I wrote this in 2009, but felt like it deserved reposting. My great-Uncle Earl would have turned 94 today.

Since this was written in 2009, some of the information has become outdated. We’ve lost a few of Grandma’s siblings since then.  My parents are no longer in Navasota, my mother is no longer with us either. I need to go through and do a separate piece on each of the aunts and uncles that I spent a decent amount of time with, which was most of them.  Most of them made big impressions on me, the ones who didn’t, I just wasn’t around enough.  I’m sure if I had been, they would have. I went through and added pictures I could find of each one. I wasn’t able to find one of Aunt Lois.

---

Grandma Briggs came from a family of 16 kids. 13 lived to be adults, 5 are still living, most of the ones that passed lived full lives into their 70’s and 80’s.

I was very fortunate to be able to get to know most of Grandma’s siblings. There is only a couple that I don’t have distinct memories of. Here’s a brief rundown of what I remember from each of those thirteen.

Lloyd Jones (Deceased)

I remember my Dad preaching at Uncle Lloyd’s church and him playing the fiddle. Also staying at their house in Locust Grove, OK and how nice Aunt Winnebel was.

Emmett Jones (Deceased)

I don’t remember meeting him until I was a teenager and he came to visit Grandma at her house. He seemed like a nice man, I just wasn’t around him very much.

Ruth Marrs (Deceased)

Aunt Ruth and Grandma went to the same hairdresser once a week and I remember her and Grandma being the best of friends. When I was a teenager, I would stay with her husband, Uncle Houston who had suffered a stroke while they went to the hair appointment.

Orpha Briggs (Deceased)

Grandma Briggs, I’ve written a lot about her (and Grandad) in the past.

Johnny Jones (Deceased)

Uncle Johnny was always a staple at the Sperry Post Office sitting on a bench out front talking to other men from the town. He was usually in a pair of overalls.

Wes Jones (Deceased)

Dad preached for Uncle Wes in Beggs, OK when I was pretty young. He had a mangled hand from a childhood farm accident, but still managed to be a first-class carpenter and mason. He also came to Pittsburg and preached for my Dad once or twice. The same could probably be said about grandma’s entire family, but I remember him always being very jovial and humorous.

Madeline Howard (Deceased)

I did not get to spend a lot of time with Aunt Madeline, but she was very nice to me. And I remember her as being one of the kindest people I’ve ever met.

Juanita Cook (Living)

Aunt Juanita lives in Illinois. She has come to Oklahoma for several reunions and once during the summer and stayed for several weeks, including a few days with Grandma and Grandad. When she stayed with Grandma, she and Grandma had been canning some jelly. We took a little road trip that day to go visit Uncle Lloyd in Locust Grove. On the way there we stopped at a café and something triggered Grandma and Aunt Juanita’s memory. They both looked at each other and at the same time exclaimed, “The stove!”
They had forgotten about some fruit they had left cooking for the canning they were doing. Grandad called Bob Stidham who had a station next door. Bob went over and checked on the stove using the house key that was on the front porch under a rock. The fruit had boiled over and put the fire out on the stove. Fortunately Bob was able to turn the stove off and nothing was harmed except some burnt fruit and a mess when we returned. I remember Aunt Juanita and Grandma laughing nonstop about it afterwards.

Rachel Martens (Deceased)

Aunt Rachel and Uncle Henry moved from Sperry to Indiana with their daughter Ruth a few years ago. They could always be seen around Sperry walking to Hominy Creek Bridge. It was like clockwork. She and Grandma Briggs shared a very striking resemblance to each other.

Earl Jones (Deceased)

I will write in depth about him later.

Frank Jones (Living)

Uncle Frank still lives in Sperry, and you can often find him at the local café every morning. I remember him always fishing the Illinois River in a fishing tube. He’s always been very nice to me.

Lois Thulin (Deceased)
She passed when I was about five. I don’t remember much about her except that she was sick. Her son Hovey and I are close to the same age, and I remember playing in the pastures around their house. Hovey and I shared several classes in seventh grade. Lois’ daughter Reetha stayed with Grandma and Grandad for bit during her teenage years.

Bill Jones (Living)

When I think of Uncle Bill I think of a big grin. His daughter Stephanie and I are close to the same age. I would go over to their house a lot during my summers in OK. He and Aunt Dorothy probably came out to Grandad and Grandma’s house more than her other siblings. I remember them being around for jam sessions, and Fourth of July cookouts. They are also a staple every year at the reunions.

