Eclipse Trip - Day 1 - Tour of Bridges

With much excitement, we had planned this trip weeks in advance, eagerly pre-booking a room to witness the mesmerizing "Ring Of Fire" eclipse this Saturday.

But then, a shadow darker than any eclipse cast itself over us. The chilling incidents at the southern Israeli border shook our core. Day after day, we found ourselves glued to the news, our hearts aching as we witnessed the unspeakable actions against our community, our families, our children, and our brave soldiers.

While I recognize this blog might not be the correct platform for these matters, the weight of these events compels me to express our collective sorrow and pause for reflection.

This entire trip, I will have one screen with the Google Maps and the other with Israel News stations.

WE STAND WITH ISRAEL

EXOTIC WILD ANIMAL SANCTUARY

Our first stop was the exotic wild animal sanctuary, just west of fort Worth. I had called before to schedule a visit but they only take visitors on alternating Saturdays and Sundays I decided to drive by anyway just to get a glimpse of the area. Michelle, one of the dedicated caretakers saw me parked outside the gate and came out to have a few words. They are extremely busy, under staffed and constantly training new volunteers to assist with all the work entailed with handling so many wild exotic animals. It was “on the way” and while we did not get a tour of the sanctuary, rest assured, after we do get the Grand tour, we will write a special blog entirely dedicated to this sanctuary. I have included a few pictures from their website as a teaser for the future. I DID NOT TAKE these amazing photos ;)

WEATHERFORD VINTAGE CAR MUSEUM

From there, we drove to the Weatherford vintage car museum. DAN, who is running the museum has been with them since they opened, about 7 years ago. Dan said there is no entrance fee and they rely on donations so we made a small. Turns out many of these cars are in mint condition and drivable. I asked Dan if maybe we can “test drive” one of these cars. He replied absolutely, only it would cost 7 years of his annual salary because they would fire him on the spot.

Darn it - - I was really looking forward to driving one of these oldies.

Walking through the museum and looking at all the vehicles from the early 1900s was awesome. Even the tires looked brand new. Have a look at these really nostalgic pictures.

POSSUM KINGDOM STONE ARCH BRIDGE

Our next station was possum Kingdom Stone Arch bridge. I did find a hidden trail that goes right to the water under the bridge, but the angle of the descent was so steep that I wasn't sure STEELE would be able to back up and out. Even walking down was no easy task. The picture may not show it but it was a real steep decline.

Lady bird lookout picnic area was next. I stopped here for a few sandwiches and just breathe in some real fresh air.

Driving by fort Griffin I saw a field full of hay bales and from far away they look like sheep so of course I took a picture

WOODSON SUSPENSION BRIDGE

Getting to the Woodson Suspension Bridge required a 14 mile rough dirt road Trek. Steele wasn't that happy about it... but compared to other trails we did in the past - this was pretty comfortable one.When we reached the bridge, I tried to hike around to walk on the suspension bridge but that was not possible, so I snapped a photo.

FORT GRIFFIN BRIDGE

I decided to keep driving on the dirt gravel roads to the next bridge as it was shorter than driving back the 14 miles to the main road, just to find out that specific dirt road leading to our next bridge was locked with the military sign saying “military training – DO NOT ENTER”. So I did what I usually do ….. and looked for an alternate route which I did find, but it did make the trip 12 miles longer on even rougher roads.

The Fort Griffin bridge was also sealed off as it is condemned and also had a big sign DO NOT ENTER however I decided that sign was intended for vehicles and humans are probably okay to walk on the bridge so I walked the entire length of the bridge and nothing happened to me ;)

Although I must say – there were places where the wood and metal were so rotten and broken that it may be condemned for humans also

GIANT MONSTER TRACTOR

On the way to my last bridge of the day, I passed a huge tractor…. no let me rephrase it…. and enormous tractor….. GIGANTIC.

It didn't even have wheels!! It drove on tank like treads. Had to take a short video for you all cuz it makes a really strange sound as it travels down the highway

BRIDGE ACROSS BRAZOS

Our last bridge of the day was the Bridge Across Brazos River and it did not disappoint.

Here we have a new bridge which is open for traffic right next to the old retired bridge which is sealed off for vehicles but left open for people. We took a small hike around the bridge and when I got back to the car, there was a large locust eating up STEELE.

LIFE'S SUITES

I arrived at my accommodation called Life's Suites. I unpacked everything and started to work on the blog only to realize the internet speed is 0.1 Mbps (yes – that’s very very slow) so I had to use the STARLINK dish for tonight.

That's about it for today. I did go into town to pick up a few supplies for tomorrow's sandwiches and now I'm off to bed. See y'all tomorrow.