A few weeks ago, I was looking through my telescope when I found this object.  I have no idea what it was; but it was interesting the way it seemed to be rotating or spinning and the way it was so bright.  I’m in Northeast Texas, and this was found looking North. 

I always hated having to peer through the eyepiece of the telescope, so I modified a webcam by removing the lens and disconnecting the auto-focus feature it had so I can now plug it into my laptop for real-time viewing.   The webcam fits perfectly into the telescope right where the eyepiece would go. Photography is simple now.   I just click the mouse for either stills or video like this one.  Viewing is even nicer.  I can sit comfortably in a chair, looking at my laptop no matter what position the telescope’s in. 

Those of you who’ve been our followers for a while may have thought we’d vanished into the mist while on an explore of some desolate site; but not so.   We’re still out here, we just haven’t posted for a while. 

Near Carthage, Texas, is the only marker of an international boundary known to exist within the Continental United States.  The boundary was established in 1840, and the marker was set in place on  April 23, 1841, to designate the boundary between the United States and the Republic Of Texas. 

Still pretty, even at the end of December...... 

“Murray Gins, Better Sample And Turnout”  

The gin manufacturer’s trademark still adorns the abandoned Kateland Gin Company’s building near Colfax, La. 

Broken glass and shattered dreams.......   

The abandoned Kateland Gin Company near Colfax, La., was incorporated on September 12, 1957.   After 27 years of service to the farmers of the community, it was finally closed down in 1984.   The gin equipment’s all been removed, and all that’s left is the shell of the building.  It’s a shame that it’s located in such a small town; because if it was someplace like Dallas this could be turned into an awesome restaurant, wedding venue, or some other such attraction. 

Recently, Navigator and I jumped on our trike and headed over to Shreveport, Louisiana, with some friends to attend an event there.   Navigator was trying out her new I-phone by shooting the scenery (as usual) while we rode.  She got some nice shots, especially from the back of a moving trike while riding in the freezing cold......

J.C. Clegg called it the “J & J Grocery” when he had the place way back when.   Today the abandoned store near New Potter, Arkansas, is just used as a popular photo-spot by tourists, and by local photographers shooting prom and wedding pictures.   A local tells us that he moved there in 1980, and it was already long-abandoned even back then.   It sits right along the railroad tracks, which would have made it handy for doing business when it was still open.  

Every so often, as you explore the countryside, you come across one of those old bridges that makes you stop and ask yourself “Should I, or shouldn’t I?”   The County Road 38 bridge over the Mountain Fork River, in Arkansas, is one of those.  It’s a one lane, two span, pony-truss bridge that was built in 1905.  I’m not sure if I really heard the old bridge creaking and groaning as we drove over it in our heavily loaded van, or if that was just my imagination......  

Aren’t we all...... ?    

“.....The words of the prophets are written on the subway walls, and tenement halls, and whispered in the sounds of silence.....”

It’s sad to see some family’s hopes and dreams end up like this.  Now they’re being swallowed up by the Arkansas backwoods.  This one’s very, very moldy and it smelled ....... horrible. 

Can only be accessed by way of a long, narrow, backwoods dirt road in rural Arkansas.  

Disaster struck as the collapsed bridge in the foreground was being constructed across the Mountain Fork Little River near Potter, Arkansas..   A flood came along and collapsed the piers before the bridge was finished.   The cement block laying flat in the water in the top photo, and the leaning block in the lower photo are what now remains of the collapsed piers.  Rather than continue with the taller bridge after the flood; a “low water” bridge was built just past it, the remains of which can be seen in the top photo.  In 1979, another bridge was built along CR 48 to replace the now abandoned low water bridge, which is where we stood to take these shots.  We weren’t about to walk down to the old bridges because we were traveling and we hadn’t brought our snake boots.  This area is notorious for water moccasins. 

A few days ago, we got on our trike and joined some friends for a ride up to Hughes Springs, Texas, to go to the Auto And Cycle Show.  There were probably 60 or 70 awesome show cars and bikes on display, and we had a great time checking them all out.  There was also a vendor there who was selling incredible fresh lemonade, corn dogs, funnel cakes, and other goodies.  These photos are just a tiny sampling of the cars there.  What a fun day!!!

An abandoned store in Simpsonville, Texas.  Since it had a garage-type door in the front, it’s our guess it was a feed and seed store.  It looks like it once had fuel pumps out front, too.  

An abandoned 18 wheeler van near Simpsonville, Texas.  

The abandoned Libbey glassware factory in Shreveport, Louisiana, was one of the largest tableware manufacturers in the world.   It was closed on December 31, 2020, after filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.   They’d been in business in Shreveport for 98 years, 47 of which were at this location.   Sadly, Covid-19 was largely responsible for the plant’s closing.  Approximately 450 workers lost their jobs. 

Coming home from visiting a church in Louisiana, we took the back roads to stay off the Interstate.  We found these old signs as we were going through downtown Shreveport. 

Some old neon in downtown San Augustine, Texas.

Locals tell us that the abandoned “old jail” in San Augustine, Texas, hasn’t been used for a jail for about a hundred years.   Since then, at one time, it was used as a architect’s office. Now, it looks like it’s mostly used for storing furniture, golf clubs, and some other items.