Fredericksburg, TX

This live oak tree is estimated to be 500 years old. It has seen it all. The only way you can tell it is an oak tree is by looking on the ground for acorns. The leaves are very small and shiny. The wood is very hard and difficult to work with. That's probably the only reason it is still standing.

Fort Martin Scott was an active U.S. Army outpost for five years, from 1848 to 1853. It was used to house, train, and supply soldiers working on scouting and patroling missions in the area. It was abandoned because the need was further west. Acording to the guide the people here had made a treaty with the Comanches already. (Government waste that long ago?) It is said to be the only treaty that has been kept to this day. They reenact it in May each year and the Indians come to celebrate. That would be something to see.

The picture above is one of the original buildings. The wagon is an old chuckwagon from the cattle drives they used to make from this area to drive longhorns north. Would you call that a chuckwagon port rather than a carport?

Another of the original buildings was a court room and jail and officers quarters. It was used as a home for a large family for several years.

I wonder how many prisoners were in this jail cell when it was in use. There were only 4 cells and they are all the same size. The guide said they were sometimes used to house Indians who had stolen white children.

After the government left the fort the townspeople dismantled the rest of the buildings to build homes in Fredericksburg. I hope to see some of those buildings. The guide explained why the streets of the town are so nice and wide (4 lanes plus slant parking on both sides). They planned to allow for teams of oxen to turn around since oxen won't back up. I didn't know that.

Today I did a load of laundry, took dog poop to a vet's office, and cracked a bunch of pecans.

Linda and I also visited a couple of thrift shops, it must be hereditary. I found a hand made rag rug to put on my floor and a Luckenbach , TX, shirt that would have cost about $25.00 at the shop we visited yesterday. This one was $1.00.

The dogs have worms so tomorrow I go pick up pills for them. Whoopeee.