"HOLD YOUR HORSES, THE CAMELS ARE ON THE MOVE!"
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June 3, 2006
Doug Baum, Texas Camel Corps
The last two days' journal entries were delayed by lack of computer and cell phone availability, sorry folks! The other fellas' entries didn't make it as time did not allow.
This morning we trailered up from the Mason Fork Ranch out to hwy 173. At the top of historic Bandera Pass we unloaded the camels and began to saddle up. It was then that I found out that my best bud, Steven Evans, was home sick and wouldn't be able to make the final push. I'm so sorry he couldn't make it, but I know he was there in spirit. We were only about 2 miles south of the Camp Verde General Store, our destination, so we started heading our about 11:20, knowing we'd make the 12 noon arrival with no problem. Traffic on this stretch of Hill County road was pretty heavy and we had to stage everything from the wrong side of the highway as there were simply no places to fit both trucks and trailers. Ernest dutifully held traffic as we crossed and began heading north. A couple of young boys, Sean and Ian A., of San Antonio had joined up with us and it was sure good to see them. Their father David, was one of my best friends. We lost David to diabetes a few springs back and having his sons with me was a treat. At the bottom of Bandera Pass the sides of the road opened up and I hopped up on Gobi's back. Jimmy led Dee Dee and Charo, Bradley had Richard the camel, Gil had Cinco and Frank had Ibrahim. A really nice couple from just south of the Pass had ridden along on the other side of the road on their horses, too. Traffic was still pretty heavy, lots of folks stopping to take pictures, some even got out of their cars to watch as we passed. Approaching the Camp Verde General Store I could see a Sheriff's Deputy directing traffic! Oh boy, there were lots of people waiting for the camels...There were tons and tons of cars and the camels strolled right up to the front steps of this historic building which still serves as the area's Post Office. The Store personnel presented each of us with a plaque commemorating the Drive and I read some words from US Army Major Henry C. Wayne's correspondence with Jefferson Davis regarding the selection of Camp Verde as the home of the camels. Each of us had the chance to speak and Jimmy could only get a short sentence out. He was truly moved. The time Jimmy and I got to spend together on this trip has been so great. I have enjoyed every minute. We spent the rest of the day just to the east of the General Store, with the camels hitched out on the grass, mingling with visitors. The Store folks reckoned they had over 1500 people that day! What a delight to have that many folks interested in this piece of history. Some of the notable visitors: Fred Coopwood, great-great grandson of Bethel Coopwood, who bought the Army camels left in Texas after the Civil War; Kathy Gaulden, great-great granddaughter of Amasa Clark, who took some hair from some of the Army camels and made two pillows, one of which was buried with him, the other on display in Bandera's Frontier Times Museum; Jolene Boyd, of Ingram, Texas who wrote "Noble Brutes- Camels on the American Frontier", the book that put me on this path almost 13 years ago. Jolene and I had met a few times before and I was so proud to be able to introduce her to the crowd as the reason they were all there! Had I not been given that book...man, it's hard to imagine. Thanks Jolene. As we wrapped things up around 5, it was difficult for everyone. We'd certainly gotten into a rhythm on the trail: Gil and Frank who'd take care of watering the camels; Ernest, who kept traffic safety around the camels when we were on the road. We'd really slipped into this lifestyle and heading home was going to be a bit of a shock, but it was time. Thanks to all who followed online, to those who helped on the trail and to those we met along the way.
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