I didn’t feel I could write this without at least acknowledging all of Grandma Brigg’s siblings. While I didn’t get to spend a lot of time with all of them, I had/have a connection with all of them. It’s really hard to say I liked one more than another, just like any person in your life. They all played different roles for me. A lot of time just their mere presence gave me a sense of comfort knowing I was among some resemblance of “home”.

With all that said, the one that I probably had the strongest connection with was Uncle Earl. This is my attempt to explain what he meant to me. I’m sure I could write the same thing about each of the people mentioned above had I spent enough time with them. While this is about Uncle Earl, I think of him almost in a symbolic way of representing all of his siblings.

Four of Grandma’s brothers ended up being preachers, including Uncle Earl who officiated the wedding of my parents in 1969. He had a very funny side. The night of the wedding, he left my parents a message telling them in their haste to start their lives together, they had forgotten to sign the wedding license. My parents drove to Haskell, OK where Earl and his family lived at the time. Dad remembers that as soon as Uncle Earl opened the door and saw the newlyweds on his front porch, he started laughing. He had been joking and didn’t think they had taken him seriously. Dad and Mom both came from a strict religious upbringing, so I’m sure they had worried they’d spent their first night married “in sin” due to a complication.

I guess the earliest memory I have of Uncle Earl is probably from church when I was four or five. By then he had become the pastor of the Pentecostal church in Sperry, OK. I remember him singing and preaching. The church was anchored with a lot of family members including my grandparents, several great aunts, great uncles, uncles, aunts, cousins, second cousins, and people not blood related but claimed as family. I don’t know all the specifics, but he had taken the church after some turmoil and helped put everything back together.

Though he was a preacher, he was a man’s man. He worked with his hands. One-time Grandad and Grandma were replacing the field line at their house. Uncle Earl was right there in overalls getting dirty, crawling under the house and helping dig the trench for the line.

Of course, I remember him being at the Jones Reunion in Tahlequah every August. He and several of the men would go fishing, and Uncle Earl often brought a small boat with him in the back of his truck. A Saturday morning tradition at the reunion was for the men to go into town and look around at the flea markets and pawn shops. Grandad, Uncle Earl, Uncle Bill, Uncle Frank, Uncle Henry, Uncle Larry, Uncle James, Cousins Steve, Ronnie, Rick, Milton, my brother Brad, our Dad, and a few others were regulars on those trips into town. I started tagging along when I a teenager. I was always torn on whether I should stay or go, I didn’t want to miss anything at the camp, but all the men were going into town. Some of my best memories are from those Saturday morning trips. One-year Uncle Earl bought a saddle out at the flea market.

There was not a lot I did not like about Uncle Earl. Honestly a lot of that has to do with how nice he was to me. Uncle Earl was very supportive of my Dad’s ministry, even when Dad’s religious organization had turned their back and other family members from the same organization for that matter. Uncle Earl did not. He treated my Dad and our family the same. He always made us feel welcome at his church, or in person.
I couldn’t list all of the times he exercised generosity to not only us, but to people in his church, and in the community. If he knew a family was without groceries, gas money, needed new tires for a vehicle, he would see to it that they had what they needed.

He would occasionally come up and slip me money too. One year I was going with Grandad and Grandma to a family reunion on Grandad’s mother’s side in Tennessee. Uncle Earl slipped me twenty bucks so I would “have some spending money for the trip.” When you’re a teenager, twenty bucks seems like its one hundred. At least it did for me.

