ROAD TRIP: A BBM Game

[Meryl]

Naborachic, Mexico




Welcome to Road Trip, jstephens9 

[jstephens9]

Cambria, Wyoming

Cambria is now a ghost town.

Cambria, Wyoming, northwest of Newcastle, was established in 1887 as a company owned coal mine by the Cambria Fuel Company, a subsidiary of Kilpatrick Brothers and Collins, contractors to the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad. Construction of the railroad had come to a halt near Alliance, Nebraska, due to the high cost of providing eastern coal for the locomotives. With the discovery of a reliable source of coal in Little Oil Creek Canyon renamed Cambria Canyon, railroad construction was able to resume with a spur line reaching the canyon in 1889. In June of 1889, patents for initial properties were issued to Joseph M Kilpatrick and Robert J. Kilpatrick.

[MaineWriter]

Ackerly, TX

The town had been part of the Slaughter Ranch before it was broken up and sold for small farms in 1923. Ackerly was named for it's founder, a Georgian named Paul Ackerly.

A post office opened in 1924 and a school district was formed. Because of the vastness of the area and the scattered children, the district included parts of Dawson, Borden, Martin, and Howard counties, but the school was built at Ackerly.

In 1948 the population was 500 with as many as four cotton gins opperating at one time. The population had fallen to 317 by 1980 and the town declined further - reaching just 243 by 1990. There are encouraging signs of an upswing in Ackerly's population. The population has increased by 2 over the last 15 years.

(XYY rule)

Leslie

[Meryl]

Vulcan, AB



The town of Vulcan is located midway between the cities of Calgary and Lethbridge, in southern Alberta, Canada.

An air force training base, RCAF Station Vulcan, was located near the town during World War II. Many of the old hangars still exist and the runways can still be seen.

The town was named by a surveyor for the Canadian Pacific Railway in 1915 after the Roman God of Fire - Vulcan. Originally all the streets of the new town of Vulcan were named after gods and goddesses of the classical world.

In 1926 a major tornado destroyed many homes and the new curling rink of the town. At one time in the 1970s the town could also boast of having more grain elevators than any location west of Winnipeg, Manitoba. Sadly due to the changing economics of the agricultural industry one by one the original elevators were taken down. Today Vulcan has only one of the original "prairie skyscrapers" left that once could be seen miles away.

Its name has brought the town a notoriety that has helped it become a tourist attraction. In Star Trek, it is the name of the fictional homeworld of the alien Vulcans.

Capitalizing on this coincidence, the town has built a Star Trek-themed tourist station, a replica of the original starship Enterprise, and hosts the annual Star Trek convention Galaxyfest/Spock Days (formerly VulCon), which attracts hundreds of Star Trek fans from around the world, not to mention the space murals and alien signage that grace the walls and street corners of this little town on the Canadian prairies. The town has tried for many years, without success, to arrange a visit from Leonard Nimoy — the man who made Mr. Spock and Vulcans famous.

In the spring of 2007 Vulcan, Alberta added another "Star Trek" inspired attraction: The Vulcan Space Adventure virtual reality game. The “Vulcan Space Adventure” uses GestureTek’s patented “multi-camera” technology which, combined with holographic images, light and sound effects and even a transporter, creates a virtual reality experience that puts visitors squarely into the black boots of a starship officer. In the game, up to 3 Trekkers at a time can step through a set of swishing doors and onto the bridge of a Starship. Using the “point & click” gesture-based computer interface, players face a large holographic screen on which they receive instructions from command, and fight off alien invaders by moving their hand through thin air to point and shoot their weapons.

[nova20194]

New Caney, TX

New Caney is an unincorporated area in Montgomery County, Texas. In 1980 population reached estimated 8000. It grew rapidly in the 1980s because of its proximity to the Houston, Texas metropolitan area. More detailed information can be found at the Handbook of Texas Online.

New Caney was originally named Presswood since its establishment in 1862. The community was founded by Austin and Sarah Waters Presswood. In 1877 the town received a railroad from the East and West Texas Railway. In 1882, Presswood received its first post office and was renamed New Caney.

