Yes, there was the wildlife.Aside from the predictable cattle, free ranging antelope and the occasional horses, typically grazing by aging mobile home, we were entertained by a family of
and were surprised by the dozens of goats farms.
There were exhibits from the history of the Texas Rangers,
old farm buildings,
oil storage tanks, including one group painted in a rainbow of colors,
Christmas trees in small town parks,
and even “you know who”, still keeping his eye on us.
Of course there was the scenery … which began in the “Hill Country”
before the trees and other vegetation began to thin out
and then morphed into more arid regions, where distant wind turbines dotted the horizon.
By the time we reached Fort Stockton, we were traveling across a treeless landscape .
By the time we arrived at our campground, the temperature had soared into the low 70os … and so shorts replaced jeans for the first time.
Tonight, however, under nearly crystal clear skies, we had a wonderful sunset.
Looking for a parking garage near the Texas State Capitol, yours truly instructed his wife, who was driving, our Jeep, to take a right only to find we were headed down a one-way street in the wrong direction.A quick U-turnand 15 minutes later we finally located the garage.
Our first stop was the Capitol Visitor’s Center, the former Texas Land Grand Office.
Complete in 1857 as a fireproof repository of the extensive public lands, which included Spanish and Mexican land grants, survey, field notes and maps of the Republic to Texas … and enormous task as both and a Republic and State millions of acres had been granted, sold or leased.
However, our main objective was Austin’s magnificent State Capitol Building.
With more than 360,000 square feet of interior floor space it is the largest state capitol and towering 310 feet it is some seven feet taller than the US Capitol and the sixth tallest state capitol.Standing atop the dome is the 14.6 foot high statue of the Goddess of Liberty holding an eight foot Texas star.
The exterior walls are made of Sunset Red Texas Granite while the foundation and interior walls are Texas limestone.The wainscoting and other woodwork are primarily oak and pine; although some cherry, walnut, mahogany and cedar were also used.The dome is galvanized cast and wrought iron and the roof covering 85,000 sq. ft. of copper.
Beginning with the interior of the dome over the rotunda, throughout the building the five-pointed Texas star is repetitively used, often with the letters :”T”, “E”, “X”,”A” “S” inserted between the points of the star.
Entering the foyer from the south entrance
you pass a large painting of David (Davy) Crockett
and then between marble statues of Sam Houston (left)
and Stephen F. Austin (right)
as you enter the rotunda.
The rotunda floor contains the seal of the state of Texas surrounded by the six flags which have flown over the state (reading clockwise from the top right, Spain, France, the United States, Confederate States of America and the Republic of Texas)
Carved door frames
have bronze hinges inscribed with the words, “Texas Capitol”
and the hinges and other hardware are incised with geometric and stylized floral motifs.
The door knobs and door hinges throughout the building.Each door knob prominently displays the Texas star.
The stairways each possessed their own hand-crafted elegance.
Then there the main legislative and judicial chambers.
SENATE CHAMBER
Original Desks still in use
Note the star and word spelled out by the light bulbs
A formal portrait of Stephen F. Austin, done shortly before his death, hangs behind the Senate President’s chair
HOUSE CHAMBER
Ceiling Light
Battle flag from the Battle of San Jacinto, where an army under the command of Sam Houston defeated a much larger force under Mexican General and President Santa Ana (who had been victorious at the Alamo just six weeks earlier) … winning Texas independence from Mexico and setting the border at the Rio Grand River
Last painting of Sam Houston hangs in the House Chamber
GOVERNOR’S PUBLIC RECEPTION ROOM
ORIGINAL SUPREME COURT CHAMBER
ORIGINAL COURT OF APPEALS CHAMBER
LEGISLATIVE LIBRARY
ORIGINAL STATE TREASURER”S OFFICE
Presently used as the Capitol Tour Office
The Capitol grounds host the greatest number of monuments of any of the state capital we’ve visited to date.
The Tejanos Monument, reflecting the contributions of the Tejanos (early Mexican settlers of Texas) to the history of the state
Hood’s Confederate Brigade Monument
Heroes of the Alamo Monument (the oldest monument)
Confederate War Dead Memorial
Volunteer Firemen Monument
Terry’s Texas Rangers Monument
Texas Cowboy
Spanish American War Veterans Memorial
Texas National Guard Monument
Ten Commandments
Tribute to Texas Children
Tribute to Texas Pioneer Women
Replica of the Statue of Liberty
Pearl Harbor Survivors Memorial
Korean War Veterans Memorial (with the names of Texans who lost their lives in the conflict etched on the monument)
World War I Veterans Memorial
World War II Veterans Memorial
Disabled Veterans Memorial
Texas Peace Officers Memorial
Our next stop was the Lyndon Baines Johnson Presidential Library and Museum located on the University of Texas campus.The ten –story building is home to 45 million pages of historical documents, 650,000 photographs, 1 million feet of motion picture film and 15,000 hours of recordings from the public career of Johnson and his close associates, including over 600 hours of presidential telephone conversations (including a call to Rose Kennedyjust hours after JFK’s assignation).
