In early October we went to Oklahoma to maintain our adopted section on the Ouachita Trail. We only had to do minor lopping and pruning as it was still in pretty good shape from our last trip up there.
We had brought along our camping gear so after our trail work we set up our tent near Big Cedar Creek and Tom "Pyro" built us a nice campfire.
The following morning we decided to do a hike beginning at the Big Cedar Trailhead, walked along U.S.Hwy. 259 for a short distance then followed a Forest Road for three miles to the Pashubbe Trailhead where we picked up the Ouachita Trail following it about four miles westbound back to our car.
It was a very overcast, misting, foggy morning and while we were mostly in the thick woods we still got increasingly wetter as the morning progressed however the woods were quite beautiful with lots of lichen, moss, mushrooms, and colorful leaves covering the forest floor.
We celebrated the 20th anniversary of our first date at the Texas State Fair, which is where Tom took me on our first date!
I think we have only missed one year going there in the last 20 years.
We always begin our State Fair day by driving one of Chevrolet's newest models on their Test Track at the Fair. And one of our first stops is to get an Original Fletchers Corn Dog, hand dipped and fried to order.......delicious!
Another favorite is the Greenhouse, with the model trains running among all the greenery....
......and this year there was a demonstration of hydroponic gardening.........
.........fascinating!.......
......and there is always a pumpkin carving demonstration.
We love going through all the Automobile Buildings seeing all the newest models of cars and trucks even though we are not in the market for a new vehicle at the present time. Also we enjoy the exhibition halls where all the crafts, sewing, canning, photography, and so much more are displayed not to mention the 2,000 pound butter carving which this year was Texas people and places.
The weather was outstanding, just a wonderful day to be outdoors.
The tiny East Texas town of Edom sponsors an Art Festival (April & October) so I called up my sister Norma and she her grandson Devin met us there. We walked up and down the rows of tents, booths, and displays of every kind of creations imaginable.
Oh yeah, you can't have an Art Festival without Food Tents!
Another beautiful, actually quite warm, Autumn day. A fun day with family!
Our next adventure was a trip to Waco. We first went to check out the famous Suspension Bridge that was first built many years ago for the cattle drives to get across the Brazos River. There is now an awesome sculpture park at the bridge, several cowboys and many steers all headed toward the bridge.
Pretty impressive entrance!
We walked across this historical suspension bridge.
There are several bridges spanning the Brazos River in the city of Waco.
We enjoyed a nice walk along Waco's Riverwalk.
Thanks to the HGTV program Fixer Upper, Chip and Joanna Gaines and their Magnolia Market at the Silos is a HUGE tourist attraction in downtown Waco.
We were there midweek and were shocked to see hundreds if not thousands of folks there also!
Inside the aisles were all packed with shoppers and tourists!
I cannot even imagine how crowded it must be on weekends!
This small building on the corner is the cupcake and ice cream shop but people were lined up out the door and alongside the building the whole time we were there, so I said "no thanks". We got out of there! We thought everything inside and the food trucks outside were super pricey!
We walked down the street a couple of blocks and found a great Mexican Restaurant for lunch and then checked out this interesting "junk" place.......with a cool mural on their building.
We ventured over to the Texas Ranger Hall of Fame and Museum since our next door neighbor is a retired Texas Ranger.
Lots of history, photos, and many, many guns!
And there was this great old tree on the grounds of the Museum.
And lo and behold, surprise, surprise, Tom found Chip and Joanna Gaines in the Gift Shop next to the Texas Ranger Museum!
This is another extraordinary bridge over the Brazos River next to McLane Stadium.
The next morning we found Cameron Park where we left our car and went for a nice long walk along the Brazos River on Waco's Riverwalk.
Waco has done a great job with this lighted and very well maintained hike/bike path along the River.
We loved it!
Tom went back to work the week after our Waco trip. He is employed at the Canton Walmart, the same one that I work at. We have both enjoyed his 13 month vacation from full time employment.......it has been fun to go on spontaneous adventures any time I had 4-6 days off in a row sometime since I only work 2 days a week. Now with Tom working again it will take a little more creative planning for our little adventures!