The generosity aside, he took an interest in me. During my teen years, he would invite me to ride with him to Oklahoma City to pick up kids from youth camp in the church van. Maybe he just didn’t want to ride by himself, but he probably could have asked a lot of people to go along, yet he asked me. I look back on those drives from Sperry to Oklahoma City with great fondness. I loved staying with my grandparents during the summers, but they also didn’t go a lot of places. So it was nice to get out every once in a while. One year, Uncle Earl entrusted me to water his garden and feed his beloved Beagle hounds while he was on vacation. He paid me to do it, but I would have done it for free, I was just honored he thought I was responsible enough to handle the task. If you had seen his garden, it might make a little more sense. It was huge!
I guess I have to say overall what impressed me about him, was how he treated others. No he wasn’t perfect, but along with a host of other family members provided a good example to myself.
About a year before he died, I was sitting in the church my Dad pastors in Navasota, TX. What I am about to write here is nothing my parents don’t already know. Almost every time I went to church in Navasota, I couldn’t help but be sad. I would think of my grandparents and all the family members who were in a Sunday morning service in Sperry, OK while I was in service in Navasota with a bunch of people who weren’t very kind to my parents.
One Sunday I left the auditorium and went to my Dad’s office and wrote letters to Grandad and Grandma, and one to Uncle Earl. I was 21 or 22 at the time and didn’t really feel like I had ever said “Thank you” to them for the roles they played in my upbringing. Honestly, I thought Uncle Earl would outlive both Grandad and Grandma by several years. Grandma survived him by a couple of years, and Grandad survived him by six.
The following Christmas we were in OK and went to church while we were in Sperry. Brad and I were sitting on the back pew like good preacher’s kids do. Uncle Earl came out of his office which was close by and slapped me on the back. I looked around and he had a big smile on his face. And that is how I remember him. Uncle Earl passed away on September 1, 1999.

He never talked to me about the letter, but I know he received it because his wife Aunt Frankie told me it meant a lot to him.
This past reunion, my dad, my brother, his wife, my sister, her husband, her girls, and I went to that same flea market. I had skipped it for the last few years, and honestly the flea market wasn’t anything special this year. Guess that’s a big surprise about a flea market? Maybe it never has been, and it was just being out there a lot of my favorite people. While walking around out there, I had one of those flashback moments you see so often in the movies and on TV. I looked around for Uncle Earl to see if he found a new saddle.

Gone almost 7 years and I miss you more than ever.

This year has been as awesome as staring directly at the sun! I’m not one of those people that thinks a new year gets rid of all of your problems and makes everything better, but definitely all for trying out a new model.

 “Well, at least we were able to see some country we had not seen before.” -Johnie R. Briggs

Perhaps my unyielding need to roam the country is hereditary. Grandad was known for the words above if you drove anywhere and ended up taking a detour.  Even a trip a to the dump would incorporate a lot of back roads outside of Tulsa and would turn into an adventure.  Usually it also involved finding a little country store for a Mountain Dew.

I had been wanting to wonder out to Big Bend National Park for a few years, candidly to cross it off the national parks I have visited. Not sure I will make it to all of them in my lifetime, but I figure if I can knock one or two off a year, at the end of my time I will have seen the best our country has to offer geographically.  Early in the year, I was eyeing a trip out there in the fall. Though a long drive, it was economically feasible, drive my own car, find some reasonable lodging, maybe do some camping.  14 days to flatten the curve turning into infinity, put a damper on any kind of trip planning.   A month or so back, I decided to make the trip happen, asked for the days off, scouted out the trip.

Thursday, October 15, 2020, Smithville to Luckenbach to Marfa to Alpine

I stayed Wednesday night at my brother and sister-in-law’s place in Smithville, TX. They gave me a great deal on lodging. 😊

Luckenbach, Texas

From Smithville, I drove to Luckenbach, Texas and did the touristy thing of taking a few self-portraits and visiting the country store for some cheap souvenirs (stickers and postcards). I would like to go back there and get the full experience when live music is going on, but at 10:00 AM in the morning, not much was happening yet.

If you are planning a trip out that way yourself, let me offer simple but very important advice.  Once you leave Fort Stockton and start heading southwest in the direction of Big Bend, gas and restrooms are not to be found between towns, act accordingly.

The next destination was Marfa, Texas.  Marfa is literally an artsy sort of town, there are several art galleries.  I will not pose like I am deep into fine arts, but there were a few roadside attractions in the area I wanted to see.

Prada Marfa

Prada Marfa is not in Marfa, but 40 miles past. Do not ask me why I wanted to see a hipster-esque store front/art exhibit in Valentine, Texas. Chalk it up to, “I may never be out this way again, I might as well go see it”, and I did.  When I arrived a little before 5 PM, there was a model and her photographer (well he was using his phone) reluctant to move out of the way for a few minutes to accommodate the other idiots like me that drove out in the middle of nowhere to take pictures of a not real store/art exhibit.

They finally cleared out (briefly) and two ladies, and me took pictures and left.  An older couple in an RV pulled up just as I was leaving. 

Supposedly Prada puts out their current collection of shoes and purses in the storefront.  On the drive back towards Marfa, I thought out the logistics.  Does Prada just ship the collection to someone in town, and they go stage the stuff? Or is this stuff so valuable, that a Prada employee flies/drives in sets it up. Just the kind of things you ponder on a road in the middle of nowhere. 

