More random, useless notes. Back when I could run trivia questions, with a fair degree of success, I liked collecting this kind of arcane material. Regrettably, search engines have rendered the idea of a trivia question all but useless. However…
Largest swimming pool in Texas? Unverified, but supposedly, Port Royal in Port A.
The only Confederate Fort commissioned west of the Mississippi? Fort Waul, built in 1863, at the confluence of the San Marcos and Guadalupe Rivers, just north of Gonzales. Never saw action, or never fired a shot, anyway. But it did prevent any enemies from sneaking up the Guadalupe River.
Whataburger started in Corpus Christi.
Austin sits on the Balcones Fault. Even more interesting, was the way both San Antonio (remember the Alamo) and Austin were picked for geological goodness: water. Since I live on the shores of the Colorado River, I’m especially tuned to that water factor.
Roadside Geology of Texas had an interesting description of faults in general, and the particulars of Balcones Fault (the geological kind, not the legendary band). What was weird, I pulled three or four history books off the shelf, so the rest of that section of books toppled sideways. Then, the geology book talked about Balcones Fault like a series of toppled books, rather than a clean cut. Plus there was an excellent description of my favorite: Barton Springs.
My interest was the Pliocene Goliad sandstone, I suppose. Cenozoic Era, Tertiary Period, Pliocene Epoch, between 2 and 5 million years old. Then, blipping forward with the remote, 18,000 years ago, when the sea level was a lot lower, end of the ice age, right up to now, and the longest barrier island in North America (Padre Island). If I recall rightly, and I might not, it seems that geologists still don’t know exactly how that barrier island formed. But they do have theories.
I never thought hard science and astrology were so similar. All this, and I haven’t even left Austin yet. Bizarre part about my copy that text? Most of the dog-eared portions are all in West Texas. However, as I reread the “Corpus Christi to San Antonio” section again, I was wondering about my version of the vistas versus what the book was describing.
