#7: [03-Mar-09]

#6: [16-Nov-08]

#5: [13-Apr-06]

#4: [02-May-05]

#3: [05-Feb-05]

#2: [27-May-02]

05-May-2000 -- Steve Prewitt, Cindy Scheldorf, and I visted the "Leaning Weed" confluence at N60 W96 on May 14, 2000.

Steve is an old high school friend of mine who recently picked up his shiny new Phd down in Houston. Cindy, Steve's cousin from southern Indiana, was there for the occasion. And I joined the ongoing party on Saturday, flying out from Phoenix. What better way to celebrate than to go out and do a confluence!?! So we did.

Sunday was a nice spring afternoon that necessitated putting the top down on Steve's white Camaro. Since we were all confluence virgins, we just put 30N-96W into the Garmin, and went thataway with no planning before hand. We found good section line roads (kind of rare in many parts of Texas) all the way to a half mile east of the spot. There, we met a local family talking with a farmer on a tractor. They told us how to get to a gravel road, that went almost up to the confluence.

The gravel road dead ended at a locked gate, only a hundred yards south of 30 by 96. The only obstacle was a barbed wire fence (bob wahr down in Texas). Something I haven't scaled for way too many decades and pounds ago. All three of us got over the fence without ripping anything, and walked straight toward the only distiguishing thing in the field, a three foot tall, dead weed. It was the only one like it within sight. A true landmark.

We also found fresh berries growing. Don't know what kind they were, but they looked edible. Of course there was plenty of B.E.E.F. sign (Bovine Excrement/Extruded Fertilizer) around as well. We didn't take pictures of that. It's been done.

Leaving the field, Steve and Cindy took me straight to Hobby Airport for the trip home, where Dr. Steve burned the tires in the parking garage for it seemed like 30 seconds. It sounded cool in there. The normal travelers stared at us like we were kids.

Just like high school.

- Dennis Collins -

On US 290, go 10.25 miles from the center of Hempstead, TX 77445. Don't take 290A (just before Hempstead), which is a limited access highway, as I am not sure what will be an exit and what would be a crossing. Just before the town of Waller, turn right onto a road called F-M 362. Go for a total of 3.8 miles (at 1.95 miles, there should a cemetery on your right), and turn right onto Baethe Road. Go 1.9 miles. Just after the road makes a sharp left, turn right to stay on Baethe Road.

Go 1.17 miles and turn left onto Cochran Rd. Go 0.56 miles, and take the next right onto Purvis Road. Go 0.4 miles almost to the end of the road and stop. Walk due north 1000 feet to the confluence.