Aaron's comments: In the morning we broke camp and reloaded the car in reverse order. It will be much easier to set up tonight. On our way out of the park we took a short hike on a scenic / birding trail. We saw numerous woodpeckers and other feathered friends. There was a section of trail that led to a "hide" from which to bird watch. The trail was enclosed in wire mesh, which I imagine will be covered in vines and foliage soon. From the vantage of the "hide" you would be able to see all kinds of birds on the lake and the surrounding woods. Very cool. We are now on our way to Palestine, Texas. Forward!
Palestine courthouse, 1914.
Architect: C. H. Page
Palestine jail.
We went to the railroad depot and caught the Palestine-Rusk train coming in, which looked like a lot of fun! The campground at Rusk - Palestine State Park was small (we drove through).
Rusk courthouse, 1941.
Architect: Gill & Bennett, Inc.
Rusk is home to a long footbridge (546 feet) too, which was a nice diversion, and happens to be the longest footbridge in the US!
Henderson courthouse, 1928.
Architect: Curtis & Thomas and A. C. Gentry
This town was really cute - we were very impressed!
Henderson jail.
Carthage jail - really cool inside!
Carthage courthouse, 1953.
Architect: Preston M. Green
This courthouse is not in the square, so we had to get directions from the sweet volunteers in the jail, after we had a tour.
Aaron's comments: Started the day in Fairfield and moved through Palestine, Rusk, Henderson, and Carthage. The Palestine courthouse wins for the day. It is a fine structure, built of locally brick and renovated in the eighties and the county is the birthplace of two Texas governors. Rusk has a moderne style building that incorporates local stone. It reminded me of the one in Burnet. The Henderson one is quite similar to the Rusk house, but it has been recently remodeled and the new windows take away some of the olde style charm.... The worst of the day and quite possibly my least favorite of all time has to be the Carthage courthouse. It is not on the square, it is of relatively recent manufacture, '60's. The redeeming feature of Carthage is the jail. Of all the jails we have seen it is the finest. It has been remodeled by the Womens' Historical Society and houses the county genealogical library. The upstairs prisoners quarters look just as they did in that bygone era... My favorite town of the trip so far must be Henderson. The houses are beautiful and the park in town is gorgeous. The fact that they have a Museum for East Texas Culture was also a hoot. : ) Memorable additions, the 549-foot long footbridge in Rusk, the kindness of the guide in Carthage, and the overall beauty of northwest Texas.
We are now at Martin Creek State Park and as it is getting on in the hour, I'll save the rest of today for tomorrow.
(Anne) We camped at Martin Creek Lake State Park, which was lovely. First we walked to the island via a bridge and found a spot on the "beach" we liked. Then we walked back, loaded up the kayak with the tent, sleeping bags, ThermaRests, jackets, and paddled out and set up our camp. Then we paddled back to the parking lot, where we cooked dinner at a picnic table by the car. Dinner was palak paneer and rice at the car, paddled back to the campsite, lit candles and had some wine before bed!
No comments:
Post a Comment