Highview Campground COE, Ennis, Texas
Then ten of Joseph’s brothers went down to buy grain from Egypt. But Jacob did not send Benjamin, Joseph’s brother, with the others, because he was afraid that harm might come to him. ~ Genesis 42:3-4 I find it a little strange that all ten had to go. Why not send 5-6? Maybe because there’s safety in numbers? (By the way, as a side note, we’re now two years into the famine stage of seven years. Gen 45:6) Google Maps wouldn’t calculate the distance for me, but commentators claim the journey was a minimum of ten days there, plus the wait for the grain, plus a longer time going back because the load was heavier for the animals. I also find it eye-opening that Jacob is concerned for Benjamin’s safety in the company of his older brothers. Benjamin is the only son left from his beloved wife, Rachel, now that he believes Joseph to be dead. In addition, Benjamin is no longer a child. He’s most likely around thirty years old! Does Jacob suspect that the ten had something to do with Joseph’s demise? Was jealousy still stirring things up in his family? What are your family dynamics like? Do you personally harbor jealous thoughts? Anger? Blame? God calls us to love – always love.
So Blaine had researched this nice bike trail in the next town over, it was supposed to be about 16 miles round trip. On went the bike shorts (because it was actually warm today!) and he loaded up the bikes behind the Jeep and off we went.
It was a really nice hike/bike trail! We apparently started at the end (as you’ll see when you get to the “Start” marker 😊), but the other thing was, the marker where we started said “3 ¾ mile), which we thought was kinda weird, but didn’t give it much thought, because we were just starting out so what did we know?
The trail had a lot of curves in the beginning, which was also unusual. Nice though! It too had quarter-mile ‘tombstone’ markers with ads on them. Pretty smart for those investing in them – their advertisement will live a long time engraved in granite! Wonder what they cost?
Looks like he’s warding off some kind of evil.
Or maybe trying to slow me down? : )
Springtime is wonderful, don’t you think?
We saw a few signs that mentioned the Katy Trail. Again, we didn’t think much about it. But then we found out why!
K-T, “King of Trails” road, which ran alongside the train tracks.
The the Missouri-Kansas-Texas Railroad which ran alongside the road,
eventually became known as the Katy Railroad – K-T.
After our stop here to read and learn, we turned right and rode across a bridge before stopping once again – to admire flowers and learn more stuff.
Did you notice that the bridge was manufactured in Canton, Ohio?
That’s practically our hometown!
And then we got to the end of the trail, and the other side of the sign said, “Start”. 😊 Which confused us because we knew we hadn’t ridden nearly long enough. It was then that we decided the trail on the other end must not be completed yet. They must have started in the middle.
I thought it was a movie quote, because I could here it dramatically stated in my mind.
Turns out. It’s not.
It’s actually somewhat attributed to T.S Elliot, but it first came from early 18th century philosophers.
Oh the things you can learn on this post!
And you wonder why I fall behind . . . : )
On the way back, we parked our bikes near downtown Waxahachie (actually by the ‘Canton bridge’) and strolled around town.
We heard men playing what sounded like basketball when we walked by that building on the left.
As we continued, that’s when we discovered it was a prison.
Kind of a strange place, don’t you think?
Don’t get it?
Think about why people go to church – or at least why they’re supposed to. : )
They have a courthouse that looks so much like the one in Dallas!
Crazy isn’t it?!?
Here’s a side-by-side comparison for you:
Do you remember? We didn’t.
So I had to look them up again. Sigh….
Who Are We?
AS AN ORGANIZATION, THE INDEPENDENT ORDER OF ODD FELLOWS AIMS TO PROVIDE A FRAMEWORK THAT PROMOTES PERSONAL AND SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT. FOR MEMBERS, THE DEGREES IN ODD FELLOWSHIP EMPHASIZE A LEAVING OF THE OLD LIFE AND THE START OF A BETTER ONE AND OF HELPING THOSE IN NEED. THE COMMAND OF THE IOOF IS TO“VISIT THE SICK, RELIEVE THE DISTRESSED, BURY THE DEAD AND EDUCATE THE ORPHAN.” SPECIFICALLY, IOOF MEMBERS TODAY ARE DEDICATED TO THE FOLLOWING PURPOSES:
To improve and elevate the character of mankind by promoting the principles of friendship, love, truth, faith, hope, charity and universal justice.
To help make the world a better place to live in, by aiding each other, the community, the less fortunate, the youth, the elderly, and the environment in every way possible.
To promote good will and harmony amongst peoples and nations through the principle of universal fraternity, holding the belief that all men and women regardless of race, nationality, religion, social status, gender, rank and station are brothers and sisters.
Sounds exactly like what God’s Word expects from us!
In another odd sighting, there were “Happy” signs everywhere here. Tickled our funny bones a bit because one of the pastors at our home church’s first name is Happy. 😊
Very cool! And different!
It looked better with the naked eye than the picture shows. : )
Tomorrow morning, we put Texas in our rearview mirror.