We have missed the ice storm that has crippled Oklahoma and Nancy a friend who I have seen a couple of times is in the area of downed power lines and closed roads--I am sitting here trying to make up my mind to go up there and see if she is ok--She lives alone with her 2 dogs and has no other friends or relatives to check on her---I am afraid she is in the cold with no power or heat--They are saying do not go into this area--Maybe if I drive slow--the roads are dangerously iced over--I just saw a phone number for aid flash across the tv for the Cache area--I am going to call it now--

I called the number and they sent the Cache Police out to check on her--They called me back and said she was ok---Maybe tomorrow it will be better--The Emergency Center Officer told me not to try it today --it was 5 miles an hour going and too dangerous at that speed--The whole area is a mess of downed trees and poles--The entire state of Oklahoma has been proclaimed a diaster area

Jan-27-28-29 Storm

I was awake last night around 2:30 when the rain came in---And all day it has been just that --a cold miserable rain--To the north of us across the Red River they must be getting the blunt of it--I cant reach Nancy and her screen name has never been on today on the internet and it is always on . I may drive the 60 miles and check on her tomorrow if I havent heard anything .
I believe the area news media jumped the gun as far as the prediction for Wichita Falls . They had told us to be prepared for a bad ice storm with wide area power outages--It hasnt happened today and looks like we might miss it--Which is good but this cold wet rain is bad enough--As of 7:30 pm the temperture is still hovering around 33---I am cooking a roast/stew/soup type meal in the crock pot and the fireplace is blazing --So all is well here for the time being--As they say --Tomorrow is another day--

Waggoner Ranch

I often get calls to go to Vernon and I often opt to drive the back road going up there--It takes me across open range roads and it is like going back in time--With open range you need to be very aware of your speed and be watchful for cattle in the middle of the road--The thing I enjoy the most is you dont meet a car for 40 miles--Deer -wild hogs-turkey and coyotes are often spotted since no one shoots on this wide open ranch--My last trip across the Waggoner was nice because a lone coyote crossed the road and stopped and just looked at us --My son G-Man hollered at it if it wanted some potato chips--lol---
Then we came across about 6 deer right next to the road and they stood and watched us for a few minutes --As I raised my camera they took off--I was to slow in getting their picture---
There is a small water fall close to the road and it always has water flowing over it--There is one lone church on this stretch and it is at a spot in the road called Grayback--I guess the Waggoner Cowboys attend this church--who else would ?

Benjamin

I am up early ,getting ready for a meeting with Ronnie Hamilton and his wife and we will eat at the Rock Inn Cafe in Seymour and then on to Benjamin where we will meet with Wyman Meinzer the Official State Photographer of Texas--We should have an interesting day--I love the quaint little town of Benjamin---I lived in Benjamin and Dad had the Hill or was it the Hazel Cafe there---My first big crush was a 3rd grader -Nelda Kilgore--She and I were voted for and were the 3rd grade King and Queen at the Halloween Carnival--Ronnie and I met at the Sunset Drive Inn between Munday and Knox City--the movie was "The Invaders From Mars"--We were swinging and playing at the playground before the movie started--We told our parents about meeting and later we all met at the picnic tables at the Narrows Rest Stop--We became life time friends--Ronnie's Dad had Hamiltons Grocery Store--Benjamin has always had a special place in my heart and I love the rugged break country --Often called the Benjamin Breaks--The Bad Lands--Cedar Breaks---More on our meeting later

As the day broke I woke to a call from a pet owner and rain---I didnt see rain in the forcast but then this is Texas---I went to Bowie Texas with some friends and we ate at the Longhorn Cafe ---I do believe the chicken fried steaks were 5 stars--Some of the best I have ever had and the price was only 6.95 with a trip to the salad bar---We had tempertures in the 70's but windy--
I will give the Longhorn Cafe 4 stars over all---And we really liked the fluffy chocolate pudding---So now that I am awake and I need some coffee--oh oh out of coffee--Ok got to get around and see what this day brings----

Rebel XT

Today marks the advent of a new Rebel -Canon camera--It is a Canon Rebel XT SLR DOS---So I will begin serious photography

Ramblings of a Texas Photographer

I take a lot of photos and they are anything from micro to landscaped-portraits--just about anything and I do an alternate web site for my Texomacowboychurch.com--My site is on the bottom as a blue link of the Contact Us page--A history of sorts of our beginnings --from events/rodeos/celebrations/progress of new building to just random shots of members on any given Sundays--
I maintain a Web site for Storm Chases-Animals-Indians--specially the Comanches-Kiowas--Wichita Wildlife Refuge--and other albums--I plain on doing serious photography of Comanche people and other related subjects this coming Spring and Summer with my new Rebel Canon camera--I just did a phot shoot of the Wichita Mountains 2 weeks ago--It was a different trip but very interesting--This is my first blog and I will see how it goes--I created this to follow Matt Read--The young man who is hiking the perimeter of Texas--I think he is now in Wichita Falls