The drive to Waco from Shreveport was like Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride x 10! We knew we’d get rain but the wild wind took us by surprise. After we crossed the Texas State Line, the rain was coming down sideways & we could barely see 20 ft in front of us. Unbelievably scary! In hind-sight, we should have pulled over into a parking lot & cozied up to a solid building on the opposite side that the wind was coming from. But we radioed back & forth & decided to continue – surely we’d be out of the storm in minutes. MAYBE 20 minutes later the deluge slacked up & only hit us in spurts the rest of the way to Waco. We passed by several accident scenes, one with people looking over the side of a bridge (YIKES!). We were so glad to get to the campground without being involved in an accident!
We had a pretty convenient campsite close to the office but this park was way too tight. Since we were on the end of a row, we at least had our passenger side (door side) without another camper exterior wall to look at. But that also meant we were exposed to curious eyes of all who passed by. No matter – people enjoyed Waldo in the passenger seat & we spent a lot of time touring about so we weren’t there the majority of the time.
I heated up some chili & made a salad the first evening as the rain continued to pour. As we sat at the table looking out the window we noticed a bunch of folks hightailing it to the office building. Perry checked the radar & saw we were under a tornado warning! Then the Sheriff’s cars came tearing through the park, lights flashing & sirens screaming! We grabbed up the pups & took off to the office – even through it was pretty close, we were drenched when we got there. The office staff kept an eye on the reports & radar & within 15 minutes, let everyone know that the tornado that touched down had turned in another direction so we were safe.
We ran back to our RV only to find a lake had formed between the dirt road & our door. And we still had rain coming down. So we just rain through the mess but my slipper came off & started floating away. Perry chased it down, still holding Spice, as I got myself & Sugar into the rig. He followed in minutes & then we just stood there dripping wet, laughing until we hurt. Have I mentioned how thankful I am to have an onboard washer/dryer? I just took off my coat & slippers, dropped my pants that were soaked from the knee down (yes, the water was almost that deep) & threw them in. My PJs were so much more comfortable! Thankfully, no more scary weather issues happened that night!
The following day, we started out slow, checking the weather & determining all was well with the world. Perry set up the DISH antennia so we could keep up with current news “just in case”. And poor ole Spice was most thankful to drape over his knee after the scariness of the day before.
We set out to find a grocery store & get the general layout of the area. The downtown area of Waco was not far away.
This little guy was sitting across the street from the campground. Someone has a fun imagination!I assume these poles were put in straight but the strong winds in the area must have quickly compromised them. Oh my!
In the afternoon we decided to make our way over to The Silos / Magnolia Market. We LOVE the HGTV show “Fixer-Upper” with Chip & Joanna & this is their flagship location. The church a block over rents space in their lot for parking – $10 a day or any part of a day. It’s a donation to the church so we gladly paid it.
The Silos from the parking lot.Lots of photo op spots throughout this venue.There’s Perry, chomping at the bits to go shopping – NOT. But he humored me without too much fuss.We bought a few things, mostly gifts for others. Christmas is coming … right? And we did find a stone mortise & pestle we actually needed for crushing up Cranberry pills for the pups. Supposedly, that helps them with their bladder stone issues.Some of the food vendor stands were vintage campers. This one was not operated when we were there but the cupcake place at the front entrance was. I think the business was so brisk for those cupcakes, this little camper would have been sold out in a matter of minutes anyway.We HAD to stop in at the Coffee Shop & get a treat & a cup of Joe.And I LOVE the use of old theater chairs as the waiting area seats!We very briefly visited The Silos last year as we headed north from San Antonio & I have kicked myself over & over again for not taking more pictures of this beautiful church Chip & Joanne relocated to the center of The Silos campus. So I made sure to take LOTS of pictures of it this time. The Gaines found this treasure in a dilapidated condition somewhere in south Texas, dismantled it & rebuilt it at The Silos. It’s gorgeous!The tower was beautifully covered in wood shingles once rebuilt & the huge bell was added – found at an antique store somewhere up north.This is the back of the church – so sweet with a pretty little girl playing in the open grounds.Inside the church, one can sit on the pews (original to the church when found) & just quietly reflect on the peacefulness. People wander in & out but are respectfully quiet.Inside the door on the left was a vestibule with the rope for the bell. It was originally open above but the Gaines closed it so the sides around the bell could be open, allowing a view to that beautiful old bell.At the pulpit area, I took a picture of The Silos out the window. I think this is my favorite picture!There is also a mini ballfield for kids to play in!And there are fun shops as part of the campus. We, of course, picked up pins for our camper board & a post card for Lily.The Magnolia Home store on the campus displayed lots of the furniture often seen on the show as part of the final reveal. It was nice to wander through but I don’t think I’d be interested even if I was still in a sticks & bricks.There were PLENTY of bathrooms & they were super nice! Lots of subway tile & very roomy. The attention to detail here was amazing.There’s a big area of covered picnic tables & many areas where people can just sit on iron benches or at tables & chairs in the sun to people watch. There’s also a couple BIG open areas where people can play lawn games & such. I think the premise is to keep shoppers around longer so they will spend more. It works!I’m a sucker for signs & I thought this one was great.I like that there were several photo op venyettes & I like this picture of Perry.The base of The Silos.Flowers were blooming EVERYWHERE. So pretty!