Little Reata, Rock Hudson, James Dean, Elizabeth Taylor

On the way back to Marfa I stopped at a display paying homage to ‘Giant’ a movie released in 1956, which was filmed near Marfa. Large cutouts of Rock Hudson, James Dean, and Elizabeth Taylor, and the mansion façade from the movie sit right off the road. Near the cutout of Rock Hudson behind the wheel of a car were speakers blasting some period country tunes.

Back in town, I drove around Marfa for a few minutes and took a couple of pictures of the Hotel Paisano where the cast and crew of ‘Giant’ had stayed on the 50’s.

The Presidio county courthouse was just down the street from the hotel.

No Country for Old Men

Some key scenes for the movie No Country for Old Men was filmed near Marfa. Near the beginning of the movie, the villain played Javier Barden, has killed a Sherriff’s deputy, and stolen his car.  He pulls over a man on the side of the road and proceeds to kill him with a cow gun.  For whatever reason, probably the same one that had me driving to Prada Marfa, I decided to go looking for this spot after seeing some YouTube videos where others had done the same.  Candidly I had to talk myself into going on this quest, as it meant driving 30 miles out in the middle of nowhere to turn around and come back.

Ranch road 2810 turned out to be a pretty drive.  I saw a few people within the first five miles, out walking and running.  Then it was just me. I did not see one other vehicle in the time it took to drive out and back, probably an hour.  Ultimately, I do not think I went quite far enough, but I did pull over at what I thought was the spot and took a few pics. 

The Marfa Lights

About halfway between Marfa and Alpine, is the Marfa Lights Viewing Area.  Since the 1800’s people have reported seeing unexplained mysterious lights. A rancher in the 1800’s thought the lights were fires from Apache Indian camps.  Within the last twenty years, the State of Texas funded a viewing area complete with benches and viewing scopes.  I decided to make this part of the trip and see if I saw anything.

I arrived just after sunset, saw one light on the horizon that was probably lights from a vehicle.  After 30 minutes, I decided my curiosity had been satisfied.  I headed back to Alpine my stop for the night.

Friday, October 16, 2020, Big Bend National Park, Terlingua

I left Alpine at 5:45 am, and headed for Big Bend, hoping to make sunrise at 7:50 am. It’s about a two-hour drive.  Alpine and Marathon are the closest lodging options from the north. South of Marathon about ten miles is a border patrol checkpoint, it showed no sign of life when I passed by. 

Around 6:30 am I came to the Big Bend National Park sign.  I stopped to take a picture. When I stepped out of the car, I looked up and was amazed by the stars.

The entrance station was closed (since I stayed in the park the whole day, I did not end up paying for my visit).

I continued driving and started to see the horizon light up in the east behind the Chisos mountains.

As I came to the stop sign in front of Panther Junction, the landscape started becoming visible.  I headed east to the Rio Grande Village.  Having been to Grand Teton, Yellowstone, Yosemite, and the Grand Canyon, I cannot say I was seeing beauty I had not experience before, but it was a beautiful sight.  Besides a few random cars coming from the opposite direction, I had the road to myself.  

I pulled over several times just to take in the sun coming over the mountains. 

The Rio Grande Village campground was closed, and it felt strange to be the only person in the area. 

I headed back west and took the turnoff for Boquillas Canyon and ended up at the Boquillas Canyon overlook. Again, I kept expecting to be joined by other visitors, but had the place to myself.  In normal times you can take a rowboat ferry across the Rio Grande River into Boquillas, Mexico. The crossing is currently closed due to…. (you can guess it easy enough).  I noticed Rocks with walking sticks and various crafts, with plastic jugs. At first, I thought it was memorial, then as I walked closer noticed writing on the plastic jugs.  These items were for sale, one of the jugs said it was to help fund schools in Mexico. I am not sure if in normal times, people come across from Mexico and sell the crafts in person, or if it is always unattended.  I picked out a walking stick I liked and left ten dollars in the corresponding jug.  The ranger station in the Rio Grande Village was closed for the season, or I would have asked a ranger about it.

I drove back west towards Panther Junction.  The visitor’s center is closed (because you guessed it), but there was a ranger out front with a couple of tables giving out information.  Now I was starting to see people and realize I was not going to have the whole park to myself.

