Texas Tidbits: An Uncertain Christmas

Santa in the Swamps

Some places are so cool they merit mentioning on a regular basis. One such place is the town of Uncertain, Texas. I have brought up that name several times on this blog. For a little background, you can go here, here, and here, plus a couple of other places.

Today, however, we are a taking a look at Uncertain in a completely different light, as in Christmas lights. What is certain is that uncertain has one of the most unique and beautiful Christmas celebrations anywhere in Texas. Or the United States, for that matter. As you'll recall, Uncertain sits on the shores of one of the beautiful and mysterious lakes in the world, pre-historic-looking Caddo Lake. What makes this Christmas celebration so neat is that the locals put on a parade of boats that file by the crowd-lined shores of Caddo Lake. Uncertain is home to only a couple of hundred people, but residents from near-by towns also participate in this annual floatilla of Christmas-themed boats.

The Floating Christmas Parade takes place each year on the third Saturday of December. This year, if my math is correct, that would be the 18th with the start time at 2:00 PM. maybe I'll hear from my blog buddy n2l today. He's chock full of information on Caddo Lake and would certainly add to the "discussion". 

I have never attended the Floating Christmas Parade, but I would love to see it, with all the decorated boats and the splendor that is Caddo Lake on display for all to see. Of that I am not Uncertain.  :)

Texas Tidbits : What's In a Name?

Are You  Sure?*

One thing is certain about Texas. It's BIG. But when it comes to location, where on Earth am I? I don't know. I'm Uncertain, but I know I'm Happy it's a small town where nobody tried to Cut and Shoot  me. Another sure thing about Texas is that is dotted with small towns with some interesting names, as evidenced by the four towns previously mentioned. I thought that today we'd take a look at some real places with real odd handles. Like Muleshoe. Or Telephone. There are dozens of other locations in the Lone Star State with unique, if not downright funny names. American Profile has an article with several good ones. Texas Escapes tells us of Looneyville (it's near Crazy Creek! I am not making this up!) , Diddy Waw Diddy and Old Granny's Neck. I have personally been to the Home of Bob Wills, Turkey, Texas., not to mention Spurger, Fred and Dime Box. The only important thing to me, no matter if it's Bug Tussle or Bettie, when I'm in Texas, I'm always in Paradise.

*Photo from texfiles.com

Texas Tidbits : Caddo Lake

Caddo Lake is a work of art that comes directly from the hand of God. Magical. Mystical. Enchanted. Spiritual. It is one of the most beautiful spots in all of Creation. Don Henley of the Eagles is a native son of Northeast Texas (Linden, to be exact) and he has been a Son of Caddo for over fifty years. Listen to Don's own words and watch the short video of this earthly piece of Paradise. Caddo Lake is named for the Caddo Indians who lived in the area until the late 19th Century and is the largest (25,000 + acres) natural freshwater lake in the South. It is also one of the few natural lakes in Texas as well as the largest cypress forest in the world. Caddo as we know it today was formed in late 1799 by a series of natural events called The Big Change. From Wikipedia : "substantial development would only begin with invention of the steamboat and US annexation of both Louisiana and Texas in the 19th century. The cities of Port Caddo, Swanson's Landing, and Jefferson in Texas, and Mooringsport in Louisiana, had thriving riverboat ports on the lake. Gradually as the log jams were removed in the lake and the Red River by Captain Henry Miller Shreve and then by the Army Corps of Engineers. The lake changed shape and eventually fell over ten feet, destroying the East Texas ports and their riverboat industry." Directly out of those times, you can still catch a ride on a vintage steamboat called The Graceful Ghost out of Uncertain, Texas. There's so much more to say about Caddo Lake and the surrounding area, but we'll get to that another day. Until then, get out to Caddo when you can. And observe the Handiwork of God.