After we left The Silos we walked a couple blocks over to tour the Dr. Pepper Museum. Our son Robby was obsessed with the drink a few years back so we HAD to see this place.
At the entrance.A great old delivery truck.The displays & information in the museum was phenomenal. We loved it all! The time & detail in creating the historic venue facade was amazing.This animated guy was having a word with Perry.Will you just look at that old red fire alarm? I had never seen one like it before!The bottles of old …Another great display.Old cars & gas pumps. So well preserved.Of course, I HAD to have a ride!This display gave in-depth detail as to the how & why of Dr Pepper.The brand made other liquid products, too. I had not known that.Lots more Dr Pepper history.And these old webbed lawn chairs brought back memories of beach trips.I think this huge sign was one of the oldest there.Brand gear was a thing.I guess I had never paid attention to the 10, 2, 4 part of the logo. A three times a day pick-me-up was what it promoted.Great old posters throughout.There’s that 10, 2, 4 thing again! The brand was indicating the drink could be a substitute for meals I guess.Outside in the courtyard, as we moved to the second building, I noticed The Silos were in the background. Still in the courtyard with more advertising signs.This was a poster at a World Fair from well over 100 years ago. Behind glass to avoid any touching, I’m sure. The colors were vibrant!The second building was originally a bank. We liked looking at the vault door & it’s mechanisms.This display was about the bottling of the beverage. These bottles were green because it was 7-up, another product produced by the manufacturer.And more great old delivery vehicles.Another delivery vehicle that required REAL horse power.The toy train track display was so detailed & the train running around the track was awesome.Big Red was another product of the Dr Pepper brand. I can’t say I remember it though.
After we finished at the Dr Pepper Museum we decided to find a good steakhouse & have dinner. We definately found a jewel – Diamond Back’s was wonderful!
The popovers were HUGE & so tasty! I had to find a recipe for them – which I will make someday when I can buy a popover pan – no room for one in the RV! The rest of the meal was delishous, too. But I didn’t take a picture.
The next day we ventured out again to play tourist. But before we got on the road, I had to go online for entrance passes to Yosemite National Park where we are going to visit in a couple months. Having Day Passes is a new rule for a lot of National Parks – made necessary due to the huge popularity of the open spaces in nature during the COVID crisis. One MUST have a pass when arriving at the parks – none are sold onsite. The passes are only $2 for entrance on 3 consecutive days but the angst getting them caused near panic. We ordered then right at the top of the hour they became available so we are set! I checked the website later in the day & then several days later. Passes were still available so I guess the panic was for naught. <sigh>
This “man-made” cactus was just fun to see along the side of the road. It was 8 ft tall or more. I love random yard art!
We found the Texas Ranger Museum in downtown Waco & it was a treasure!
