I haven't visited a new county since August 19, 2012. My count has been stopped at 174 since that date.
This Friday, Saturday and Sunday I will be visiting the 8 counties of far west Texas. To save time, I'm flying from Houston to El Paso on Friday morning on Southwest Airlines flight number one! That will be a treat.
Arriving in ELP at 9:35 AM local time, I will rent a car and drive to downtown El Paso, seat of El Paso county.
From there, I will follow I-10 east to Sierra Blanca (Hudspeth County) and Van Horn (Culberson County) before turning right onto US 90. My next stop will be Marfa (Presidio County) and then Alpine (Brewster County), where I'll spend the night at the historic Holland Hotel.
Saturday I will visit Ft Davis (Jeff Davis County), Ft Stockton (Pecos County) and Sanderson (Terrell County) before returning to Alpine for the night. Along the way I intend to visit Balmorhea and Marathon, each home to a wonderful natural spring.
Sunday I will return to El Paso via the Davis Mountains and then fly back home to Houston.
This weekend kicks off another year of visiting Texas counties and their courthouses. I haven't finalized my other trips this year, but I intend to visit at least 40 new counties, plus several repeats. My goal is to complete the 254 county circuit in 2014.
On another note, I received notice this week that I will be speaking at the annual Texas Society of Architects convention in Ft Worth this November 9th. The topic: The Transformative Power of Architectural Design in Civic Buildings. Hint, it's about Texas courthouses, new and old.
Happy new year!