But First... Twisted Pipes

How about some twisted pipes, eh? We went to a storage building sale on South University, off in the boonies. One thing we found was a '65 Chevy long bed PU with a 500hp V-8 and hood that would not close for some reason (but you could drive it around like a big old angry alligator), a lot of bare metal in the cab, a neat shifter, and two empty beer cans in the pickup bed, ready to go for $2780! I should have taken pictures of that truck but I didn't. But I did take pictures of some old, rusty, TWISTED PIPES next to a rusted 50 gallon metal drum. Actually, those pipes are TWISTED BY DESIGN-- exhaust pipes, and they had to be bent up like that to negotiate a path through various other chassis parts.

 

Lakeview, Texas, And Something About Eggs

Today we drove past and through Petersburg, and we really believed we knew this time where to find whatever might be left of the tiny community of Lakeview. We drove and drove and of Lakeview we found nothing-- EXCEPT a sign outside of some kind of agricultural looking establishment that said: Lakeview Wind Farms. Wind farm usually means power generation but there were no wind turbines there. And a harassed and hard-working lady in a gas station/mini-mart in Petersburg mentioned a Lakeview farm that sold eggs. Maybe that's all that's left of Lakeview. We did find, on FM 400, a historic marker marking the spot once occupied by the community of Union. There was NOTHING LEFT of that community! There was not even a crumbled wall, not even a trace of a foundation-- NOTHING!! Just the marker, and a brief history.


I got some photos of ruins in Idalou and of some ruins in Lubbock along the Idalou Road that I have not photographed before. It was an interesting trip but also very sobering and kind of sad. Apparently, no Lakeview, and definitely no more Union. All gone! Someday, I'm sure, you will be able to say the same of Ropesville, and Lamesa, and Tahoka, and Post, and, yes, even Lubbock: ALL GONE!!

More Lubbock Ruins

Out on east 98th Street, if you're brave enough to go really far out, you will find an abandoned strip joint, or "Gentleman's Club". If you're a Texas good old boy, a strip joint really is a gentleman's club-- that's about as good as it gets. At any rate, go a little bit farther and you find an abandoned trailer home with a bunch of storage buildings. It seems to have been part of the club, or something ancillary to it. We took some photos...

It also looked like there was about to be some road construction or heavy utility work in the area, probably associated with new subdivisions. 

It's very likely that these interesting structures will be replaced by hastily constructed houses that all look alike. 

We live in a neighborhood that used to be out in the boonies. Now it is on the edge of the boonies, and I like that a lot. Drive a few blocks and you've got open country. That won't last very long, unfortunately.

 

Finishing New Deal

Some of these pics are a bit abstract, in that I did not pay attention to the orientation of the pics. Composition and balance trumped reality in a few of them. 

See what I mean? And now the last of New Deal...

And if you decide to visit in order to try the BBQ, just find the Alon station. The little restaurant attached to it has the great BBQ.
 

Serving Up More New Deal

New Deal arrives on the WWW...

Cotton ginning is probably the only reason for New Deal to exist. Cotton is the only thing that keeps most of these little towns alive, or half-alive. Unless there's oil. 

 We are getting close to the end of New Deal.