Lots of big statues outside but the sun angle was certainly not the best for photography.Another Ranger statue.Inside the museum there was a treasure trove of well displayed artifacts & information. This relief topograhy map showed lots of points of interest throughout the state.In the first room was more of the staged kind of cases of how people looked & lived in the day the Rangers came into being. There were some good displays & artifacts. I’d rather see & read the actual history though.The info on gambling & whiskey prohibition was good.Then there was the Bonnie & Clyde case that told the story of their escapades & how they were tracked down & killed by the Texas Rangers. WOW! I found this display quite interesting. The first guy was a rather corrupt Governor. Then his wife was elected to the position, promising reform, only to run the state & the Rangers “out of town” so to speak. Looks like the third guy got things straightened out & reinstated the Rangers in the end. You can zoom in to the written info under the pictures to read about them.I took a picture of this original certificate when I saw the name of the recipient – Joel Robinson. The former Sheriff of Barrow County (where we call home) is Joel Robinson, too. Seems he was proceeded by another outstanding lawman with the same name!Ira Aten was the ultimate badass lawman, in my opinion. A “creative” thinker that was successful in getting the job done. I enjoyed reading about his technique & that of so many others who made The Texas Rangers reputaion so revered.This statue was near the end of the museum wanderings. I love the carved message on the stand.Lastly, this poster was in the kid’s section. I always thought the call of the Lone Ranger was, ”Hi-Ho Silver.” Didn’t know it was actually, ”Hi -Yo Silver.” ???
We had wanted to take the Waco City Tour in a passenger van but tickets were sold out for the day. So we wandered back into The Solos/Magnolia Market to get a couple of their renowned cupcakes.
The efficiency of the staff was a site to see. And the general appearance of the place was so old-timey. I loved it!Then there were the delicious cupcakes! Absolutely wonderful in both appearance & taste. YUM!While we wandered through the campus that is The Silos again, we saw they were getting set up for what appeared to be a cooking competition? I guess we will see it on HGTV at some point.
Since we couldn’t take the city tour, I checked for something else we could do for the afternoon & found the Roadside America Museum about 30 minutes away. The info on the app we use indicated one needed to call first so the proprietor could let you in. It’s a private collection of a rather eccentric fellow who would best be described as a tinkerer & lover of all things vintage. We drove over to Hillsboro, Texas to meet Mr Carroll Estes for our private tour!
The museum was located in a wonderful commercial building in the downtown area, easy to find & so charming on the outside.This was part of the front of the building. When one loves old things as we do, we knew we were in for a treat.Inside, Mr Estes had a plethora of memorabilia that drove our memories back to our youth & stories even beyond. Old telephone booths, saddle oxford shoes, Barney on Andy Griffith & so much more! And Mr Estes encouraged my taking pictures as we walked through the shop for nearly two hours, explaining the finds & fun stuff he has spent a lifetime collecting!There was a LOT of memorabilia on Grapette Soda which I honestly didn’t remember. Perry did, but he is “older” than me – by 3 years.This old wagon was my favorite. It was a “Scamp” & proceeded the Radio Flyer.More Grapette memorabilia.There were several old phones throughout the shop. The one above was a public pay phone. The one below had a crank dial that would connect you with an operator who would then put you through to the party of your choice. I’ve seen lots of old crank phones but never one like this. It hung on the wall (as pictured) or sat on a table. More advertising memorabilia for products from the past.I know ice cream came in cardboard containers but I had never seen such variety. So fun!This wasps nest with a bird nest in it wasn’t an antique but it sure was neat.Then there was the casket of Jiles Perry Richardson, Jr – the 1950s Texas DJ who’s hit record “Chantilly Lace” brought him into fame. His stage name was ”The Big Bopper”. He died in the fateful plane crash with the more famous musician Buddy Holly. In 2007, Richard’s casket was dug up so rumors of his demise by gunshot could be put to rest – which his second autopsy proved was indeed false. The deceased’s family decided to rebury Richardson in a new casket, in a more prominent graveyard than before. So the original casket found a home in Carroll Estes private museum. Really weird story but interesting all the same.In the song “Chantilly Lace” the singer was talking on the phone & sang, “Hello Baaaaby”. Thus the phone was a part of the casket.This Cushman motorcycle was produced in the late 50s. It was in perfect condition.
Mr Estes lead us back into his HUGE garage where he currently spends most of his time. As I said, he is a tinkerer & an old car enthusiast. He has personally restored all of the cars & trucks below plus a few more.
