Bones of Rt 66 - TX #3 Traditional Cache
West Texas Reviewer: This Geocache is being archived as the Cache Owner (CO) has not been active for over 2 2/3 years. In addition the CO's e-mail address is no longer valid, making contact impossible. This also precludes any possibility of adoption.
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Difficulty:
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Terrain:
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Size: 
(small)
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This cache is a small, camoed peanut butter jar sized container. Watch for snakes and other little critters.
This series of caches is dedicated to the "Old Mother Road." Route 66 was commissioned when the Federal Highway Commission was formed in 1926. Originally commissioned as US 60, the name of the road was changed to Route 66 as it didn't extend from coast to coast. Most believe that Route 66 goes from East to West, and it began in Chicago, IL, leading to MO, KS, OK, TX, NM, AZ, and ended at the Santa Monica pier in CA. Route 66 was decommissioned in 1986 when the final portions of I-40 were completed.
In Texas, many times I-40 was placed on top of the Old Mother Road, leaving no "Bones" for us to view. With this series, we hope to show you a few bones and a few of the remaining icons of "The Road."
This cache is placed at the ghost town of Jericho, which is located on the infamous Jericho Gap. The Gap stretched from McLean to Groom. It was an unpaved section of Rt 66, that remained unpaved until 1938. Any rains along this section of dirt road, would cause the road to turn into black-gumbo-mud, becoming almost impassible to the vehicles of the time. Nearby farmers made a good living with their teams of work horses and tractors pulling the travelers from the muck. Legend has it that enterprising farmers hauled water at night to dump in the mud holes to prolong their source of income.
The citizens of the town of Jericho thought their town was destined for greatness. In the early 1930's, Rt 66, the Rock Island Railroad and Texas Hi-way 70 all went through their town. However, in 1938 Rt 66 was moved several miles to the North, bypassing the town. When the railroad was also taken out in the 1950's, Jericho became as you see it now, scattered ruins, cement foundations and piles of junk.
To see any visible remnants of the Jericho Gap is almost impossible. The Gap was never paved, and thus there is no hard evidence as to how it followed the curves of the land. As Rt 66 usually ran along w/the railroad and telephone poles, it is usually a safe bet that where the tracks used to be (the berm of the railroad), Rt 66 was following along. If you watch for the berm, often you can spot either the telephone poles or maybe even a bridge where no road exists today.
Go West young man, from Jericho, as Bones of Rt 66, TX-#4 is to the West.
Additional Hints
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Treasures
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