(XYZ rule)

[MaineWriter]

Jolly, TX

 The Fort Worth and Denver City Railway established Jolly as a shipping point in 1890 and a post office was opened the following year. Rancher/ farner William H. Jolly is the town's namesake. By 1895 Jolly had a population of 75 served by six businesses. The population remained constant (63) from the mid-20s through the mid 60s. By the late 1970s the town swelled to a population of 75 - perhaps because of nearby Lake Arrowhead State Recreation Area. It has since grown to the present population of 188.

(XYZ, again!)

L

[Meryl]

Jackson, WY









Jackson is located in the Jackson Hole valley of Teton County, Wyoming. As of the 2000 census, the town had a total population of 8,647. It is the county seat of Teton County. The elevation is 6,234 feet.

Jackson is home to the world's largest ball of barbed wire, and large arches of shed elk antlers at the entrances to the town square. It is a major gateway for millions of tourists visiting nearby Grand Teton National Park, Yellowstone National Park, and the National Elk Refuge. Another benefit to being in Jackson is the close proximity of ski resorts. Directly in the center of town there is a small but challenging resort known as Snow King Resort. Snow King Resort has one of the steepest verts and is one of the few night-lit resorts in the nation. The Jackson Hole Mountain Resort, one of the biggest resorts in the country, is just 12 miles northwest. Also, Grand Targhee Resort which is just about an hour away from Jackson is world-renowned for its "Heavenly powder".

The town is sometimes mistakenly called Jackson Hole. That name refers only to the valley in which the town is located, not the town itself.

The town also plays host to the annual Jackson Hole Writers Conference founded by author Warren Adler. Jackson and the surrounding area has long been a favorite destination for celebrities, many of whom, like Harrison Ford, Vice President Dick Cheney, and Sandra Bullock, maintain part-time residences in and around the town of Jackson.

[nova20194]

Newport, TX

Newport is on Farm to Market Road 1288 and SH 59 24 miles southeast of Henrietta in far southeastern Clay County, Texas. Farm to Market Road 2127 also passes just south of town. It's population is estimated at 70.

The town was initially established by L. Hancock in 1872 as Bear Hill. It received a post office in 1878, and in 1879, the name of the town and post office was changed to Newport. By 1900 Newport's population reached 176. It increased to 280 by the mid-1920s and stayed at that level through the 1940s. By the 1950s the population had dropped to 85. From the 1960s through today, the population of Newport was 70. Townspeople of Newport have long associated more closely with Jacksboro and Jack County than either Henrietta or Clay County, though the town is actually closer to Bowie in Montague County. Its post office remained open until the early 1990s.

[MaineWriter]

Tennessee Colony, TX

A large group of settlers from Tennessee and Alabama settled here in the late 1840s and judging by the name, there were more Tennesseans than Alabamans. The land was soon turned into cotton production and the Jackson Plantation became one of the largest in all of East Texas.

In 1851 a log school opened, and the following year a post office was granted. Tennessee Colony gained an infamous footnote in Texas history when in 1860 two white instigators from Mississippi were accused of plotting a slave uprising. The alleged plan was for slaves to poison the town's drinking water. Both men were captured, tried and hanged. When Palestine was connected by rail in 1872 Tennessee Colony was self-sufficient with a population around 200.

Palestine, with it's rail connection drew off Tennessee Colony's population and by 1914 the population was reduced by half. By the late 1920s the population rose to 300 - but declined with the onset of the Great Depression. By the time WWII was underway, the town was again reduced by half.

In 1965 the town experienced a growth spurt to 400 people when the Texas Department of Corrections built a medium-security prison just southwest of town. The Coffield Unit which was built to hold 2,000 prisoners was joined by a second facility (the Beto Unit) in 1984. The town's population remained around 120 from the 1970s through the early 1990s. Two historical markers are currently present in Tennessee Colony - one for the town itself and one for the cemetery.

(XYZ for a road trip)

L

[belbbmfan]

Vauxhall, Alberta

Vauxhall is known as "The Potato Capital of the West", and Sammy and Samantha Spud are the town mascots.

The Town of Vauxhall has approximately 1100 residents, and services a market area of roughly 8,500 people.  Our local economy is diversified with a variety of service and retail businesses, and the oil and agricultural industries.

Vauxhall is conveniently located on Highway #36 (between Highway #1 and Highway #3) in beautiful southern Alberta.