#1: [16-Jan-00]

26-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!

It was Day 4 of my current confluence trek, which had begun in Dallas and which took me in a long clockwise oval through Oklahoma, Arkansas, Louisiana, and back into Texas. This morning I had begun at the beautiful Abilene State Park and took in a stop at Allsup's, one of my favorite convenience store chains. I had intended to approach this point from the south. And as this point had not been visited since 2000, I felt it was my duty to document any changes. And as it turned out, there have been some BIG changes, even way out here!

I drove through Hawley and Anson on US 277 and then on US 83 before turning north on county roads. Now it was starting to become really flat, not far from the Llano Estacado. The county roads through Plainview and Tuxedo were sporting some huge holes and ruts, so I proceeded with caution despite the straight roads. I made progress and drove west on 2834, then north on the gravel road 145, and then had intentions to turn northeast along County Road 176. To my surprise, it was gated, and not an ordinary gate, but with a massive lock and chain, and a sign about reporting crime. What could be going on?

Puzzled, I pondered my options. I could walk up the road from here, but the sign looked pretty serious, and it would take me an hour. Again, though, I didn't want to disregard the sign, even on foot. The road extending due north from here, while open, I knew would end far before the point. I decided to drive south, west a bit more on 2834, and then north on 117. Sure enough, once done, I was getting closer, and my intended plan was to drive west on 171 once I reached the T intersection. But at the T of 2834 and 117, the mystery of this point was revealed.

The whole area was being turned into a massive, and I mean Texas-sized massive, solar energy operation. If you look at Google Maps in this area, you will see some pictures from Swenson Solar (at least as of June 2026) showing many trucks, equipment, and much more. I stopped at the security shed at the T intersection, explained my mission, and was understandably turned away given the active construction site ahead of me. I thanked her (the security guard), turned around gingerly (due to trucks waiting for me to do so), and drove back south on 2834. I wanted to get a bit away from the security shed before taking a few photographs. There was quite a bit of traffic on these formerly lonely country roads!

Once I had stopped, I thought about my options. I debated briefly to travel on what would be a long loop to get up to Sagerton and approach the point from the north. But, given the size of the solar operation, I had a strong suspicion that I would encounter fences and security that way as well. Indeed, as I was later this morning to be found heading away from 33 North 101 West, I encountered more massive solar and wind farms, confirming that I had made the right choice in calling this one "attempted" and letting others know about it. It was still good to be on the landscape! With these wide open skies, a solar farm seemed a logical thing to place here.

And thus, I feel that the one and only successful visit to this point from 2000 will remain as THE only visit, with no further visits possible to this site. I started thinking--how many other confluence points around the world are no longer accessible, but were visited a short 10 or 20 years ago?

I had lots of alone time in the vehicle afterward, debating what I should do about documenting this visit. I really don't like these hollow "attempt" circles on my confluence map, and considered not logging this visit at all. But as a geographer, I felt in the end compelled to tell other potential future visitors about this situation.

Now on Day 4 of my trek, I really felt the need to log a successful visit, so I set my sights on 33 North 101 West. Would I find another blocked point and a large solar farm there? Only one way to find out!

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.