Four floors of archived documents
Post Presidential Limousine
Pictures of each of the Presidents and First Ladies (which have included wives, sisters, mothers, hostesses) from Washington, Adams, Jefferson, Madison and Monroe to
Reagan, Bush, Clinton, Bush and Obama
The museum features a selection of permanent historical and cultural exhibits which examine his boyhood years through the turbulent 1960s, including his untimely ascendency to the presidency on November 22, 1963,
and major policy decisions which have shaped his presidential legacy (e.g., the Voting Rights act of 1965, Head Start, War on Poverty and Vietnam).
Campaign poster in LBJ’s run for the US Senate, also featuring his Silver Star – I did not realize that after the attack on Pearl Harbor, Johnson was the first member of Congress to volunteer for active duty (on December 8th, 1941)
A 7/8 reproduction of the Oval Office of President Johnson
Vietnam Era
War on Poverty
Medicare, Voting Rights Act, Head Start and others initiatives
A smaller section was dedicated to Lady Bird Johnson during her White House years.
There was also an interesting etched bronze plaque which depicts LBJ with his four predecessors (FDR, Truman, Eisenhower and JFK).
As with other presidential libraries we’ve visited, there are also changing exhibits.On display is a tribute to
In the form of a series of large photographs (some which we’ve seen before and some which very graphic) from the Civil War,
Today we stayed put at our campground in Beaumont.Debbie was able to get some laundry done and I had a number of routine maintenance checks; during which I slipped on some wet mud.The next thing I knew, my feet were airborne and I came crashing down on my hip and shoulder.Fortunately, no serious injury resulted.
Once again, the weather started out overcast and feeling cooler than the temperatures might suggest.However, off and on during the late morning and early afternoon the sun actually popped through some breaks in the cloud, pushing the temperature up as high as 82o … only to have it plummet back into the low 50os as soon as the overcast retook the skies.
Oh yes, today I gained another year, a date I share with my sister-in-law, Kate Morse, and close friend, Mark Nath (born just two hours before me).
Shortly after leaving Baton Rouge this morning, we exceeded 50,000 miles on the road since we began RVing in late 2009.
Heading west along I-12 we entered the Atchafalaya National Heritage Area (“Atchafalaya” an American-Indian word, pronounced, uh-CHA-fuh-lie-uh) means long river.Established in 2006, the Atchafalaya National Heritage Area stretches across 14 parishes in south-central Louisiana.It basin contains almost one million acres of America’s most significant bottomland hardwoods, swamps, bayous, and backwater lakes and stretches some 140 miles southward to the Gulf of Mexico. Currently, the Atchafalaya Basin is bound by natural ridges formed by levee building along active and abandoned courses of the Mississippi River.
One stretch of I-10 known as the Atchafalaya Freeway (or Swamp Expressway) is actually a bridge across the Atchafalaya River and its accompanying swamp.With a total length of 96,095 feet or 18.2 miles, it is the second-longest bridge in the US and the fourteenth longest bridge in the world in total length.
Each of its separate two-lane spans are168 feet apart and 28 feet above the water level. They are supported by literally hundreds of 148 foot long concrete pilings.
While the Swamp Expressway was completed in 1972 at a cost of $103.7 million ($6.1 million per mile); it is estimated the cost today would far exceed $200 million.
Not surprisingly, entering
we noticed more evidence of oil wells.
We also passed an unusual tracked vehicle which we presume may be some sort of swamp transportation, but are not really sure.
Our campground, in Beaumont was very nice and, we discovered provided a free breakfast on Sat. and Sun.
The drive from Jackson to Baton Rouge was blissfully uneventful.While the scenery was mundane, and could have been anywhere in the east, the roads were good, traffic light and weather sunny.
After settling in at a nearly empty equestrian RV park
and a quick lunch, headed for downtown Baton Rouge.Our first stop was to have been the Old State Capitol
A 160-year old Gothic building that has withstood war, fire, scandal, abandonment and an occasional fist fight.Unfortunately, was undergoing renovations and not due to reopen until late January.
