Bead-Swiss Alp Round Blue Composite Stone DonutTB

This trackable has the goal to survive more than five years and be dropped by at least 25 cachers. I maintain records on all my trackables. In the years 2010-22, I released 5,223 trackables. Of these, a total of 4,268 were released only in North America (NAO, meaning chiefly the United States) and never left the region, which includes Canada, Mexico and the islands of the Caribbean. Another 304 trackables were released outside North America (EUO, meaning chiefly Europe) and were never dropped in North America. Still another collection of 651 trackables had drops both in and outside North America. Statistics for the two former cohorts are as follows: % Missing; NAO-71.0, EUO-48.0; Maximum Drops; NAO-55.0, EUO-67.0; Average Total Drops, NAO-5.3, EUO-12.5; Average Drop Rate per Year, NAO-4.6, EUO-7.2. As of 28-Mar-26 this trackable has survived for 7.9 years and had been moved by 17 cachers, for an average drop every 171 days, or 2.1 drops per year. Please keep it moving, then drop it in a safe place!

No permission is needed to leave the U.S. While in the U.S., please drop it at an event, in a Premium Member only OR a rural cache near a busy trail or road. Do not place it in an urban, non-premium cache. Transport the bug in the original plastic bag for as long as the bag lasts; the bag keeps the trackable clean and dry, protects the number and prevents tangling with other items. Otherwise, take the trackable anywhere you wish.

This is one of a series of large beads obtained from different places and converted into travel bugs.  They are named for Texas towns with interesting names or histories.  Much of the text is from the online Handbook of Texas or texasescapes.com.

Swiss Alp is on U.S. Highway 77 eleven miles south of La Grange in southern Fayette County, in the rolling hills of the Blackland Prairies.  There is nothing resembling a Swiss Alp in the region, perphaps the name is another example of understated Texas humor.  The community was established about 1865 by German Lutheran settlers, who were followed by Wendish families from Serbin in Lee County. In 1867 the settlers formed the Philadelphia Lutheran Church.  A post office opened in 1877, and the population grew from thirty-five in 1884 to 100 in 1896, when the town had twelve businesses and a school associated with the church. The population dropped after 1900, and the post office closed in 1906. In 1967, when the population was thirty, three Lutheran churches from nearby towns merged to form the United Evangelical Lutheran Church in Swiss Alp. In 1987 the church continued to serve the surrounding area of dairy farms and cattle operations. In 1990 the population was forty-six. The population remained the same in 2000.  Among Texans, it is most famous for its old dance hall.