Tuesday, April 26, 2011

SUSPENSION BRIDGE AND THE CATTLE DRIVE

Tuesday, April 26 – We moved to the Northwest today to Waco, Texas. Boy, Route 190/Hwy 6 is a FABULOUS highway. Smooth as glass. Made riding in the motor home a real treat. Texas highways continue to impress us.....heck with the interstates!

A balmy 95 degrees today in Texas......YIKES!!! We were concerned about leaving Livingston yesterday due to the threat of bad storms in the direction we were headed. Unbelievably, the Livingston area got hit by bad storms and even a tornado sighting was reported. Thankfully, no real damage at the Escapees Rainbow's End Campground. We didn't get a drop of rain or any big winds in College Station. Funny how these storms are hitting some places pretty bad and missing others completely.

We left College Station this morning and drove about two hours to Waco. We are spending at least two nights at the I-35 RV Park. It is just a few miles past Waco in Elm Mott, TX. We think it is overpriced but the cheapest in this area. They do accept most club discounts, and they do give free WIFI. The sites are all gravel and a bit too small. Our pull-thru is long but narrow.

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Looking down our street.

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Other way.

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We have been in a lot of parks but never saw a pet washing station. Great idea for those of you who have dogs.

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We did some sightseeing in Waco this afternoon. We stopped at Waco's Suspension Bridge.

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Driving the herds from the immense south Texas ranches up the Chisholm Trail, cattle drivers came to Waco seeking the safest crossing to ford the wide Brazos River. By 1870, those hooves marched across the newly opened suspension bridge. Today, it is a tourist attraction closed to all but pedestrian traffic and is now a National Historic Landmark.

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Looking back at the counter weights.

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Paul explaining to Marsha how the bridge is suspended by the cables.

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Marsha can’t even get her hands around all the cables.

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When built, it was the longest single-span suspension bridge west of the Mississippi.

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There is a beautiful sculpture at the entrance to the bridge. It represents the cattle drivers of old.

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There is a River Walk along the Brazos River. We walked just a short ways. It was too hot to go too far. As we went under one of the bridges we saw this cute little family.

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But they were being attached by these…

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Paul had to run over and chase them away. He is such a hero!

We had a terrible storm this evening. We had golf ball size hail. Tons of lighting and thunder. We had  winds gusting over 50 mph. Really scary!

We also visited the Homestead Traditional Crafts Village but will tell you about that in the next blog.

Thanks for stopping by. Hope to see y’all back real soon. Have a great day!