The bus (pictured above & below) was an actual penitentiary bus from the 1930. It’s in the process of restoration but so darn cool! I missed photographing the multitude of bullet holes it had on it YIKES!1955 Panel Wagon with back windows.1959 Buick with chopped top. I have to say the pink paint with yellow underlay was THE prettiest thing ever. 1930s Dodge Tow Truck. Mr Estes actually uses this restored truck when he takes cars to various shows & display events.1960s Chevy Truck.1960-1970s Pontiac1955 Chevy Nomad with various plaques & award memorabilia under the hood.GREAT old rusty signs were everywhere.And some adorable storefronts made by Mr Estes made the car area so fun.As we were leaving this most enjoyable visit at Roadside America Museum, we took a picture of this giant Studebaker’s sign. We loved all Mr Estes has collected & so generously shares with visitors!
As we were leaving Hillsboro, I snapped a picture of their beautiful old courthouse as Perry rounded the corner. A love of old buildings must be indulged.
Back in Waco we had a quick burger at Twisted Root Burger Co. The great advertising verbiage & the colorful wall murals are what made us stop. And the burgers were very good!
Perry’s call card was “Lady Gaga” & he proudly took claim to it when called to get our dinner order.
Thanks to our phone app Roadside America we found the most extensive war & military private museum probably in all of America the next day. Napalm bomb, Saddam Hussain’s personal possessions acquired at his death, mortars, guns, uniforms from USA & nearly every country, from WWI to present day … and when I say it was a private collector I mean it was in the middle of nowhere in Temple, TX! Again, this museum of sorts was a call ahead for permission to visit deal & we drove about 45 minutes to get there.
Once at the gate (did I mention this was IN THE MIDDLE OF NOWHERE?) I called the proprietor, Dave Demorrow, again to let him know of our arrival. He drove down this long dirt road to have a look at us & trigger the security gate for our entrance. We followed him up over the hill & around some pretty sketchy bunkers to a bunch of what looked like dilapidated buildings. I was getting VERY worried knowing no one had any idea where we were or with whom! Then Mr Demorrow lead us to the first rusty set of doors & disabled an elaborate security system. There was a trigger that, if the building was breached without the security system turned off, the people who opened the door would not only be blasted with a large amount of tear gas but VERY loud alarms would go off that could possibly break their ear drums. Yes, I was feeling the panic of being there! Eventually, we relaxed & felt quite comfortable with this man. He knew more about war memorabilia & operations from WWI to present day than I have ever been exposed to. Dave Demorrow was in Intelligence when serving in Iran during Saddam Hossain’s time &, although careful about WHAT he shared that was classified, he enlightened us about the logistics of hunting down & being part of the dictator’s capture. He returned home with some pretty fantastic artifacts from the time. Mr Demorrow keeps tabs on world events & shared his thoughts on the current war in Ukraine. This is him in front of his war board.
There were scores more than 200,000 artifacts in this private collection. I have included LOTS of photos & have captioned some of the pictures. What stood out the most to me was this man’s passion for his collections. He sets up displays & education conferences about the various wars & shares his knowledge with the young & old alike.
The museum started with WWI, then WWII rooms full of weapons, uniforms, equipment & written information. The amount of guns alone was mind boggling!Then there were the German helmets. Most were authentic but some were reproductions & Mr Demorrow was quick to explain both along with the construction of each. For instance, the pointed tops were meant to deflect direct blows to the head during hand-to-hand combat. He also explained the differences of higher ranking soldier’s helmets to enlisted men’s by the amount of gold or elaborate accruements.These helmets were ALL authentic German gear. I’ve seen a few under glass at other museums we have visited but never such a collection as was at this place.I wish I had a recording of the information Mr Demorrow shared. The weapons were so diverse!More warrior headgear. And, yes, those are CLOTH helmets! But I think he said these were from the French Army during WWII.This helmet was so interesting with it’s plume of feathers!And then there were the bombs! He had plenty of those, too!Machine guns? Check!Machine guns & missile launchers, oh my!I thought this uniform was interesting! Red was incorporated into uniforms once infra-red location detecting was used. The red would block out parts of the view of people with the devises so they couldn’t be seen clearly.This is an actual Napalm missile – empty, of course. We wondered all the way through this place how in the heck this man came about in acquiring such things!This was one of three of this kind of missile launcher at the museum. Mr Demorrow said there