Took this on the way home yesterday evening.

God is a magnificent artist!!!!

John

Preach it, Brother!

Ed

Awesome!

Born in Lubbock and raised there and in Midland, Big Spring, Monahans and all points west. Now living in deep east Texas. Don't think I've seen a decent sunset in 35 years.

we get some nice ones when the sun sets behind the Shell refinery.


that's my people's country, too, Geezer....Haskell, Rule, Abilene, Plainview....all the way over to Portalis, NM. and down to Ft. Stockton.

beautiful place.

Especially when they are releasing some of that strange smelly crap, huh?

I started to post it sure looked like Haskell County.

God's country on the Salt Fork of the Brazos

Born and raised in old Midland. Texas big country--Abilene?

ain't as big country as Midland, for sure

for big, I'll take Ft. Stockton, Alex, for 200.

From the Clear Fork,across the Salt Fork,Wichita, and to the Pease Rivers is ALL god's country.Those stretches of highways that border CRP land let us see the country pretty much as it was before the white man came.

This is a not very good picture of the Double Mountain West of Aspermont that gives THAT river its' name:

You do know FStockton looks just like it did 50 years ago do you not.

Worked 50 miles south several years ago, lots of elk on Longbottons place. Could of been Clayties place at one time.
Beautiful country is 25 miles south of Dryden, 2 miles from the river, in the winter.

You been gone too long,amigo;they've taken to calling the area within [roughly]75 mile radius of Haskell,"The Big Country".

we lived in Ft. Stockton when I was five, which was in 1958.....I remember they had the biggest municipal pool I've ever seen. largest water body for a couple of hundred miles, probably.


looked about the same as I rembered it when I was through there in '99

You talkin' 'bout these critters on the Longfellow? I took these 3 or 4 months ago.

didn't know that....guess that would include Abilene. deer were scarce in Haskell County when we were there....it was a big deal when somebody killed a rack buck, they'd haul it down to the courthouse in Haskell and everybody would ooh and ah over it.

Abilene would be the South boundry,I reckon.It is pretty much defined by the reach of the radio station in Haskell.Jayton to the West,Guthrie,Seymour,Throckmorton,Albany.

I thought it was just a phrase used by the radio station until I started seeing it referenced in magazines and such.

You ain't got that Ft Stockton pool mixed up with Balmoreah have you?


There's some real good deer come out of Haskell County nowadays.

Yes longfellow-------that's the ones. When I was down in that country, 40 drilling rigs were running. We were on the East side of the ranch.

These were 5 or 6 miles west of the headquarters.The oilpatch is Northeast from it.

I believe Claytie dried up that pool by sucking water out underground. Now he's trying to sell water to Midland. Of course FS is fighting it tooth and nail.

Yes it does look the same. Few new motels on interstate 20, that's about it.

OK, I just remember the elk were used to the 1,000 trucks a day. Wouldn't run if you stopped.

That was in the oil patch area. Never went on the westside.

haven't been to Haskell since my grandmother's funeral fifteen years ago....looked like it was trying to dry up and blow away, they'd built a Walmart in Stamford that was killing off a lot of the local trade. My aunt Odell and Uncle Jewel had Bynum's store on the courthouse square....it's been gone for a long long time. Rule was working its way toward being a ghost town.

I've seen them there myself.

I'm from Hamlin. Grandparents "ranch" (only one section) out by Rotan (actually Roundtop if you're an OLD timer) sees Double Mountain (Sammy Baugh country).

Big Country is new to me too.

Call that a mountain???

compared to what surrounds it, yeah....those are mountains.

Where my trailer is outside of Brownwood, when the dish wasn't working I could get a few local tv channels. One was out of Abilene, they kept calling themselves big country. That's the only reason I had heard it before.

I may have mislabeled it. I took the pic just south of Snyder. No well defined boundaries for the Big Country, but since Snyder seems a little far south to claim the Panhandle name, I figured it to be included in The Big Country. No matter which region claims it, I love it up here.

John

my buddy headed your way next weekend to his place off FM565 near that little ghost town....hoping it doesn't warm up by then....got a call today from the guy who checks on the place, had two dozen hogs in sight from the front porch, but he wasn't heeled so they got a pass. deer were moving though. wish I could go this time, but got to get ready for duck opener here.

