Only a light dusting of snow said farewell as we left Nebraska on January 4th. Heavy snows were only a week away. By then, we were safely in the bosom of Dixie. Elaine’s brother, Richard, and his family (wife Dakota, daughter Libby and grandson Aaron) gave us shelter and sustenance the first few days of our journey. They live near Dallas, Texas. Richard recently retired from Abbot Labs, where he spent pretty much his total adult working career after serving in the USAF. Being a bit more of a worker than I, he has partnered in the “Nothing Bundt Cake” Franchise in Forth Worth. We sampled the product and were sent along with a few cakes which we enjoyed and shared with friends.
The Texas Civil War Museum gives an education on the role of Texas in the war between the states (1861-5), America’s most deadly war.
Texas attained its independence from Mexico in 1836 (more on this later); was an independent country until it joined the USA in 1845; joined the Confederate States of America in 1861, until its defeat in 1865. The last battle of the civil war was fought in Texas about a month after General Lee’s surrender at Appomattox Courthouse, Virginia. This battle was won by the Confederate forces (to no avail of the general result of the conflict). The battle was the only battle in which foreign troops engaged in combat, as a unit of French artillery stationed in Mexico supported the southern troops.
The museum is arranged in each room with the artifacts and explanatory text of the Union Forces on one side of the room and the Confederates on the other. Seeing those, one is surprised that the southern army was able to hold out for those 4 terrible years. In each case, southern resources of weaponry, uniforms, and other items are clearly inferior in terms of quality and in overall numbers. However, it was the will to defend their homes from Yankee invaders that seems to have kept them going in spite of the unbalanced resources.
Several unique items are among their holdings. A lock of General Robert E. Lee’s and President Jefferson Davis’ hair. The pocket watch of that famous cavalryman J.E. B. Stuart, a first edition of “Uncle Tom’s Cabin”, and various martial flags of the era.
On the 7th, we headed for The Landing at Seven Coves, a very nice resort on Conroe Lake. We stayed here for 2 weeks, before heading for South Padre Island. Each unit is right on Lake Conroe, with a balcony overlooking the water.
If you are a reader of my blogs, you know Elaine & I have visited several Presidential Libraries/Museums over the years. The George H. W. Bush Museum is in College Station, Texas – about 50 miles from Lake Conroe. On the 8th, we spent most of the day at the museum and learned much about the man and his times.
Docents meet you at the entrance and give helpful advice on what to look for in the museum. The entry lobby is covered, in part, by a very large and thick wool carpet, a gift of King Hassan II of Morocco. Per USA law, gifts to U.S. Officials become the property of the government, not the person.
A selection of the many gifts is exhibited throughout the facility. A solid gold sword worth $28 million along with a solid gold model of some building were gifts from Saudi Arabia. President Bush got along well with the Saudis, being a fellow oilman. Incidentally, we were told that it took 9 workers to lift the gold building. Maybe we could melt this stuff down and pay down our debt. If one sword is worth 28 mil, how much would that building be worth? The Emir of Bahrain gave this gold palm tree. A bit better quality of gift than the DVD President Obama gave to the Prime Minister of England on his low-key visit to the White House.
Some gifts are of historic value. For instance, a section of the Berlin Wall, which came down during the Presidency of Bush, after a shameful 28 years. I understand that President Reagan's Museum in California also has a section of this wall.
Exhibits from the several periods of Bush's and his family’s lives are portrayed. They include even his old Studebaker that he drove from his home in Greenwich, Connecticut to Odessa, Texas when he was a young married man. Bush was a successful oilman, founding Zapata Oil; a US Congressman, Ambassador to the UN, Director of the CIA, Vice President, and President. He continues to be active in various charities.
While there, I was offered a job. What do you think, should I take it?
One way we spend our time is to relax around the unit. Every few days we sample the local cuisine.
Elaine brought a few quilts in various states of assembly and during cold and rainy days spends many an hour at her favorite hobby. Here are pictures of her product: A quilt for great nephew Kolbe Trefz.
Another for great nephew Ignatius Bunkers
One for daughter Anne, who has moved from Indiana to Boston, Massachusetts to take up a Research and Development job with her current employer.
I read, plan outings and watch movies that I have not seen.
Sam Houston is a larger than life character in Texas history. Houston ran away from home at age 15 and lived with the Cherokee Indians for 3 years. He fought in the War of 1812. Later in life, he served as one of the Cherokee ambassadora to the US government. Houston was a U.S.Congressman and Governor of Tennessee before coming to Texas. He commanded Texas forces at the Battle of San Jacinto in 1836 (more on this later). Houston was the 1st & 3rd President of the Republic of Texas and a later U.S. Senator and Governor of Texas. Houston resigned as Governor when Texas voted to leave the Union in 1861. Houston is the only person to have been governor of 2 different states. He died in 1863 & was buried in Huntsville, Texas, where he is memorialized by a 67 foot-tall statue beside Interstate 45 and an eponymous museum. Wow, what a life he had.
Huntsville is locally famous for its several prisons, one of which you can tour. We passed on that, as prisons are depressing and monuments of wasted lives holding no interest for us. However, they have a really good Veterans Museum, which is worth a look. It holds items from all military branches for all of the wars of the 20th century.
Houston, is Texas’ largest city, at 1.8 million residents. There are many things to see and do in Houston and we took advantage of these opportunities. On Tuesday the 12th of January we visited two sites: The Battleground of San Jacinto and the WW I era battleship Texas.
The Mexican army was on a roll after his Phyric victory at the Alamo and the bloody massacre at Goliad. General Santa Ana's arrogance and underestimation of the Texican army was to be his downfall. On the afternoon of April 21st 1836 Santa Ana and his army were taking their afternoon siesta. No sentries were posted. The numerically inferior Texicans (as they were called then) charged in a surprise attack, killing over 50% of the Mexican forces (1,200 troops in the field, 680 killed), capturing Santa Ana and forcing him to acknowledge the independence of Texas. Losses on the Texican side, 2 killed in battle and seven more were to die from wounds – about a 75:1 ratio, unheard of since the battle of New Orleans in 1815. On the hundreth anniversary of the batle, the State of Texas erected a star-topped obelisk on the 1,200 acre battleground park. It rises some 567 feet above the battlefield, 12 feet taller than the Washington Monument (as everything is Texas must be larger). Twenty stone markers are scattered over the battlefield explaining what event happened at the site.
The site where Santa Ana was captured is along Buffalo Bayou, now part of the refinery cluttered Houston Harbor.
The base of the obelisk houses a movie theater which offers a movie about the battle and a museum of Texas history from the 1500s onward.
An elevator takes one up to the top of the monument where you get a birdseye view of the battlefield & the surrounding waterway.
The area bordering the battlefield houses miles and miles of oil refineries. Not a pretty sight or smell. Twenty-five percent of the USA refining capacity is in the Houston area, making this a strategically important area for the USA.
The Battleship Texas, is also on the park grounds. This ship is the only surviving battleship which saw action in both WW I & WW II. When commission in 1914, the Texas was the world’s most powerful battleship and the first to launch an aircraft. These ships are always interesting to explore from stem to stern. It is amazing to see the technology used 100 years ago when to ship was constructed. Like the Titanic, it was held together by rivets.
To be a senior officer promised luxurious quarters and living. Here is part of their silver service.
Day to day life on board offered few luxuries for the enlisted. They did have a convenience store for their magazines, cigarettes and candy.
They slept on mattresses hung triple level along the hallways. Whereas officers had private or semi-private rooms. The ship also included medical and dental facilities. This ship is not restored completely, as workmen are working on the ship as it gains funds.
From Wednesday through Friday we had friends from Paris, France stay with us. Kim is a Nebraska woman who met and married Pierre in Paris. We enjoyed good conversation and touring while they were with us.
Together we enjoyed a day at the Houston Space Center. This is a must see if in the Houston area. There is an exhibit area, which consists of items from the USA space program. You can also take a short tour of a few buildings of the Johnson Space Center, where 10,000 or more workers keep our space program going.
Here are two astronauts, Kim & Elaine, commanding the Space Shuttle.
For those of you who are a bit older, perhaps you remember the Mercury program of the early 1960s;
or the Gemini of the mid-1960s;
or the Apollo of the late 1960s and early 1970s and the powerful Saturn 5 rocket that propelled them to the moon.
Well, it is all there, to include even the actual control room for Apollo 11, the first moon landing on July 20, 1969.
Want to touch a 3.8 billion year old moon rock?
A great deal of exhibit space is devoted to the Space Station and the Shuttle (which will make its last flight later this year).
After a full day at the space center, we spent a few hours in downtown Houston to wait out the rush hour(s) traffic.
Friday found us on the Houston Harbor Tour, where one gets to see the various and sundry operations along the waterfront. Here is the tour boat and its interior – BTW, the tour is free. That’s right a 90 minute tour, complete with free coffee and sodas – free.
Houston is actually about 50 miles inland from the sea. In spite of this, it is one of the busiest US ports (3rd busiest if memory served me correctly). Ships of all sizes & national registries are common.
It is not the most scenic of tours, but it is interesting to see how the whole thing operates.
Always interested in the history of places we are staying, the Montgomery County Museum in Conroe and its friendly docent provided an educational experience. The county was the 3rd county platted in Texas and became a center for lumbering, being in the Piney Woods region of Texas. In the 1930s, oil was discovered and continues to be pumped to this day. As Americans decided that lakes were the place to have homes and vacation homes, a local creek was dammed forming the 22,000 acre Lake Conroe on which we stayed.
Our 2 weeks passed, now we were off to South Padre Island (SPI), a 7-hour drive south of Lake Conroe. After traveling through the suburbs of Houston, it is a very dull drive through scrubland. Fortunately, Texas has a very well-maintained road system, and the travel was easy, if not interesting. Padre Island has had settlements since the 1540s, when the Spanish controlled this region of the world. However, it was very sparsely settled. A channel was dredged across Padre Island in the 20th century, which created a North and South Padre Island. Access to South Padre is from a bridge in Port Isabel, Texas. It is a mecca for snowbirders from Canada and northern states who are escaping from the cold clutches of winter. Spring Break brings in thousands of university students. Temps in the summer are about 10 degrees cooler from the broiling south Texas inland area and many come here for time at the beach.
The southern 5 miles of the 40-mile long island is the developed part, with resorts and hotels packed along the beachfront. It reminded me of Miami Beach without the crowds. There are only about 5,000 permanent residents on SPI. About 1,000,000 people visit each year. SPI became an officially chartered town in 1973.
Here’s the view from The Royale Beach and Tennis Club, where we stayed for 2 weeks. There are 3 swimming pools and 3 spa pools. On most days, it was warm enough to partake of the pools, which we did. There were hearty souls who even were in the spa pools on the coldest of days - we were not among those souls.
Getting around South Padre Island and nearby Port Isabel can be done using the convenient and free Wave buses. Just wave your hand and they pick you up.
Many of the snowbirds we met here have been coming here for 20 years or more. We met 2 couples from Kearney, Nebraska while here. We did not know them before coming here. Gordon & Bev Muller and Ed & Betty Cook both invited us to their vacation condos for morning coffees. We also went grapefruit picking one day. There were many other Nebraskans whom we met and several from our former home of South Dakota.
The ocean was a bit rough for swimming, but surf fishermen could be seen daily enjoying their sport. Walks on the beach were a good way to spend a few hours.
South Texas is a home for many animals such as turtles, dolphins, rattlesnakes, alligators and other year-round residents.
It is also a winter home for many migrating birds. Here are a few of the many types we saw:
The snowy egret
Roseate Spoonbill
Great blue heron
Great Egret
Bring your binoculars if you ever get down here and enjoy the views. There is a birding center with about a mile of boardwalks on the Laguna Madre side of SPI, where you can easily view many of the birds pictured and more. The waters of the lagoon had a maximum depth of 2.8 feet, with a average tide of only about a foot. Dredging of the Intracoastal waterway has deepened a channel in the lagood, but the rest remains quite shallow.
Brownsville, Texas (pop 160,000) is a short half-hour drive west. Named after Major Jacob Brown who died defending Fort Texas (renamed Fort Brown) in an early action the Mexican War.It is located on the unimpressive Rio Grander River which comprises the US-Mexico border for Texas.
The border is a very historic area in US history, as the first battle of the 1846-8 Mexican War occurred at Palo Alto on May 8, 1846. One can walk along paved paths that have signs that tell you what happened at the various locations you are walking. Today, it is a quiet patch of scrubland. A visitor center provides a good video and several displays of artifacts from the battle. There was an earlier skirmish of the war at Rancho de Carricitos in April, but Palo Alto was the first action to be called a battle. Strange thing, more US soldiers died in the skirmish (11) than in the battle (9). The battle was mostly a duel between the two armies' artillery forces. Fortunately for the Americans, their artillery had a longer range than the Mexican artillery, which meant that the Mexicans could fire all they wanted, but their shells fell way short to do any damage - this explaining the lopsided casualty figures (Mexico 100 dead, 125 wounded - USA 9 dead, 17 wounded). The commander of US forces, General Zachary Taylor, gained national popularity from his actions and was later elected to the presidency. Today, the site is a quiet 3,400 acre site, with paved walkways that protect you from the thorny bushes that cover the area.
The last battle of the Civil War is located on the coastal plains east of Brownsville at the site of the former Palmito Ranch. As, mentioned in an earlier part of this blog, it was a Confederate victory in which artillery forces of France fought alongside the southern troops on May 13, 1865, weeks after the Confederacy surrendered in other parts of the USA. Private John Jefferson Willians of the 34th Indiana Volunteers is recognized as the last soldier to die in action in the Civil War at this battle. On June 2, 1865, General Edmund Kirby Smith signed artciles of surrender, thus ending the Civil War. There is nothing at the site other than a stone marker. Plans are underfoot to create a historic site at this place at some future date.
Brownsville is also the home of one of the wings of the Commemorative Air Force (formerly known as the Confederate Air Force). They have a very interesting museum of WW I & II artifacts, and a small selection of old airplanes. The main wing is in Midland, Texas, where many more planes are kept. All are regularly flown. I’d hoped to see more WWII planes, but the museum part was worth the visit.
Port Isabel has a couple of museums and a lighthouse, worth a visit. A $5 combination ticket gets you in everything. Climb the interior steps of the 1852 lighthouse to get a good view of the local area.
The Port Isabel Historic Museum traces the history of the area from Indian settlement right up to today. This area used to be the shrimp capital of the USA, accounting for 70% of the US harvest in the 1960s and 1970s. Since then, regulations and effects of shrimp farming have placed this industry in great decline. Many derelict shrimp boats can be seen rusting away at wharves.
The museum is housed in a historic building, that served as a mercantile over a hundred years ago. Notice the 1905 fish murals that cover the entire façade of the structure (you will have to click on the photo to see the fishes).
Just as Kearney has crane statuary located all around town and Camden, Maine has its bears, Port Isabel celebrates its colorful dolphins – try to find them all.
The Treasures of the Gulf Museum is a museum of Gulf Wrecks – artifacts from 3 ships of the Spanish treasure fleet of 1554 which wrecked off of Padre Island. The saga of the 304 survivors of the wreck is not a happy one, as only 2 made it back alive to civilization.
The last few days of our stay were indoor focused, as the cold fingers of winter even reached south Texas. No snow, but temperatures in the 20s-30s and high winds. We had planned to take a boat tour of the Port Isabel and Brownsville harbors, but the seas were too rough and the tours were cancelled. Maybe next time.
There are a large number of Canadians who winter on South Padre. Each year,several Canadian firms host a Snowbird Extravaganza, which by good fortune, took place on the cold days. Well-known Canadian (not well-known in USA though) musicians and comedians provided a full-day of entertainment.
On the day we were to leave SPI, a half-inch of ice forced the closing of the only bridge until noon and Houston (our next destination) was pretty much closed due to ice. Rather than fight the conditions, we extended for another night and were graced with sunny skies and dry roads the following day.
Elaine & I agree that South Padre Island is an attractive place to escape winter and we plan to try to come down again next winter and maybe even more after that. It is more of a retirement center than a tourist center, as visitors do not seem to be in a hurry to see and do things. They want to meet and talk with you and just relax and many are there for 2 or 3 months of winter.
Our next two weeks were spent back at Lake Conroe at the Piney Shores Resort. This is a very luxurious resort with both indoor and outdor pools, tennis courts, hot tubs, exercise room, on-site grill, an activity center, mini-golf, horseback riding, rental boating during the warmer months, etc. Our booking was for a studio unit for two weeks. However, the building containing these units suffered from burst pipes during the afore mentioned icy and frigid temps - record lows for this part of Texas. Our reservation was given an upgrade to a posh, two-bedroom unit, wiht full-kitchen, living room and laundry in the unit. Right on Lake Conroe again.
Much of our time here was spent on the resort enjoying the indoor pool and hot tub, relaxing, reading, quilting for Elaine and exploring the local ara. Several forays were made to Houston and its environs. where we enjoyed museums, a ranch visit and more.
After a few days of relaxing around the pool, we did some more touring of the area. A return trip to Huntsville gave us the opportunity to learn more about Sam Houston. Huntsville is the home of the Sam Houston Memorial Museum. Located on the site of one of Sam Houston’s home sites, it also includes several other original buildings & reconstructed ones where he lived or worked.
