#6: [16-Nov-08]

#5: [09-Apr-06]

#4: [02-May-05]

#2: [14-Jan-01]

#1: [30-Sep-00] (incomplete)

26-May-2002 -- Buoyed up by the success of yesterday's visit (30°N 95°W), I sat down this morning to search for todays selection. Given that my hotel is in SW Houston, 29N 96W seemed a good choice to go for, it promised to take me out into rural Texas.

However, never being one to do things the easy way, I decided to see if I could approach the CP from the South instead of the North as the previous visitors had done. Why? well why not? it makes the visit just a bit different.

Set off South on 610, bearing right onto 59E down to Rosenberg. On the way I saw a sign that you don't see at home "Prison Area - Don't Pickup HitchHikers", makes you wonder! I turned left in Rosenberg and headed South on 36, passing through Pleak City (left of Pic 8), now back where I come from 947 doesn't make a city, it's also pretty quiet there. Passing a couple of refineries along the way down to West Columbia. Here I turned right onto 35 and a straight run into Bay City, where it is also pretty quiet (right of Pic 8), what's funny though is that at home a Solicitor is what is known in Bay City as a Lawyer.

My alternate route was to go up 60 as previously then left onto 12th Street, bearing right at the fork in the road, bypassing Old River Road and then follow this to the end. I got as far as (Pic 4), where I met the owner (Mr. John Ashcraft) coming out.

He pulled over, first thing he did? Offer me his handshake and introduce himself, I just knew that yesterdays ignoramus wasn't a typical friendly Texan. Thank you sir! I explained what I was doing and got permission to explore further on foot, but to avoid the house as the dog bites. Warning heeded!

I took my hat and a bottle of water. Bypassing the house I followed the GPS, having to bushwhack my way through a small plantation, then over the only dried up part of a small riverbed, where I saw (Pic 6). An oil pipe slung over the Colorado like a suspension bridge. Turning right here and following the river and hopping over/through a few barbed wire fences I arrived at the back of the house mentioned in the previous visit.

The trees have grown a bit since then (Pic 1), which reduced the accuracy somewhat (Pic 3). The best photo shows 30 feet from the spot, but I had a reading which showed only 8 feet, so allowing for error hence the reported 10m. Heading back the way I came I nipped down to the river bank and took a snap of the "mighty Colorado" (Pic 2).

When I arrived back at the car I noticed that there was also a pipeline running through the Ashcraft ranch. It had been tagged with gps co-ordinates, which my photo shows to be accurate to 3 decimal places.

I decided to take the previous route on the way back, just to see what the lot looked like now. It seemed that about half of the houses were for sale, any of which I would be happy to own. I pulled up in front of the house and rang the bell. Unfortunately there was no one home and not wishing to walk over the back lawn of a private house without permission I left. On the way out I spotted what they use to water the fields around here - the world's biggest watering can? (Pic 7).

Coordinator's Note: The landowner has requested to not visit this confluence anymore. No future visits to this confluence will be posted.

The landowner has requested to not visit this confluence anymore. No future visits to this confluence will be posted.