#1: [12-Apr-98]

25-May-2026 -- As I had a multi-year tradition of setting aside a few days, preferably near the summer solstice when I would have the most daylight, to get out onto the landscape and see fields, old railroad depots, trails, and confluence points, and as I would be teaching soon at a geotechnology conference at Dallas College, and as it had been six months since I had last visited a point, the weekend had finally arrived. I had been looking forward to it for quite some time and it exceeded all my geo-hopes and dreams!

The Approach: Early this morning, I had visited 32 North 94 West in northwest Louisiana, and as I was driving along, and considering the work I needed to do before teaching geotechnologies at Dallas College in a few days, I decided that today and tomorrow would be my last confluencing days for this trip. I had toyed with the idea of making it a 5 day trek, but now thought it would be wiser for me to make it 4 days, and take that extra day to finish preparing all the workshops I had to teach at the College for the geotechnology conference. I felt good about this decision. That meant that this morning I was in the last half of my 4 day journey, and I was savoring the moments.

As I crossed into Texas from Louisiana, I saw a sign that said "International Boundary." I stopped, and in this peaceful place in the trees, the 1840 Republic of Texas survey marker, stone, and several interpretive signs were there. It is the only international boundary INSIDE the 48 contiguous USA states, and a great thrill for me as a geographer to see, quite unexpectedly! If I had taken the more direct route from 32 North 94 West to 32 North 95 West, I never would have seen this. Once I had documented this with a reflective moment, photos, and a video, I was once again heading west toward 32 North 95 West. I had my map hat on and my map shirt on. Let's go!

I had long been eyeing this confluence, at least 10 years, as it seemed fairly easy to reach, though it would involve meeting with the landowner (or landowners) of the property immediately north of the point. I traveled through Carthage, then Henderson, then southwest along US 79. At Texas 4418, I turned into a quiet lane that seemed a world apart from the US highway. I drove very slowly, parked at the side of the road, next to a dog barking but fortunately in a large cage. I walked up to the first home that I thought might be "the one". The person there, after I explained my mission and showed her the map, kindly said it was her son's property. I then walked west one house, explained my mission, and had a wonderful chat with the son. I invited him along, and we walked through the field, southwards, saying hello to the donkey and horses there.

The Site: As I had suspected, the confluence point lies in the lower part of the property, in the trees. The land slopes a bit to the south, toward the drainage. The drainage eventually runs to Lake Striker, to the south. Fortunately the confluence was not in the creek or the lake! I was able to zero out the GPS unit despite the presence of the trees, while the landowner and I talked about history, the tree species here, geography, and his background in this area. He was the second landowner I had met on this trip and I was thankful for the access and for the chat. I took photos, avoiding taking any of the residences, and video, again doing the same; the video I have posted on my Our Earth channel, here. It seemed hard to believe that this point had only been visited once before, 28 years ago, in 1998. That little kid in the 1998 photo has to be over 30 years old by now! From their narrative, I couldn't quite understand how that previous visitor accessed the point, but I was glad I had chosen the way I had.

Weather Conditions: It was a late morning in late spring, heating up already; about 90 F and moderately humid. The sky was largely and gloriously clear. I thought about those past and present who had traversed these grounds and lived here. I had stood on 32 North many times, from west Texas on the west side to South Carolina on the east. I had stood on 95 West even more times, from Minnesota on the north in 2022 to Texas, one degree south of here, in 2015.

Next Stop: We were having a wonderful time; I didn't want to depart, but to be respectful to the landowner's time, we made our way up the pasture, I bid him farewell. I had one last moment gazing about in the very peaceful neighborhood. Then, I drove slowly to the west, meeting up in a few blocks with US 79 again. I now had a VERY long drive, at least 5 and perhaps 6 hours, across some very hot and dry landscapes, to reach 32 North 99 West--four degrees of longitude distant. Would I make it? I would see roads and backroads that I had never before been on, and en route, pick up many new counties. Despite this being Day 3 of my current tour, I was feeling pretty alert still (though I might have to stop for a coffee and water), and I was looking forward to it!

Onward with gratitude!

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When the trip was all said and done, here are the final statistics:


-------------------------------------------------
Days set aside to visit points:  4.

Confluence points attempted:  14.  

Confluence points successfully visited:  13. 

Points where I met the local landowner = 5 of 14 points. 


Miles = 1,945, Kilometers = 3,130.
  
Percent of travel on interstate highways:  15%
Percent of travel on US, state, county roads, and the "back of the back roads":  85 % Hooray!

Campgrounds = 3.  

Rainy confluence points:  3 of 14.
Beautiful confluence points:   14 of 14.

Convenience store stops = 7.  

Points that turned out to be

                easier than I thought they would be =           1 
                about the same as I expected them to be =       8 
                more difficult than I thought they would be =   5 
		-------------------------------------------------------
			                                     14 points.
Points          in prairie or scrub      3
                in woodlands             5
		in non-tilled fields     2
		in agricultural fields   4
		-----------------------------------
			                14 points.

Points along 	36 North = 1 
		35 North = 4 
		34 North = 2 
		33 North = 3
                32 North = 4  
		----------------
			   14 points.

Points visited on 	Day 1 = 2 
			Day 2 = 5 
			Day 3 = 4 
			Day 4 = 3
		-------------------
			   	14 points.  

Points visited in the 	morning = 	6 
			afternoon = 	5 
			evening = 	3 
		-------------------------------
			   	       14 points

Points visited in 	Oklahoma =       2
			Arkansas =       4
			Louisiana =      2 
			Texas =          6
		-------------------------------
			   		14 points 

The most frequently visited latitude line:  
-------------------------------------------- 
                       32 and 35 North:  4 points each.

The most frequently visited longitude line:  
-------------------------------------------- 
                                      94 West:  4 points.