03-Sep-2001 -- There is no better Labor Day outing than a confluence hunt. We did one successfully this year to a rather empty portion of Texas - Sterling County, population 1393, for a people- per-square-mile figure of just over 1.5. The county seat and only town, Sterling City, has 1081 of the people, too.

This confluence is about 50 miles south of our home in Snyder, about a mile east of State Highway 163. It is in gently rolling grazing land (for tough cattle!), with cedar, mesquite, and lots of cactus. We found an unlocked gate at the highway nearly exactly on the 32nd parallel, and drove to a house at the end of a dirt road. As no one was home, we left English and Spanish copies of the permission letter, and drove on east and slightly south, on track roads, through two more gates.

The confluence point itself was perhaps 50 yards off a track in a brush-filled pasture. Picture #1 shows a cairn we built at the spot, and gives a good idea of what the area is like. Pictures #2 and #3 show northerly and southern views. Picture #4 is the less camera-shy of two donkeys found just north of the CP, and #5 is digital proof of our visit.