were only a total of five known to still be in existence. Again, you have to wonder how he came about having them.In addition to SO MUCH USA weaponry, uniforms & the like, there was also a ton of stuff from other country’s war coffers. This is a Soviet Night Driving Helmet for tank operators.So many guns! So many rifles! So many of everything!How about these bad boys!And LOTS of bombs!Here’s Perry holding a pretty wicked missile!There was lots of equipment – of all kinds – throughout the museum.Everyone needs a radiation detection kit, right? Well, he had at least five from different conflicts & places in the building.More bombs!All of these uniforms were from the Iraqi war but from different countries.I mentioned above that Mr Demorrow was part of the team that took down Saddam Hossain. When one of his elaborate palaces was taken over, this rug was removed from the dictators personal office & Mr Demorrow managed to bring it home with him. I think he takes great pride on stomping all over this artifact daily.A deck of cards from the palace – above – & an epulet from one of Saddam’s officers – below.On many newscasts from Saddam’s time in power, he was seen on TV standing on his palace balcony shotting a rifle randomly into the air. This was one of the rifles.Above & below are belt buckles from Iranian soldiers. Saddam was obsessed with Star Wars (movies). The belt bunckle below & his personal body guards/soldiers helmets looked similar to Darth Vador’s.Here are three flags that flew during Saddam’s time.I saw this flack jacket hanging on a chair as we exited the last of three sections of the main museum. It was amazing to see all this man has been successful in collecting!Another gem that had nothing to do with wars or military memorabilia was Mr Demorrow’s Space treasures. Above & below are pictures of Perry holding a VERY rare piece of a plug taken from one of the Apollo Spacecrafts.Our last stop in the museum tour was into the warehouse where an untold number of USA tanks & such were stored. This Hummer was updated to be displayed at shows Mr Demorrow participates in & he has outfitted it with some pretty cool stuff. Lots of surprise features he called “easter eggs’. Fun times!
The tour took us nearly three hours! It was worth the drive, for sure! We were very thirsty & hungry when we left so we stopped at Buc-ees. We had never been to one & wanted to see the hype associated with this new giant gas station. It was pretty cool & we did get the requisite sandwiches & banana pudding which were very good. But the place was far too peopley for me. I think we will pass it up for the little mom & pop places instead.
Would you look at all the ice machines?!?
On the Sunday before we left Waco we made our way into a quieter downtown area. A great time for random picture taking without all the traffic & people.
The city is creating a new walking bridge & this statue & several others have been placed around the entrance – a part of the new public park.Checking on the “weird” stuff that comes up on our Roadside America phone app, we followed directions to this old restored gas station. Under the drive-through was an old Rolls Royce & Thunderbird. I should have taken another picture of those treasures!We also found this 18 ft tall Toy Soldier that was shown on the app. It was inside a construction company’s gated yard. The fence was left open (although there was a sign about private property – stay out nonsense) so we were quick with the picture.
Another entry on the Roadside America app was a life sized gorilla someone had in their front yard that they dressed for holidays & such. While trying to find that, we came upon the house Chip & Joanna Gaines from HGTVs Fixer Upper were currently working on. Again, it was Sunday so no one was there which is a good thing really. And the gorilla was forgotten by the time we left the castle house.
Next we drove about 30 miles out to Fort Parker Cemetery in Groesbeck, TX. Comanche & Kiowa Indians massacred most of the settlers there in 1836 & kidnapped a little girl named Cynthia Ann Parker. In captivity she eventually gave birth to a son, Quanah Parker. He became Chief of the entire Comanche Tribe. The surviving settlers buried their loved ones in this graveyard where so many plots were unmarked. It was not a very well cared for resting place when we visited & it’s one of just a few cemeteries I have been uncomfortable in. The hair on the back of my neck was standing up. Such a sad place.
This was the giant statue in the center of the cemetery. The little girl depicted with the couple at the top is said to be little Cynthia. There were sooooo many graves marked “unknown”.This was a gravestone placed there in the “newer” section in 1938.This stone was from 1896.This one was from 1870.This one was for a 4 year old boy who died in 1915.In old graveyards we see some of the most elaborate iron fencing.And here is my sweet husband placing a penny on top of a WWII soldier’s grave, buried in 1989. A penny is a sign of respect for the deceased’s faithful service.
All in all, our trip to Waco was fun, busy & a definite Bucket List check-off. Now it’s on to San Antonio for two weeks!