The museum holds artifacts owned by Houston and narratives of important happenings in his life. The saddle and tack are from General Santa Ana’s horse captured at San Jacinto.
Elaine noticed a discrepancy in the museum regarding which of Sam Houston’s legs was wounded in the battle. The film at the museum, the diorama, the classic painting of Houston under a shade tree meeting with the Mexican general after the battle are not consistent. Santa Ana attempted to evade capture by dressing as an enlisted soldier (he’s the guy in the white outfit). The diorama shows Houston’s left leg with the wound that caused him to need a cane for the remainder of his life.
The 1886 painting by William Henry Huddle shows the right leg with the wound and with Santa Ana in a blue coat rather than all in white.
So, which leg was it? Find out at:
http://www.texasescapes.com/MikeCoxTexasTales/Sam-Houston.htm
The grounds also have two of the houses that Houston owned and lived in. The "steamboat" house is where Houston died in 1863.
A reconstructed replica of his law office in Huntsville is also on the grounds. Not much in comparison with today's law offices is it?
By now, the cold of winter left this area and we enjoy most days in the 70s. Taking advantage of the warm weather, we head for the Houston area on a couple days and visited some interesting tourist attractions.
In 1997, Ira Poon, a wealthy businessman from Hong Kong (now living in Seattle) financed the construction of a model of Beijing’s Forbidden City and the Terra Cotta army of Emperor Qin in Katy, Texas. http://www.roadsideamerica.com/story/10520
The attraction, built for an estimated $20 million, covers 40 acres and 2,000 years of Chinese history. Behind the courtyard are 40,000 square feet of model palaces and people of the Forbidden City of Beijing, The Temple of Heaven, The Calming of the Heart Lodge, and the canal city of Suzhou.
Full size exhibits of weapons (from 250 B.C. to 300 A.D (or C.E. depending on your preference) are on display. One of the weapons found with the terra cotta army was still sharp enough to split a human hair. The emperor’s meal table was also on display.
I consider the main attraction the replica of the terra cotta army of Emperor Qin (ruled around 240-210 B.C.). Qin was the first to unite China into one kingdom and is credited with many administrative accomplishments: standard coinage, road width, etc. Off to the side is a big pit filled with thousands of soldiers, and behind it is a small hill (tomb). The soldiers are one-third scale reproductions of Emperor Qin's army -- 4,000 of the 8,000 found -- and his tomb, Mount Li. Qin Shihauangdi, for those of us less well-versed in Chinese history than Mr. Poon, was the first emperor of China. The terra-cotta warriors were buried with him over 2,000 years ago and unearthed near Xi'an in 1974. A hundred or so soldiers are also reproduced in actual size. Each of the 6,000 soldiers have a unique face, clothing & armaments.
Here’s a depiction of Qin, with his tomb behind him. Fearsome looking creature.
People visit Forbidden Gardens from all over the world, particularly from China. The Chinese government makes travel within China so difficult that it's easier to fly to America and see a replica than it is to stay home and see the real thing. Alas, this impressive attraction closed two days after our visit to make room for a new highway. No plans on relocation have been made. Such is the cost of what we call progress.
Richmond is a community which has become a suburb of Houston, but was a ranching area in the recent past. The George Historic Ranch preserves this tradition with a 23,000 acre working-ranch.
Four generations of the same family owned this ranch until the family line died out and it continues as a foundation-owned operation. Having producing oil wells on the ranch ensure its economic viability. As the property always passed from daughter to daughter, each generation had a different last name. The homes of each of the 4 generations have been preserved with many of the original furnishings in the last two homes.
The ranch was founded by Henry and Nancy Jones in the 1824 as part of Stephen Austin’s colony land grant from the Mexican government. The first home (a reconstruction) is quite Spartan and mostly functioned to keep the elements at bay. An oak tree that they planted lives on to this day.
The Ryon family home (2nd generation) is a 1860s era construction with a few of the furnishings from the era.
The 1870s Davis (3rd generation) home was not built on the ranch; in 1977, it was moved from Richmond after the founding of the Historic Park. Its massive size was quite a challenge to moving it. This house is now located next to the family cemetery, where Heny & Nancy Jones and many members of the Ryon family lay in eternal rest. It is furnished as of the year 1896. Nearly all furnishings are the originals, as with the George House.
While the family still retained ownership of the ranch, the workings of the Davis ranch were left to a manager. The husband was a successful banker in Richmond and the Victorian-era home reflects this prosperity.
This chair and two others were from the originally from the bank. No need to inquire where the money came from during this era.
