Still in Texas

My car is in Odessa, TX for at least a week, so I might as well see what is around here. I found Stonehenge in Odessa. At the university, they have built a replica of THE Stonehenge. I have never been to Stonehenge, or any part of England, so I thought this was cool. The Stonehenge in England took thousands of years to build, while the one in Texas took 6 weeks. Can you imagine how patient we would have been back then? How many times have you or your friends said, "They started this project 3 months ago. I don't understand why it is taking so long." I liked walking into the middle of the structure, and I liked the fact that no one else was there.



In Odessa, TX, I also visited the Presidents' Museum. It was interesting, like looking into the lives of famous people. There were paintings, plates, vases and bobble-head dolls of the presidents through the years, pictures of their wives (no husbands yet), and newspapers from the times.  I forgot that Lincoln coined the phrase, "You can fool some of the people all of the time,...." At one point in my life, I think I knew all the presidents' names, but not now. I went through the museum saying to myself, "He was a president???" At one point in the display, they said that John Quincy was the only son of a previous president. They need to update their display. I probably should have told them. And the other son....is from Texas!!

 

I saw George, Barbara and "little George's" first house - modest. I visited an art museum, where I thoroughly enjoyed a photography exhibit of views along the Seine. I thought it captured the "essence" of Paris. Of course, people who have been to Paris more recently may totally disagree. I also liked one exhibit of paintings, and the garden sculpture garden. In the outskirts of Odessa I visited a meteor crater and the museum attached. Actually 2 meteors fell here; one was huge, and the other not so much. They excavated the site, and discovered quite a bit of information. This happened when there were prehistoric mammals roaming. One thing they uncovered was a tusk from a prehistoric elephant.

 

Then I went to Pecos, TX, which sounded like a fun town. This was the home of the very first rodeo. On a July 4th weekend when all the cowboys from nearby ranches were in town, they were bragging about how well they could bring down a cow or something, and VOILA!!!! a contest was arranged. From that time forward there has been a rodeo on that weekend in Pecos, and it was duplicated throughout the country.

One of the things I like about town museums, is that you see what towns consider important, and what unique things have happened in that town. In Pecos, the museum is in a building housing an original saloon where 2 men were shot. Plaques are on the floor where each man died, and a bullet hole is marked on the wall. Up the stairs leading to the bedrooms are pictures of the Golden Girls. They also feature saddles, hats, etc. from local cowboys and cowgirls through the years.

From Pecos, I went to Guadalupe National Park and stayed the night there. A number of people said to me they HEARD it was a great park to visit. Beautiful of course, in the mountains, with great rock formations. I arrived in a cold wind, and woke up to freezing rain and ice packed on my rig. I felt sorry for myself until I heard it was 17 degrees at home. And once more, I am THANKFUL!!!!