No More States

The End.

Adios, y'all,
Toby

Happy Fathers Day!

While I have a break in Fathers Day activities here at The Toby Dome, I wanted to wish all the Dads out there a glorious Fathers Day. And to all the Dads who are no longer with us, thanks for setting such good examples of what it is to be a man and more importantly, a Father. I hope all Dads have a kick ass day!

Here are a few photos of what has taken place at my house this morning:

Bailey "wrote" me a Fathers Day Message on a Post It

From Issy

Breakfast     

 

 

I hope your fathers Day is the best ever for you and all your kids and grand kids get to pay you a visit. Take Care, Dads and Happy Fathers Day!

A Note to My Readers

James Dean Mojo

I want to apologize to you all for the lack of posting over the last week. I have some medical issues that have taken priority over blogging and practically every aspect of my life. I'll be posting some "Best of..." stuff for the weekend, then hopefully get back to a regular schedule starting Monday. Please hang in there with me and keep reading the great stuff in the blog archives. There is all kinds of interesting information and hodge podge that will leave you amazed at the brilliance of my writing and communications skills. :)

Thank you for your support durign some very difficult times for me and my family. Don't forget that there is a "Donate" button in the right sidebar. Any donation would be greatly appreciated and put to good use helping me and the wife and kids make it through some troubled times. Please consider a small donation, if you are able.

I'll be back to abnormal in a few days and armed with some great material for your reading pleasure.

Again I thank you for being there for me as a loyal reader. Y'all kick ass.

Adios,
Toby

P.S. Hit the tip jar! :)

Best of Three States Plus One Saturday!

Howdy, y'all! It's a cloudy and a bit cool (58 degrees) in Augusta, Maine this morning and it's a good time to grab a cup of coffee and take a look at some of the Best of Three States Plus One! I have hand-picked some of the most interesting posts of the past year form you to read again or, in some cases, see for the first time. Either way you'll like what I have chosen for you today as the material presents a look at our great country that will have you wanting to take a trip to new and exciting locales across the Fruited Plain. I hope you enjoy your virtual vacation and make plans to see something new in America this summer.

• Texas Tidbits: First Monday Trade Days in Canton
• Maine Minutiae: Oh Little Town of Bethel
• Colorado Chronicles: The Healing Waters
• Plus One: Funny Town Names Across America 

That should keep you busy for a while. If you'd like to learn more about some great places, use the search box at the top right of the side bar to access the archives. There's a ton of cool stuff stored there.

Have a great weekend, y'all!

Texas Tidbits: A Rose By Any Other Name....

If I were a ramblin' gamblin' man, and I've been known to do a little of both, I'd lay down good money that the most popular flower in the United States is the rose. As the title of this post suggest, the rose could have been named the "sweaty gym socks flower" and it would still smell like something that The Almighty adorns Paradise with. Ahhhhhh...the rose, a symbol of love and devotion, a symbol of rememberance and just a great addition to any flower garden. Which brings us to the Rose Capital of the World, Tyler, Texas.  A brief history : Tyler is situated in an ideal location for growing all kinds of smellin'-good, tasty and/or ornamental plants as the climate is pretty moderate with rainfall occurring throughout the year. For these reasons, succulent peaches were once to Tyler and Smith County what the elegant rose is today, but in the early 20th Century the blight decimated the peach crop in the area. Enter La Rosa. At this time, roses were already popular in East Texas, so it was a natural fit for it to fill a major void in agricultural production and revenue for Tyler.  A little north of South Loop 323 at the Glenwood (I think) intersection, lies one of the most magnificent floral displays on Earth - The Tyler Minicipal Rose Garden . The Rose Garden is fourteen acres of horticultural heaven featuring about five hundred varieties of the rose, with some of the antique rose varieties dating back to 1867! Since opening in 1952, the Rose Garden has been ooooo'ed and ahhhhh'ed over by millions of people from around the world. A predecessor to the Rose Garden is the Texas Rose Festival, held in mid- October, is now entering its ninth decade as a showcase for the flower that has made Tyler, Texas The Rose Capital of the World. A rose by any other name......   

Texas Tidbits; Three Lakes in One!

If I were to tell you the following facts about a body of water, what would you think it was? Facts: 181,600 surface acres of water; over 1200 miles of shoreline; 65 miles long; holds over 1 trillion gallons of water. One of the Great Lakes. Nope? The Great Salt Lake? Negatory. How about Toledo Bend Reservoir in East Texas? That's the place.

 Toledo Bend is so large that is unofficially categorized as three lakes - Upper Lake, Mid Lake and the Lower Lake. Now that's BIG. My Dad was from Troup, Texas (near Tyler), so we always got the latest news in East Texas  from family. That's how we learned of Toledo Bend being built in '60s. From the family grapevine in East Texas. I remember it very well. TB is one of the best fishin'lakes in the country, regularly yielding huge Largemouth bass, stripers and catfish, as well as crappie and panfish.

Toledo Bend is a landlocked ocean, it seems. It's a beautiful place to spend time with friends and family. While you're there, be sure to round up about 20 lbs of mudbags, some small red taters and corn on the cob and have a Cajun Style Crawdad Boil. Oh.....and don't forget the cold beer.

Texas Tidbits: The Mammoths of Waco

Waco, a city of 121,000 fine folks, is located on the Brazos River about 100 miles south of Fort Worth on I-35. It's home to the oldest institution of higher learning in the State of Texas - Baylor University. Waco is also the home to one of the country's most popular soft drinks. Dr Pepper was invented by Charles Alderton at Morrison's Old Corner Drug Store in Waco in the 1880's. Another soft drink, Big Red, also calls Waco home.  Sadly, Waco is probably best-remembered by many young people as the location of the Branch Davidian tragedy in the 1990's.

I was somewhat surprised as I was looking for info on Waco this morning when I came across this story about a mammoth discovery on the Bosque River. I was already familiar with the dinosaur tracks near Glen Rose, but this was new to me. As someone who finds things like the discovery of the 10,000 year old remains of a 40,000 pound behemoth interesting, this finding has given me a real good reason to visit the Waco area again. If you'd like to see much more of the Colombian Mammoths of Waco, contact The Waco Mammoth Site so you can plan your trip back in time to prehistoric Texas.