From Panther Junction, I kept going west to the road up to the Chisos Basin Visitor Center, this is also the location of Chisos Mountains Lodge, the only lodging inside the park (it has been closed for most of the year, open with limited availability right now). If you want to stay in the park, in a hotel, this would be your only option, provided you could get a room.  The road up to this area is in my opinion some of the best sight seeing in the area, the road twists and turns, a lot of switchbacks. Then once you get to the top, there are a few campgrounds (which were full according to the signs at each entrance).  The visitor’s center was you guessed it closed, ranger out front giving information.  I went in the store that was open and bought a hat and a few stickers for my laptop, because I am 12 years old.  This was the most crowded area I saw. Lots of hikers coming and going from the nearby trails.

After spending some time looking around, I drove back down and headed for the Ross Maxwell scenic drive.

According to the Big Bend website:

The thirty-mile Ross Maxwell Scenic Drive leads to the Castolon Historic District and Santa Elena Canyon. Along the way the road showcases some of the historic and geologic features this region is famous for.

The crown jewel of the Ross Maxwell Scenic drive is the Santa Elena Canyon which is at the end of the drive.  I took my time driving out, admiring the surroundings. Things in the distance looked very hazy, I am not sure if it is always that way, or just the wind, atmosphere, etc. I did not see a ranger for the rest of the day or would have asked.  I stopped at the Santa Elena Canyon Overlook and stayed for about an hour, fixed myself a sandwich (you want to bring an ice chest, with water, food, etc.), and admired the view.  From there I went down to the entrance to the Santa Elena Canyon trail, this area was the second most congested area of the park.  My guess is if you got there early in the morning, you would be in front of the crowds, not surprisingly at 2pm the area was full of cars.  I did not end up sticking it out, but the hike into the canyon is 1.6 miles round trip, that also requires crossing a creek.  It was something I was going to do but did not want my slow pace to be holding up people on a trail.

I took my time going back out the Ross Maxwell Scenic Drive. 

Around 3:00 pm I drove out of the west side of the park. I spent about 8 hours in the park, you could spend days there hiking, and camping, or taking Rio Grande River trips from an outfitter in nearby Terlingua, which I would like to go back and do.

Terlingua was my stop for the night. Check in was not until 4pm, so I went to the Terlingua Ghost town, and looked around for a bit. 

My lodging for the night was the Chisos Mountain Co Motel.  If you need a place to sleep, this is your place. If you are looking for opulence, you are probably going to be disappointed with Terlingua. 

After checking in and surveying my room, I went to the Chili Pepper Café for dinner. The people were nice, service was slow. There are only a few restaurants in Terlingua.

After dinner I went back to the motel for a bit, contemplating whether to go back into the park for a few hours. I did drive back up to the entrance and see what kind of view there would be for the sunset. Ultimately, I drove around Terlingua some more and then went back to the hotel and sit outside as the sun went down.

I think I went to sleep about 9pm. No internet, spotty phone service, and a quiet room were a great recipe for turning in early.

Saturday, October 17, 2020, Terlingua to Fort Davis to Smithville

I left Terlingua at 5:45 am, but not before admiring the stars for a few minutes.  I drove north to Fort Davis (passed through Alpine again) and watched the sun come up over the Davis mountains. 

I arrived at Fort Davis Drug Store shortly before 8 am. The Fort Davis Drug store opened in 1913, and has been in its current location since the 1950’s.  They no longer are a “drug store”, but have a restaurant, soda fountain, gift shop, as well as hotel rooms upstairs. When I was scouting the trip, I almost booked a room there for Saturday night, but ultimately decided to drive back on Saturday.

After having breakfast, I drove  few miles down the road to the Fort Davis Historical Site. From the website:

A key post in the defense system of western Texas, Fort Davis played a major role in the history of the Southwest. From 1854 until 1891, troops stationed at the post protected emigrants, freighters, mail coaches, and travelers on the San Antonio-El Paso Road hoping to reach the gold fields of California.

After taking some pictures, I made my way back to I-10 via highway 17, which is a nice drive.  It seems like anything south of I-10 has lots to offer scenery wise. 

I made it back to my brother’s in Smithville about 4 pm. We had burgers and caught up at the Cistern Country Store, not far from Smithville.

Each trip I can take always gives a fix for my gumption to wander, but also just feeds the need to wander some more.  At least we were able to see some country we had not seen before.