Belton, Texas

Salado, Texas

Weather: low 34 degrees, high 45 degrees, windy with gusts to 30 mph

The cold weather has returned, and it looks like it will hang around for awhile. That's fine with Carolyn, but I would be happy with 70 degrees all the time. I don't care for the cold weather that much.

The cold kept me in until about mid-morning, when I asked Carolyn if she would like to go do some exploring. She said it was too cold. Now there's the paradox with Carolyn and cold weather. She likes it cold, but doesn't like to get out when it is cold. She said I could go and she would stay home. So, I decided to just see where the road led me, starting out by going to Belton to see what was there.

Belton is the county seat of Bell County. The current courthouse was built in 1885, refurbished in the 1990s, and is still being used. The square around the courthouse is rather small, but most of the buildings date back to the time when the courthouse was built. There are many historical plaques placed around the square. Like many of the hill country towns, the Chisholm Trail went through here.

This picture is of the inside of the Bell County Courthouse. Nice tree, isn't it? Are you surprised to see a display of Christmas in a public building? I think it's great.

One reason I went out in the cold was to check out a couple of COE parks on Belton Lake. The first one I visited was Live Oak Ridge, located just north of the lake dam. The other one was Cedar Ridge, located west of Temple, just off TX 36. Both of the parks have what we look for, including scenic views, decent cell phone signal, well kept sites, and the sites were spread far enough apart for some privacy. Oh, and there are not any trains nearby, so both of them should be quiet.

After going through the Cedar Ridge Park, I went back into Belton and took US 190 west to Killeen, which is the city closest to Fort Hood. As might be expected for a city that close to a major military base, Killeen is a busy place. All the major stores are found here that might be expected to be found in similar cities. My reason for going to Killeen was to visit the 4th Armored Division Museum. Unfortunately, I had some problems finding the museum, and when I called them to get some directions, I could hardly understand what the person was saying. I did get the fact that the museum was being moved, so maybe I can visit there at some time in the future.

Did this buck think I couldn't see him?

The park we're in at this time is Union Grove COE park, located on Stillhouse Hollow Reservoir. The COE developed this reservoir in 1968, and it was designed for flood control, as well as for drinking water and irrigation. Equally important are the recreation opportunities created by the reservoir, such as camping (naturally!), fishing, boating, swimming, and fishing.

More later, be safe.

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