girls. Our destination today is Anderson, Texas, and Buckshot’s Saloon. Along the way we took a look at a few condos that were for sale in the Conroe/Walden area. Coming up the west side of Lake Conroe, I showed Joy some of the places that me and Jerry visited last year. On the road into Wildwood Shores someone had hit a wild boar, and the vultures were circling overhead. We parked the car 50 feet away, and waited for them to come down, but as it turns out, they had more patience than we did, and we could only get pictures of them high up in the trees. We got some great pictures of Texas Longhorn cattle, and then headed into ... read more

This is the day we are in search of (the other) Calgary. As it turns out, it is not actually a town as it shows on the map, but instead is a railway switch gear location. We do managed to find it and get a picture, then it is on to Logansport Louisiana. This is a nifty little town on the Texas/Louisiana border, and probably bears more discovering. From there we head northeast to Shreveport, which turns out to be bigger than we expect. There are many paddlewheel riverboats anchored to the shore that serve as the casinos. After loosing a few more bucks, we head back to Nacogdoches Texas for a walk through the historic part of town, and return to the condo before dark.... read more

It’s time to start exploring East Texas!, but not before an informative breakfast provided by the condo staff. Not many show up, as this is not their busy time of year, but Connie gives us her best Quiche and her best advice. After breakfast we head up the road to a town called Nocogdoches. This is the oldest town in Texas. We get side tracked a bit and end up heading to Canton, which has the world’s largest flea market. It turns out be pretty big all right. The sun is shining brightly, but the wind is on the cool side, so we don’t stay too long. We buy a sundial on a pedestal from one of the vendors, as Joy has been looking for one for some time now. When chatting with the vendor, we ... read more