From there we walked north to the current State Capitol Building … at 450 feet (137 m) tall and with 34 stories, it is the tallest building in Baton Rouge, the seventh tallest building in Louisiana, and tallest capitol in the United States.
Completed in March 1932, a mere 14 months after construction began,twenty-five hundred rail cars were needed to bring in the limestone used on the exterior and the interior marbles which came from distant places, including Vermont and Italy. The cost to complete the building was a modest $5 million.
The architects used symbolism throughout the design of the building. As the square tower rises, it is cut away to an octagon at the 22nd floor. At this point four allegorical winged figures guard the corners and they represent Law, Science, Philosophy and Art. The State Capitol is topped with a 23-foot-tall (7 m) lantern “symbolizing the higher aspirations of Louisiana
The entrance is approached by a grand staircase with one step for each of the 48 states, listed in the order of their admittance to the Union … with the first thirteen steps commemorating the original colonies.
Alaska and Hawaii were added to the right and left of the motto of the Great Seal of the United States, E Pluribus Unum.
Flanking both sides of the stairs are free-standing, limestone sculptures;
To the east is The Patriots – an armored soldier and the mourners of a warrior slain in battle
To the west is The Pioneers – men and women of courage who created our state out of the wilderness
In the striking Memorial Hall, there is a large bronze relief map of Louisiana that shows many of the state’s products and is encircled by the names of the 64 parishes … which is, unfortunately beneath
flags that have flown over all or parts of Louisiana (Castile and Leon, Bourbon France, Bourbon Spain, England, French tricolor, 15-star U.S. flag, flag of the Republic of West Florida, Louisiana national flag, Confederate Battle flag, Confederate Stars and Bars, Louisiana State flag, and the modern U.S. flag) hang from the balcony
above the striking bronze elevator doors
which feature portraits of all American governors of Louisiana, from Claiborne to Long.
At the ends of the Hall hang two large mural paintings. These oil paintings on canvas show idealized scenes of family, harvest, rich farmlands and the arts of sculpture, music and literature.
Chambers of both the Senate and the House of Representatives can be reached through magnificent bronze doors. Each weighs a solid ton, yet opens as smoothly as a well-crafted cabinet on oiled hinges. Panels on the House doors represent events in the state’s history; Senate doors depict colonial Louisiana.
In the Senate chamber detail is present everywhere … from the desks to the rails, ceiling, and grillwork. Many kinds of stone have been used in the walls, and the desks are of walnut and Australian laurel wood. The coffered ceiling is of celotex which is made from bagasse, a by-product of sugar production.
The House chamber is similar to the Senate in the use of stone, bronze and wood, but Louisiana symbols like pine cones, black-eyed Susans, and cattails are used.
The Observation Deck is on the 27th floor and overlooks Baton Rouge at a height of 350 feet. The views are spectacular.
To the east are formal rose gardens and a well-preserved Arsenal, constructed in 1835.
To the west, the Mississippi flows majestically toward the Gulf.
To the north is Louisiana’s prosperous and economically important chemical corridor and in the distance stands Southern University.
To the south are the capitol gardens with the grave and statue of Huey P. Long. Louisiana State University can be seen in the distance.
Huey P. Long, as Governor of Louisiana, was the driving force behind the Depression-era construction of the State Capitol. Three years after its completion, while serving as a U.S. Senator from the state, was assassinated on the steps of the Capitol and is buried beneath his statue.
Enroute back to our car, we stopped by St Joseph Cathedral (interestingly, Catholic churches always seem to be open while those of other denominations are generally locked up tight).
Built in 1853, it is a faux Gothic structure.The steeple was added in 1891.The clock over the door has been telling time for more than 100 years.
Proving our hypothesis, another church we’d hoped to visit, St. James Episcopal, was not open.
Just a block from our car, we stopped at Lafayette Park to see the “Interactive Fountains”
While there, we noticed what looked like the booster stage of a rocket used to launch space craft.
However, we have no idea what it is.Any suggestions?
We awoke to below freezing temperatures … which to our friends back home may not generate any sympathy.
However, the Pearl River, less than twenty yards from our front door, provided some breathtaking scenery as well as an early morning visitor.
Our first stop was Mississippi’s ”new”state capitol building.
This Beaux-Arts structure, the third state capitol building in Jackson, sits on the site of the former state penitentiary and was completed in 1903.Built for a cost at a cost of $1.1 million (which was paid for by the Illinois Central Railroad in the form of back taxes the owed to the state)… by comparison the 1979-1983 renovations cost taxpayers $19 million, it houses the legislative
House Chambers
Senate Chamber
and executive branches of government;
The Governor’s office sits on the third floor above the open second floor rotunda
the Supreme Court having moved to the Gartin Building across the street.
