FORT WORTH - WACO - TEMPLE

Got into a very slow moving groove now, ride for awhile, see something interesting, stop, chill-out, then move on, NO Rush anymore. Stop over in Waco to look around, nice lake, old suspension bridge and here are some details of it:

Waco's Historic Suspension Bridge

In the mid-1800s, Texans began to focus their attention on a future that had been dramatically altered by the devastation and economic upheaval of the Civil War. Settlers were moving west, businesses began to flourish and cattle drives became a common sight.

Civic leaders decided a bridge across the Brazos was needed. It took 2.7 million bricks from Wacoan J.W. Mann and $135,000 to build the 475-foot span, which was finished in January of 1870. It was the first bridge built across the Brazos River.

Upon completion, the Suspension Bridge brought the Texas section of the Chisholm Trail straight through Waco. A year later, the railroad was extended into Waco, and the city became a flourishing trade center. Following the bridge's completion, a toll was charged for each person and each head of cattle. On September 1, 1889 the toll charge was eliminated.

The Suspension Bridge showed its sturdy engineering when, during the devastating 1953 Waco tornado, it held fast. The tornado destroyed much of downtown Waco and killed 114 people.

The historic Suspension Bridge is the centerpiece of present-day Waco and is surrounded by lovely city parks. Indian Spring Park is on the west bank and Martin Luther King, Jr. Park is on the east bank. A beautifully landscaped rive walk connects the bridge to the Waco Tourist Information Center and the Texas Ranger Hall of Fame & Museum at Fort Fisher. West of the bridge is the beautiful 416-acre Cameron Park
Pushed on to Temple and found a place to nest for the night.