Friday, October 27, 2017

Traveling through Tolar

On the road between Granbury and Stephenville in southwestern Hood
Site of Antioch
County is Tolar. This is another of those tiny Texas towns that was settled because of stage couch routes and the railroad.  The stage route from Tolar to Fort Worth provided transportation for the residents of Antioch to these two cities. Now within the city limits of Tolar, Antioch was the site of the last Indian fight in the county, the battle of the Point of the Timbers or the Battle of Lookout Point, in September 1869. Organized settlement of Antioch began in the 1870s, when ranches were established at the head of Stroud's Creek, making this town about twenty years older than Tolar.


Friday, October 20, 2017

Pondering Ponder

Historic house in Ponder
One of our small communities has had a rather infamous history. According to local legend, Bonnie and Clyde tried to rob the Ponder State Bank the week after it went broke. This may not be true since it’s not listed in the Barrow Gang's activities; the robbery may have been attempted by another outlaw, Eddie Bentz. This didn’t prevent movie makers from filming the Bonnie and Clyde in the north Texas area with some of the actors and other workers visiting Ponder during their time in near this town.

Friday, October 13, 2017

Wroclaw Reviews

Girl Statue
I had no expectations coming to this city beyond that it would have cobblestone streets. And although it did have those ankle breakers, the city has lots to recommend it. There are all sorts of hotels, many more good restaurants than I had anticipated in a city this size, and a myriad of things to do in town. It is also located relatively close to other places of interest, such as the Baltic Sea, Krakow, and the concentration/extermination camp museums. If it were not so difficult to get to Wroclaw, I would certainly come back. Lots of tourist areas are closed at odd times. The market is closed on Wednesdays; some museums are closed Mondays; and somethings are supposed to be open and aren’t and vice versa. If you want to do something and it’s available to do right then, do it! Also, don’t be afraid to open what looks like a closed door to a site. It may just be shut rather than closed.

Friday, October 6, 2017

Going after Gnomes

They are hiding in plain sight and are usually found first by children since
Welcome to Wroclaw
the kids are much closer to the ground. You’d think that it would be easy to find many of these 400 statues, but that’s not the case! They eluded us at every turn. We finally bought a map only to learn that the little beasties had changed locations, or simply vanished; and there were many more that weren’t on the map at all! The Gnomes of Wroclaw (or Dwarfs as they are called locally) are two-foot tall statues that lend great whimsy to the city and captivate visitors into seeing the sights by going on a Gnome hunt. Their history, however, is much more political.