Original Supreme Court Chambers (now used for legislative committee hearings)
Approaching the Capitol you pass one of the 53 replicas of the Liberty Bell (one was given to every state) and a statue erected in memory of the ladies, mothers, sisters, wives and daughters of the Confederate soldiers.
Atop the 180-foot dome, is a gold eagle measuring 8-foot in height and with a 15-foot wingspan looks out to the south, the location of the city of Jackson at the time of the building’s construction.The eagle is made of solid copper and gilded with gold leaf.
The walls of the rotunda are Italian white marble with a base of New York jet-black marble.Eight large columns are art marble known as scagliola.
The dome interior
contains 750 lights which illuminate the blindfolded female figure representing “blind justice”
and four scenes; two Indians, a Spanish explorer and a Confederate general.
The Mississippi Coat of Arms is atop of each arch.
The Capitol’s grand staircase ascends from the second floor (originally the primary floor) to the fourth floor.The architect used stepped consoles to create a wavy balustrade and stained glass windows adorn the landings.
Three blocks south we toured the Governor’s Executive Mansion.
First occupied in 1842, the Mississippi Governor’s Mansion is the second oldest continuously occupied governor’s residence in the United States. Completed in January 1842, Governor Tilghman Tucker and his family moved into the Mansion, which had been constructed for a cost of approximately $50,000.00. Both the Old Capitol (our next stop) and the Governor’s Mansion were designed by architect William Nichols (1780-1853), a native of Bath, England. William Nichols designed the Mansion in the period’s most popular architectural style: Greek Revival. Architectural historians consider the Mississippi Governor’s Mansion to be one of the finest surviving examples of the Greek Revival style in the United States.
Unfortunately, after taking a picture of the octagonal entrance foyer
I was advised that photography in the mansion was forbidden … which was a shame as some of the rooms open to the public are elegant and each tastefully and creatively decorated for Christmas in a different motif symbolic of Mississippi.
We then walked several blocks to the Old Capitol (actually the second of the three capitol buildings).Constructed in 1839, and serving as Mississippi’s state house until 1903, it is the oldest building in Jackson.
A plaque commemorating some of the most significant events which took place at or in the building.
Several times after the seat of government moved to the current Capitol, the building lay abandoned and at the mercy of the elements (most recently by Hurricane Katrina) before finally being restored for the most recent time in 2009 when it reopened as a museum focusing on the history of the building, with exhibits on government in action, the importance of historic preservation and the state’s different capitals (Natchez and Washington).
Interior Dome
Spiral Staircase
Supreme Court Chamber
Senate Chamber
Note the curved arcs on the front of each Senator’s desk
House Chamber
Note that the representatives initially had no desks
To the immediate south of the Old Capitol is a memorial to the Confederate war casualties.
The birthday of Jefferson Davis, June 3, 1891, was chosen as the date for the official dedication the Monument
To the north of the Old Capitol, soldiers of all wars are honored at the War Memorial Building where the faces of the soldiers carved into the building are all the same, which represents the kinship of all Mississippians who gave their lives in defense of their country. The building’s unique cast aluminum doors and panels depict scenes from the Battle of Ackia in 1736, through the Vietnam War.
Leaving the core city, we passed City Hall with its iconic statue of Andrew Jackson
As well as a number of cleverly disguised traffic signal boxes.
Right after leaving our campground, we pulled in to fill up.Unfortunately, when we went to exit, we discovered we were blocked in by and SUV …
which, it seems had just driven her vehicle in under the rear of a dump truck and was unwilling to move until the police arrived.After close to half -hour of watching no activity, we convinced the truck driver to move his truck forward so we could pull around the SUV and be on our way.Reluctantly, he obliged.
Leaving Montgomery, we retraced, in reverse, the route of the third Selma-to-Montgomery march which helped galvanize the Civil Rights Movement.
This segment of our trip ended as we crossed the Edmund Pettus Bridge
and entered the march’s starting point in Selma.
Continuing west along US-80 we passed though some very economically depressed areas, where some communities appeared to have more abandoned homes and businesses than occupied ones … interrupted by a few scenes which brought smiles to our faces …
as well as what has been a most unusual sight on this trip.
B L U E S K Y … and later S U N !
After entering
We pulled in to the Visitor’s Center where we were pared next a Global Expedition Vehicle 4X4 Off-road RV (which until today we’d only seen on the Travel Channel’s “Extreme RVs” show).
The couple driving it were from northeast England and had their RV shipped to Nova Scotia and were enroute to Belize in Central America.
