November 20, 2021
Today’s adventure took us through parts of Grimes and Walker Counties. Sadly, we didn’t take many pictures. The reasons why will hopefully become clear later…
Our adventure started on CR 240 in Shiro, Texas. Shiro (Shy-roh) was formed in 1902 on what is now State Highway 30 by members of a few small cotton farming communities when the Trinity and Brazos Valley Railway proposed to run through the area. The railway, informally known as the Boll Weevil because it transported a lot of cotton, was struggling financially during the early years of its construction. It was purchased in 1905 by the Colorado and Southern Railway Company, which was looking to expand its system into parts of Texas. The Colorado and Southern and the Trinity and Brazos Valley changed ownership a few times and eventually became part of the Burlington-Rock Island Railroad Company and is now owned by the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway (BNSF). Shiro was once a shipping center for cattle and cotton; but, like many small towns in the area, began to decline after World War II as people moved away to areas that offered better economic opportunities.
Anyway, our adventure started on CR 229 in Shiro, Texas.
“But, Rory,” I imagine you are thinking, “didn’t you say that the adventure started on CR 240?”
Why, yes. Yes, I did.
You see, Google Maps is a great tool, but it is not always accurate. Or maybe it is. Or perhaps it is MOST of the time, but sometimes it goes all squirrely. It is best not to put 100% confidence into Google Maps. This fact comes into play a few times a little bit later.
At any rate, Google Maps labeled the road as CR 240. The sign says CR 229. So, we started off on a county road in Shiro that is labeled as CR 229 by the county, but may or may not also be CR 240, according to Google Maps. I remain non-committal as to the name of this road.
The first portion of this road (whatever it is called) started off with a few houses, then gave way to some pastureland. It crossed over the BNSF railroad and became CR 227. My intention was to follow a series of county roads to CR 227, which crosses FM 2620. I say “series” in the sense that there are many road names along the path. The same road is labeled CR 239, CR 240 (our old friend), as well as CR 227. I was never quite sure where I was on the map, but I had a general idea of where I was going. (Do you understand, now, why I am hesitant to commit to a particular road name?)
We’ll call it CR 227 for now, because that’s the label on Google Maps, in case anyone wants to follow this route later. If any locals read this and know better, please let me know in the comments.
A short distance from the railroad tracks we came to a very rough, washed-out spot. It was still 2-wheel drive capable, but pretty bumpy. It smoothed out a bit a little further down, but it was easy to tell that it wasn’t traveled often and was not being maintained. We drove through a 90-degree bend and then came to…the mud. Lots of mud puddles. Still, it wasn’t too bad, so we pressed on (although I put the truck into automatic 4-wheel drive, just for safety).
Then…the lake. It wasn’t really a lake, but since we’re playing fast and loose with names here (looking at you, Google), that’s what I’m going to call it. A long section of the road was under water. I suspect that it wasn’t deep, but I didn’t have any equipment with me to extract the truck in the event we got stuck in the mud. (Later examination of the Google satellite view revealed a nearby tank that may have overflowed and covered the road.) So, we turned back. Plan A was a no-go.
Only, we didn’t turn back.
CR 227, or possibly CR 239 at this point, was very narrow with deep ditches on either side. With the aid of my truck’s handy-dandy backup camera monitor and guide lines, though, I was able to skillfully drive the truck in reverse to the 90-degree bend, where there was enough room to execute a 3-point turn.
We drove back to the railroad tracks and took a few pictures while crossing (we were careful to listen and look for a train). CR 240/229 meets CR 239 (wink wink, Google) on one side of the tracks. We decided to explore CR 239 as Plan B because I thought it went all the way to Singleton, Texas on nearby State Highway 90. It didn’t—I had misread the map. Instead, it ended at a gate with a very prominent “no trespassing” sign. So, we turned around and headed back to Shiro.
Plan B in this confusing journey was out the window, so now it was time for Plan C, which was to drive back toward Huntsville on State Highway 30, then turn on to FM 2620 toward Bedias, Texas. (Bee-dice, Bee-dies, or if you’re an old-timer, Bee-die.) Remember how I said earlier that CR 227 crosses FM 2620? (If not, I’ll wait. Go back up a few paragraphs. It’s there.)
Well, by this time my brain had switched “CR 227” with “CR 240,” so I was looking for a sign to CR 240. We passed CR 227, and I briefly thought to myself, “Hey! I bet that’s the road.” But I convinced myself otherwise, “Shut up and keep looking for the sign to CR 240,” and we kept driving. We ended up in Bedias. By that time, I was certain that I missed the intersection. So much for Plan C.
Kristi wanted some Milk Duds, so we went to the Chevron station there in Bedias. Wow! Bedias has changed a lot since we lived there many, many years ago (we literally lived there in a previous century). The old gas station is now a liquor store that is owned by the same people who own the new gas station. And Bedias has a Dollar General, too. It’s not the quaint little town that it used to be. Feels sorta rough now. But then, maybe we just caught it at a bad time.
After acquiring the Milk Duds, which took BOTH of us to find, we retraced our steps along FM 2620. Plan D was in full operation. I had figured out my earlier mistake and had set the map to take us to the intersection of CR 227. I missed it because we were talking, but we turned around and proceeded with Plan D-2.
OK, I’m going to pause here for a moment. This post is getting very long and not a lot has really happened, except that we were confused about road names, saw a lot of mud and water, did a significant amount of backwards driving, and basically got nowhere we had planned for the first half of our journey.
The rest is pretty straightforward and doesn’t have a lot of drama.
Well, maybe a little bit of drama.
No, not really. It’s just that…well, you can decide for yourself.
Going east on CR 227 (if that’s its real name) from FM 2620 took us through pastures and forest. It was beautiful. We saw the prettiest cow we’ve ever seen and stopped to take its picture. It stood there looking at us the whole time. I don’t know whether it was flattered at the attention or wondering why a couple of odd people were stopping on a dirt road to take a picture of a cow.
CR 227 ended (?) at a 4-way intersection with Mustang Cemetery, Gates, and Loma Roads, near Mustang Cemetery. We got onto Loma Road and headed north. Or Mustang Road. Take your pick. Google chose both.
We kept driving on Loma Road until we got to the intersection of Loma Road, Loma Road, Loma Road, and Dickey Loop. We kept going north on Loma Road. (If you’re starting to feel like your brain is malfunctioning at this point, then you’re doing about as well as Google.)
After pulling into the ditch to let a tractor pulling a hay bailer go by, we stopped at Pilgrim Rest Missionary Baptist Church. It’s in a beautiful area of forest. The church has been around since the 1890s, and many of the family names on the building plaque are still prominent members of the community today.
From there we continued following the road (which became Johnson Road but is also mislabeled Hopewell Road) to Hopewell Road (the real one), headed east, then turned onto Scales Ranch Road. We spotted this cool gate along the way:
The whole drive through this area was fantastic, and we only saw one horsefly. From there we headed back to Huntsville via FM 1696 and TX-75, and finished our outing with dinner at City Hall Cafe.
So, children, listen to Old Man Rory when he says: “Don’t go trustin’ the Google Maps. It’ll git ya to most places, but it ain’t reliable ev’rywhere.”
(Oh, back to the picture thing… we were too busy trying to figure out where we were and where we were going to take very many pictures.)