Mercifully, we awoke early on this, the last day of this trip, to discover that the sun was shining, the roads were mostly dry, and that we had squeaked by the inclement weather of the previous evening. Here’s the day’s plan:
We had a quick breakfast in Gilmer and headed for the Upshur County courthouse:
Little Gilmer is a modest place, but it punches way above its weight in being the hometown of Blues legend Freddie King, crooner Johnny Mathis, and rocker Don Henley of the Eagles. Sumpin’ in the water here…
Being now homeward bound, we stopped less frequently, but the countryside between Gilmer and Quitman is gorgeous – what I’d call “horse country” – rolling, green, well-manicured, and VERY expensive looking. Quitman, seat of Wood County, is also the birthplace of Ms. Sissy Spacek.
From Quitman down country roads through Mineola to Canton, seat of Van Zandt County. (No, not Townes van Zandt, unfortunately…) On the way to Canton, we passed the site of the First Monday Trade Days site. It is a huge flea market-like affair, and we were grateful it wasn’t the first Monday. Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow once lived briefly in a Canton hotel.
And then from Canton, east to Kaufman, seat of Kaufman County, and the last stop on this adventure.
Kaufman was the first place that Bonnie Parker was ever incarcerated, and was also the site of a German POW camp during WWII. Astonishingly, Kaufman County is also home to the Southwest Vipassana Medication Center, descended from the “home base” of Vipassana meditation in Igatpuri, Maharashtra, India. I used to live near there and friends on their way to Igatpuri would stay with us in Bombay. I hope to do my first 10-day course at this place in early 2019. Link is here:
So from Kaufman, we headed southwest, Bobby Joe back to his home in Robinson, south of Waco, and me all the way to Wimberley. The rain caught up with me twice, once torrential, and I had to pay for the good luck of the night before. No free lunch.
But another great trip completed successfully… I love doing this.