We also passed through the town of Philadelphia (population 7,477) where, on June 21, 1964, three young civil rights workers—a 21-year-old black Mississippian, James Chaney, and two white New Yorkers, Andrew Goodman, 20, and Michael Schwerner, 24—were murdered.
They had been working to register black voters in Mississippi during Freedom Summer and had gone to investigate the burning of a black church. They were arrested by the police on trumped-up charges, imprisoned for several hours, and then released after dark into the hands of the Klu Klux Clan, who beat and murdered them. It was later proven in court that a conspiracy existed between members of Neshoba County’s law enforcement and the Ku Klux Klan to kill them.
Traveling across central Alabama and Mississippi, we’ve been surprised with the extent to the timbering industry and huge saw mill operations.
Our campground for the next two nights is in LeFLeur’s Bluff State Park in Jackson, Mississippi
Where, once again we’ve discovered influences of the Bible Belt dictating state and municipal policies.
Leaving Gadsden, we noticed the guy in the red suit still hanging around!
Gray skies, rain and fog
again kept us company on our trip south toward Montgomery.Enroute, Debbie spied another water tower
and another accident scene.
After checking in and getting settled at our campground, we headed out for the city’s center and Alabama’s state Capitol building.
The current Capitol building was built from 1850 to 1851 and first occupied in October 1851.Certain features were added at later dates, including the clock over the portico in 1852 and the Confederate monument in 1906.
The 88-foot monument, whose cornerstone was laid by Jefferson Davis in April 1866,is dedicated to more than 122,000 veterans.
With the secession of Alabama and subsequent formation of the Confederacy in February 1861, the building served as its first capitol until May 1861 … and its steps became the location of the inauguration of Jefferson Davis as President of the Confederate States of America.Both events are commemorated by plaques in the House
and Senate Chambers.
The original core of the building, as well as the subsequent additions, is essentially Greek Revival.The 1851 core building features bays delineated by Doric pilasters and a monumental three-story hexa-style portico.The original core was 150’ by 50’.
Two spiral staircases flank the west entrance foyer.
Being we were visiting in December, the public spaces in the building were adorned with a myriad of Christmas decorations.
The rotunda dome rises above the second and third floors,
Below which are a series of eight panel paintings depicting Alabama’s turbulent and bucolic histories from and early 20th century perspective.
Alabama’s Governor, Secretary of State, Treasurer and other continue to have their offices in the building
Hallway to the Governor’s Office
Old Treasurer’s Office – the only office in the building continually used for the same function
although the House
The 3-dimensional paneling in the House Chamber is actually very realistic faux painting, or Trompe d’oriel (“fool the eye”)
and Senate
State Capitol (Original Senate Chamber from the Balcony), Montgomery, AL – 2013-12-09Note the spittoon at end of the row of desks
moved across the street to the Alabama State House in 1984.
Around the Capitol are a number of artifacts from bygone eras
As well as a memorial to “fallen heroes” in the old Supreme Court chamber.
In an adjacent room, formerly the Supreme Court’s library there is an exhibit on the civil rights movement,
with many contemporary records of the Montgomery bus boycott and the bombing of the September 15th, 1963 bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birminghamwhere four girls studying in the basement for Sunday School classes were killed.
Actual police reports of the “murders” for two of those girls
As with other state capitols we’ve visited, the grounds are replete with a variety of statues and monuments, including a replica of the Liberty Bell, Flame of Freedom
dedicated to Alabama veterans
and Duty Called.
in remembrance of fallen law enforcement officers
Relocated across the street from the Capitol is the former house of William Sayre which as designated as the Executive Residence by the Provisional Confederate Congress on February 21, 1861.President Jefferson Davis and his family lived here until the Confederate Capital moved to Richmond later that summer. Just two blocks away is the Dexter Avenue King Memorial Baptist Church.
The 1883 church became a landmark because of its status as the birthplace of the Civil Rights Movement.It is also the only church where Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. served as a senior pastor.It was also the place where the bus boycott took root.
And, Oh yes … I upgraded our seasonal decorations today.
Driving across west Texas can become pretty boring 
unless you take the time to observe the exceptions to the muted green and brown and arid landscape.
planes which have obviously outlived their usefulness,
yet another boat out of its environment,
large cattle feed lots,
painted bridge abutments,
colorful exposed rock formations,
silhouettes,
pecan orchards,
and even a lighthouse.
The only “real” city we saw was El Paso where, in some places, the Mexican border was less than a quarter mile away.
And all the while that the jolly old elf is still shadowing us!