Look at the first picture Hondo posted of the pretty sunset.Imagine that's all there is for many miles.Then.....You can see these two HILLS out in the middle of nowhere.

I explained that it was a poor picture.There are better views of it from other directions,but I've never stopped to take pictures from them.

I'm leaving Thursday for the opening weekend. I'm twenty miles SE of Brownwood on 590 I think is the road. I'll find out from some locals what the name of the ghost town is.
Best of luck on the ducks.

I think it's either Echo or Burkett....get the two mixed up...I think it's Echo that still has brick smokestacks standing and a handfull of people.

we need another front or two to get some ducks down, but it's always that way for the first split opener. ducks or no, it's one of those things a man's gotta do, taking daughter so I hope there's some action and not just a mosquito jamboree.

There is an Echo according to map quest deal.

ECHO, TEXAS (Coleman County). Echo, on State Highway 206 four miles northeast of Coleman in central Coleman County, developed around a store established in the 1870s. In 1881 William Dibrell bought the site as part of his purchase of the Miles and Gholson ranch and renamed it Echo for the echo that resounded on a cliff at Home Creek. The Echo post office opened in 1910. The population in 1940 was seventy-five, and the town had a post office and school. Since then both the school and the post office have closed. The population was sixteen from 1970 through 2000.

I think that's it....came across it while I was wandering around trying to find the ranch....which is about four miles away. I like ghost towns.......not all the ghosts had moved out, though.

That's my view from the front porch at the Ranch, here! I'm on the Double Mountain Fork, just 12 miles as the crow flies from the Double Mountains. I'm right next to Flat Top Mtn.
Mom was raised in Haskell & we have the old family farm that they settled on in 1870.
Dads people all settled in Aspermont in 1875. I still have the original deed to our home place on the River their. It's now the Mt. Olive Cematary. I live just south of Old Glory. No body out side of the Big Country has ever heard of Old Glory.

Stop telling every body where our Big Deer are!
And yes, this area of Texas has always been called "The Big Country"

I've heard of Old Glory.....my granddaddy told me it used to be called New Brandenburg when he was a boy and because of all the hostility to Germans during WWI they changed the name to demonstrate their loyalty to their new country. nice story, if it's true.

how many folks remain there today?

It's said that Coronado used the Double Mountains as a Land Mark when first exploring this area. Also rumored that the Spanish Conquistadors had a big copper mine right here on the Brazos. It's a known fact that the Buffalo Hunters used the Double Mountains to find their way back to Rath City, about where Hamlin is now. Rath City was a early frontier trading post where the Buffalo hunters traded their hides. Flat Top Mounatin was a sacred meeting area for the Commanches & Kiowas who kicked the early Spanish Explorer's ass all the way back to N.M. along with the lowly Apaches.
Lots of neat history in the area. My Grandad picked up cigar boxes full of arrowheads on top of ole Flat Top when he was a kid, here, living on our Ranch.

Yes! That's a true story. Grandad said all the Germans, him included, thought they would be rounded up & put in camps like they did the Japenese. Old Glory has maybe 10 residents left, now. The population was over 2500 during WW I. Only a Post Office & 1 Church left now. No Gas station left where Grandad used to buy his beer. We still own my Great Grandmothers house in Old Glory. It's not worth anything because no one wants to live there. BTW, Stonewall County is still the most un-populated County in Texas. I like it that way!

Looks like a scene straight out of The Searchers. Mom and Dad used to fish Possum Kingdom all the time.

Loving County, Texas is the least populated county not only in TX but the US.

I stand corrected. Maybe it was the 2nd or 3rd least populated County in TX.

Is Loving County in the Panhandle ? I remember seeing the sign for Loving County while driving a couple of years back, but can't remember just where it was

Yep, about where I figured. Went though that country on the way to hunt Antelope on a Ranch in New Mexico a couple of years ago.

Burkett is pretty close to there, too. I always get it mixed up with Burkburnett, which is right on the TX/OK border just north of Wichita Falls.

