This morning dawned sunny and very crisp. Beautiful day to take a Model A adventure into the Texas Hill Country. We left out of the parking lot about 9:30 and were headed first to Medina.
We picked up a picnic lunch in Medina and headed toward Bandera. The Cowboy Capital of Texas! We strolled the sidewalks enjoying a bit of window shopping, then made our way over to the grounds of the Courthouse. We enjoyed our picnic lunch beneath the shade of a beautiful old Live Oak.
Around 2PM, we headed out for Campe Verde. In 1854, Secretary of War Jefferson Davis (who later became President of the Confederacy) petitioned Congress to appropriate $30,000 for the Army to experiment with using camels for supply transport and other military purposes. With the support of President Pierce, the bill was subsequently approved by Congress on March 3, 1855. Major Henry Wayne and Lieutenant David Porter were put in command of securing the camels from the Middle East. The first shipment from Egypt (of nine swift dromedaries, twenty burden camels, plus four others of mixed breed) arrived via naval supply ship in April of 1856. Four native drivers (who were given "American" names of Greek George, Long Tom, Mico and Hi-Jolly) accompanied the camels to the New World.
It was late August of 1856 when this first group of camels finally arrived at Fort Camp Verde. The second load of 40 animals arrived during the spring of 1857. By the time the Civil War had begun, there were over 50 camels in residence at the Fort. During the winter of 1861, the Fort was captured by the Confederacy. When the Fort was recaptured by the US Government in 1865, there were more than 100 camels.
The animals passed every test of their ability - carrying heavier loads and traveling longer distances than the mules and horses used in the area. However, the War Department sorely needed funds for Reconstruction after the Civil War. The Fort was deactivated in 1869 - ending the experiment. While a fire destroyed the buildings of nearby Fort Camp Verde in 1910, the courage and bold spirit of the Great Camel Experiment survives to this day.
We had a wonderful adventure in the Texas Hill Country! We saw large and small ranches, live stock roaming free, deer, llamas, and lots of native birds all while driving over highways, private ranch roads, packed clay roads, crossing creeks and climbing steep hills. The Bluebonnets are just peeking out, but the redbuds and Bradford pears were in full bloom; all adding to the beauty of the natural landscape.
Tomorrow, we pack up and head back to New Braunfels to pick up the rented truck and trailer for our travels back to South Carolina.
This was an adventure to be remembered for a long, long time.