The Davises almost lost the ranch in the stock market crash of 1929 and the ensuing depression of the 1930s’ Luck was with them, prolific deposits of gas and oil were found on ranch property, enabling the Davises to pay off all depositors of the bank.
The George family was the final generation to live on the property. Like the generations before them, they built a new home on the ranch in 1900. Both of their children died without producing an heir. While still prosperous, the home lacks when compared to the Victorian home of the Davises. However, it did have indoor plumbing and electricity, which none of the other homes featured. This home is furnished as it was in the 1930s.
Cowboys can be seen working cattle in the front pens (sorting, roping and more). We watched the cowboys tend to the cattle in the chute before sending them into one of the few dipping vats still in existence in the United States. Texas cattle had a tick that was fatal to cattle from areas north of Texas. All cattle leaving Texas had to be dipped in nasty poisons to kill the ticks. The poisons flowed into the water table with predictable negative consequences and the practice was banned.
Unfortunately, all I could get a photo of was the splash of the cattle entering the dipping vat. The vat only contains water, as it is merely for demonstration as the tick has been eradicated.
A Saturday in Houston gave us the opportunity to see the Museum of Natural Science. http://www.hmns.org/ Traffic downtown discouraged us from coming during the work-week. We had planned to see 2 other museums that day, but it took all day to view the impressive exhibits. Will have to return some other time to see the others.
Our first stop was a hands-on exhibit about insects. It was extensive and took about an hour to view. Each area features a different type of insect (wasps, ants, spiders, cockroaches, etc.) and has interactive quizzes to test your entomological knowledge.
From there, we entered the butterfly house, where we enjoyed the thousands of colorful and exotic butterflies.
Then off to the main floors (there are 3). Dinosaur bones.
Minerals and precious gems:
A massive collection of all types of seashells
An extensive treatment of energy and oil drilling is on special exhibit. As is a temporary section dealing with the Port of Galveston when it was a port-of-entry for immigrants.
Another statue honoring Sam Houston graces an extensive park just outside of the museum.
It wasn’t all museums for us in Houston. One evening was spent enjoying the music at Pete’s Dueling Piano Bar, a popular nightspot. Pete’s has bars in Fort Worth, Austin, Addison (wherever that is), Houston, Texas & Las Vegas, Nevada. The format is something like this: 2 grand pianos face each other and songs are played alternatively by pianists and other instrumentalists and vocalists. Songs are pretty much by request, with audience participation encouraged and freely given. The music is non-stop and gets louder as the evening progresses. Rather than take a break, on the hour, relief pianists take the next hour. Don’t plan on conversation unless you shout. While it was fun, the decibel level was high and my ears were ringing for 2 hours after we left. http://www.petesduelingpianobar.com/ If you find yourself in any location where Pete's is, do enjoy the experience.
Located on the outskirts of the small community of Montgomery, Texas is the Wolves of St Francis rescue refuge. It was founded to provide a permanent home where wild and captive born wolves and wolf-dogs may live out the rest of their natural lives safely and comfortably with loving care and attention. Find out more about the sanctuary and its incredible founder, Jean LeFevre at http://wolvesofsaintfrancis.org/
Rev. Jean (who, incidentally is the first licensed female aircraft pilot in India among her many unusual accomplishments) and three of her volunteer helpers gave us an extensive tour of the facility. Texas claims that the wolf is extinct in the state. However, as nearly all of the 14 wolves (& wolf-dogs) were found in Texas, many of them right in Montgomery County, I think that they may be incorrect. A highlight was going into the enclosure with a wolf and getting to pet it and get licked by its sloppy tongue. Genetically, wolves cannot be distinguished from domestic canines. A wolf-dog is a wolf that has some characteristics of a domestic canine (from cross-breeding in nature or otherwise). For instance, the photo with Elaine in it: this is a wolf dog, as the wolf's tail does not curl and is normally down as can be seen in the other wolf photo.
Make sure you are present for the 5 o’clock howl. One wolf began to howl and then the others chimed in. The speculation is that it is their way of keeping tabs on one another. One wolf-dog was raised as a dog; so rather than howl, it barks. Over time, we were told, it will learn to howl.
Elaine completed two more children’s quilts while at Piney Shores, great nephews Brayden Neal
and one for A.J. Spielmann
After enjoying a few more days at Piney Shores, we returned to Dallas for a few days at Dick & Dakota's home. From there, we headed home after a wonderful escape from winter.