I've got a good friend that has a ranch off of Hwy 206 between Coleman & Santanta, which is real close to Burkett & Echo. I hunt his ranch their in Coleman County pretty often. Lots of deer there, & some pretty good ones too. His neighbor to the north has a big high fence ranch with Elk & Big Whitetail bucks wearing ear tags. We keep hoping his fence will get washed out. Also quite a few feral hogs there, but not near as many as on the Brazos by Old Glory.
I can shoot a hog every day & never make a dent in the herd. We do most of our hog hunting with a bow & arrow or muzzle loader. It got to be too damn boring shooting them with a deer rifle.

Y'all ever go eat at Undwoods BBQ in Brownwood ? It's always packed & the line is out the door on opening day. Good Fried Chicken & Peach Cobler! Also, there is a nice little Steakhouse in Santa Anta that's really good.

If y'all are ever in Stonewall County, eat at the Cliff House Restrant in Stamford.
It looks like a dive, but has one of the best Chicken Fried Steaks in Texas.
It's right across the street from Wallmart, in Stamford.

Underwoods? Is that an old timey chain? There used to be a pretty good BBQ joint in Sherman by that name. We used to eat there, time-to-time.

You call those mountains? .....lol

There are a number of places like Loving County in New Mexico, too, but their counties are mostly very large and include at least one sizable town. I lived in the Capulin/Folsom area a few years ago...a Big Country area for sure, but with some neat old volcanoes, too!


Google Maps

My coyote, dove, quail and mule deer stomping grounds.

Yes, Underwoods was a family owned BBQ & Fried Chicken Restaurant based out of Abilene in the 1960's. It was always my Grandads favorite eating place & we would drive to Abilene & eat there after Church on Sundays.
From what I understand, Brownwood, TX is the last surviving one in Texas. There used to be a few in the Dallas / Ft Worth area also.

My wife was born & raised in Burkburnett or Boomtown as it was once called.

I have a deer lease in Archer county where the hogs out number the deer about 5 to 1. Shooting them is just target practice as it seems to have no effect on population.

On a friends lease they all carry paint guns in different colors of paint and they shoot the hogs with the paint. Then they see which hogs frequent which areas and which ones come back and get shot more than once, etc. I told them to get a grant from the state for their research. Could pay for the lease and have fun at the same time.

I love cruising the Big Country. Put the Harley on cruise and just relax.

Sounds like fun. Might have to do a little hog research for myself. Wonder if they make paint balls tough enough to shoot out of my Hawken .54

We drive up to Burkburnett 3 or 4 times a year & stay at the new Hampton Inn while donatiting funds back to the Commaches & Kiowas across the River... They usually are pretty good at taking our money. Damn one-armed bandits!

Mentone is the County Seat.And..........Loving,Tx is NOT in Loving County.It's in Young Cty and is where I grew up.Both were named for Oliver Loving,of Loving/Goodnight fame.

Thanks for the info. I always wanted to eat at the one in Sherman, but Dad never would stop there. Then one time, we stopped there with my Uncle. After that, Dad would stop there too.

My Uncle made the Continental Trailways bus run from DFW to someplace out west...maybe Abilene. I forget. One night he had to stop because of all the rattlesnakes on the highway crawling up to get the heat of the asphalt.

Very familiar with the Double Mountains. My folks grew up near Roby and Rotan. Throughout my childhood, we always came up to this area to visit family there, Hamlin, Sylvester, and Hawley. Still have many cousins in this area. Flew into Aspermont to do a patient transfer a couple of months ago.

I saw some Muleys just southeast of Lake Alan Henry the day before yesterday. Have seen Pronghorn just a few miles northwest of Snyder on the northeast side of Hwy 84. The best whitetail hunting I have ever experienced was on a ranch just south of Sylvester.

Love this area...

John

Steve,Peacock Tx would qualify as a ghost town were it not for the little antique shop which is open by appt only.It's on a FM road that circles off hwy 380 at Aspermont and back onto it North of Peacock.It was a quail heaven back in the 'sixties according to an old huntin' friend of mine.They had some BIG money hunts out there a couple of years hand runnin'.

First time I made the circle thru Peacock happened to be on a Sun. afternoon.A lady had the little antique shop open and had fixed lunch for the church "crowd" [musta been at least eight folks] and there was enough left to feed me.

