Tag: Road Trips

This Week at Story Empire

Published on by Joan Hall

Happy first Friday of November! Halloween is over and here in the states, our thoughts turn to the Thanksgiving holidays.

I mentioned last week that my husband and I planned a day trip to Oklahoma. We went on Wednesday, and although it was fun, I’m wiped out. I’ll try to do a post about it next week.

In the meantime, it’s time for another Friday wrap-up from Story Empire. Here are this week’s links:

  • Craig Boyack began the week with an appropriate Halloween post, Fear and Terror.
  • On Wednesday, Harmony Kent continued her series on prologues. This week’s topic is In Media Res.
  • Gwen Plano’s post today is titled The Miracle of the Written Word as she explores the question, “Why do you write?”

That’s another wrap! Next week, I have a brand new Mystery Monday post and I guarantee the topic is a mystery.

I’ll close now with a photo from our Oklahoma trip. And don’t forget to “fall back” this weekend!

Week in Review

Published on by Joan Hall22 Comments

Hey, Readers. It’s been a rather strange week. On Monday, my husband, brother, and I had to make a trip to the Dallas/Fort Worth area for a funeral. We left my brother’s house at 7:00, got to the outskirts of Dallas (about 80 miles) in an hour and fifteen minutes. From there it took another 1.25 hours to travel another 35-40 miles. Five lanes of freeway and bumper to bumper traffic.

Can I say I’m glad I don’t have to drive in that every day? Funny thing, a couple of weeks ago, I talked about Dallas rush hour in a post for Story Empire. Never dreamed I’d be in the middle of that mess so soon.

Needless to say, I came home exhausted and I’ve spent much of the week playing catch up. But on the drive home, I did capture a photo of some wispy white clouds.

Tomorrow is leap day, so take advantage to enjoy the extra day this year. And now, it’s time for this week’s links:

On this site:

On Story Empire:

On Other Sites:

Road Trips, Ghost Towns, and The Week in Review

Published on by Joan Hall29 Comments

Hey, y’all. Time for another weekly wrap up. If you read last week’s post, you know I took a mini-vacation. Last Friday, my husband and I hit the road for a day trip. Call us crazy, but we traveled three hours to a “Ghost Town” for the sole purpose of eating lunch. Okay, we also did some sightseeing along the way.

Thurber, Texas

Located seventy-five miles west of Fort Worth, Thurber was once a thriving place in the early 1900s. It was a “Company Town” owned by the Texas and Pacific Coal Company. Mining began there in 1886. By 1920, the town had almost 10,000 residents. By then most locomotives had converted to diesel, and the demand for coal decreased. T&P moved on to nearby Ranger and cashed in on the oil boom.

The Smokestack Restaurant

All that’s left of Thurber is an old smokestack, a recently restored church building, a museum, and a couple of restaurants. According to the 2010 census, the community of Thurber has a population of 48. However, the Smokestack Restaurant (where we went for lunch) states the population is five. Hence the reason for Thurber being a ghost town, not because there are any sinister spirits lurking about. (Although it’s possible!)

But enough about the history lesson and our trip. Let’s get on with the weekly writing links.

On This Blog:

From Story Empire:

From Other Writing Sites: