Camp Verde, Texas

 

Want to start today by welcoming my newest followers, Craig and Sue. They are full time wanna be RVer’s.  Check out their site.

We took a little trip over to Camp Verde, Texas yesterday.  I love wooden nickels for geo-caching trades, and was able to get some there at the General Store a couple of years ago.  The bad part is they don’t want to charge me for them; they give them to customers, so I left them a large tip.  The drive to and from is beautiful.  We took HWY 337 east out of Leakey, then hit 16 for a bit, then on to 2828, and lastly, on 173 to the General Store.

History in a Pecan Shell

The post was opened in 1855 on the banks of the scenic Verde Creek.  It is most famous for the experiment with camels that was the brainchild of U. S. Secretary of War Jefferson Davis.  It wasn’t a bad idea considering the climate and terrain of the San Antonio to El Paso road. In fact, it would’ve succeeded, had it not been for one unforeseen factor-other animals panicked when they smelled the scent of the camels.

The general store opened in 1857 and served the soldiers of the Camp.  The store’s owner was mostly only open the few days immediately following payday.  The post office opened in 1887-long after the war. 

Today the store is picturesque in it’s solitude, but has lost some of its quiet dignity with all the signs and banners.  There’s a nice roadside park facing the store on Verde Creek.

The camp was captured by Confederate forces in February of 1861.  They inherited the camels and a few Egyptian handlers and put them to work hauling cotton to Mexico to trade to the British for much needed supplies.  The camels multiplied and reportedly were sold to a circus.  Actually, they were dispersed to many circuses, a few zoos, and two men from Bastrop County even employed them in another failed venture to haul mail to Mexico City.

Nearby was a canyon that was used as a makeshift Prisoner of War Camp for nearly 600 Union prisoners in the early part of the war.  The post was totally abandoned in 1869, although a Company of Texas Rangers used the remains of the fort as a campground for some time.

Camp Verde was also the post for the Confederates responsible for the lynching of 8 men near the Camp in 1862. (This info taken from the Camp Verde, Texas site).

Today we had to get up very early to get Rusty in for his last shot.  We were amazed when they told us he had gained another whopping 3.5 pounds.  Our little boy isn’t so little anymore at 11.6 pounds.  He is going on 4 months old, and they said he is right on track to where he needs to be.  He sure was hyper today, but not in the truck.  He loves riding and usually settles right down.  He has also been trying to dominate us, and the Vet says we need to get a handle on it now, before he gets so large that we can’t handle him.

Want to let the family know that Shannon called and said Mark, her husband, had come through his heart test just fine.  They did find some minor blockage, but it can be treated with medicine.  Thank God.  There is a lot of heart problems in his family, so glad he had this done.  I spoke to him for just a minute, and he sounded fine.

Not much going on around here.  It is very cold, so everyone is pretty much staying inside.  Nancy brought us some movies down yesterday, so we will probably just watch movies today.  I thought about working a puzzle, but will wait on that.  I do have several that I haven’t worked that my cousin Bessie gave me.

Haven’t heard from my cousin Charlotte in a while.  I was hoping she might get to come down this winter, but don’t know if she will make it.  I miss all of you guys in Indy.

Gonna get this posted.  Catch you later…