I've seen Muleys a few times around Clairemont[damn,there's ANOTHER ghost town!] but never anywhere South of there.

We're going to be at Kent County EMS in Jayton, participating in a PR event. Come on by if you get the chance.

John

Get ready to stand corrected if Birdwatcher sees your post.He's devoted a multi-page thread [Comancheria] to establishing the fact that the Comanches never whupped nobody but women and kids.

I'm obliged for the offer,but I'll be at my WT lease in Young County most of the next two months.

I live in Archer County........... I just spend quite a bit of time in "The Big Country".

God Bless Texas

Snake

Speaking of good eats, stopped at the Altdorf in Fredericksburg for Zweibel Schnitzel Sat noon during a brisk ride thru the hill country.



...a brief visit to this place followed.



...then lucked on to this little B&B with vacancies right before
dark.



Ahhhh, Texas.

Amen Brother!

my daughter and I had lunch at Underwoods this summer....peach cobbler was terrific, but the lines were long.

one of my partners has a panoramic photo of Burkburnett from the WWI oil boom hanging in his office....pretty amazing congestion of rigs and pumps....no spacing, no units, just drill baby drill...I'll see if I can find it on the web....here's a picture of one like it:

http://www.antiquehelper.com/item/313880

it looked like that around Midland at one time, too

Underwoods: not in the last 20/25 years. Chicken may be good, but boiled brisket with
BBQ sauce is not my thing.
Been a long time for the Stonewall area, will try Cliff House if ever up in that country.

Santa Anna: Used to be on a lease 3 miles East of there. Lots and lots of Dove. Never once tried the Steakhouse there. I have always just cooked my own steaks.
When I go hunting, I stay out of town. I went to get away from towns and traffic.

Honorable mentions to Coopers BBQ, Llano, Hard 8 BBQ, Stephenville & Brady...

I do/will stop at Coopers to eat.
Hard 8, never heard of it. I'm only through Stephenville maybe 3/4 times a month. Where in town is it?

NW corner of 67 and 281. Very similar set up as Coopers.

Hard 8 in Brady closed down. Mac's is still open and doing brisk business. As for Underwood's in Brownwood, the rolls and peach cobbler are good, rest of their menu is just ok. But, people still love to eat there when they come into town.

been to Coopers while we were staying at Castell fishing the Llano, pretty good joint.

just remembered the name of that ghost town north of Brownwood....it was Thrifty. kind of an ironic name for a town that went bust, but that's it.....been driving me crazy since yesterday.

TEXAS...... God's Country!!!


Jim

I grew up about 6 miles form Luckenbach, very close to Blumenthal. Graduated from Fredericksburg HS in '82. Great place to grow up.

John

Bet it was. Gorgeous country. Everytime I'm in F'burg it is bustling...curb to curb shoppers. Some pretty expensive real estate there and Kerrville.

We always stop at Cooper's in Llano when headed South. Great BBQ, but their vinager based sauce has a bitter whang to it. There's also a big Coopers in Junction, now, right at the intersection of I-10 & US-83.

Try the 2" thick pork chops at the Hard 8. Nanner puddin'.

The Coopers in Junktown is the biggest ripoff going for Hill Country BBQ IMHO...

The Llano Coopers? Best there is unless we start talking about Lockhart...

I'll take Coopers in Mason over Coopers in Llano any day of the week.

here are some photos from pecos county

Very nice. Thanks for showin'.

and


Lets not forget the West Texas Hill country.



dave

Agreed. I wasn't impressed with the Junction Cooper's, either. Llano's Cooper's is Definately the best. Never seem to make it over to Lockhart, but I've heard it's really good! Any of y'all tried the Salt Lick over by Austin ? It's pretty good. They have killer Blueberry cobbler!

Those pork chops are knocked out, especially after they dunk them in that butter sauce. Damn!!

Time fer you to post some actual citations I'd guess...

Birdwatcher

Contestant: "What place looks most like where bad people go when they die?"

Alex: "Correct! Mordor for 500: A famous quote ending 'I'd rent out ___ and live in Hell... "

Contestant: "Where is Pecos?"


Other's MMV of course,

Birdwatcher

Awsome picture!