Clarity Tunnel

The geography of Texas has historically resulted in the need for very few railroad tunnels. The vast amount of land with relatively few natural obstacles meant that construction could usually go around a potential tunnel, even in central and west Texas where most of the hills are located. But this was not always true; by all accounts, there have been six railroad tunnels constructed in Texas, none of which are still in use for rail traffic. [And I'm talking "real" tunnels, not "urban" tunnels or subways (e.g. the DART tunnel in Dallas) where tracks have been placed below ground.] Two of the tunnels were along the Ft. Worth & Denver South Plains Railway, a branch line of the Ft. Worth & Denver Railway. The line was constructed from Estelline to Dimmitt, a distance of 131 miles, in 1927-28, primarily to serve the cotton business near Lubbock and Plainview. The longer of the two tunnels was Clarity Tunnel, a curved tunnel 742 feet in length named for F. E. Clarity, a member of the railroad's Board of Directors. I do not know the name of the other tunnel, but it was much smaller and located a short distance west of Clarity Tunnel. The story goes that a train derailed in the smaller tunnel, and in the process of cleaning up the mess, the railroad decided to eliminate the tunnel by "daylighting" it, i.e. excavating it so that the tunnel no longer existed. Clarity Tunnel remained in use until the rail line was abandoned in 1989. In the early 90's, the Texas Parks & Wildlife Department converted the abandoned right-of-way into the Caprock Canyons Trail between Estelline and South Plains which includes the section encompassing Clarity Tunnel. It's a great bike ride (or on horseback, if you prefer).

Vicinity of Clarity Tunnel [34 14 22N, 101 07 30W]

Alternate Stonehenge

Since my wife is visiting England at the moment, it seems like an appropriate time to look at Stonehenge from space. Compared to the nearby parking lot, it doesn't seem as large as I expected.

Stonehenge [51 10 44N, 1 49 34W]

The original purpose of Stonehenge was always a mystery...until British and US scientists figured it out a few years ago. When they solved the riddle of Stonehenge, they were so shocked by the incredible power of their discovery that it immediately became a National Defence Secret, critical to military objectives of the Western World, to be revealed only to those with "need to know". The US wanted immediately to secure the Stonehenge site and ban the Public, fearing that when the secret eventually leaked out, anarchists would try to destroy the site. The British refused, concerned about making it such an obvious Security target. The US then decided it was best to build an Alternate Stonehenge at a secret location. Thus, if the real Stonehenge is destroyed, the Alternate Stonehenge can take its place and continue to serve Strategic Defense Objectives with its classified power. Although I cannot reveal its location, I can personally confirm that the Alternate Stonehenge exists, having visited the site in recent years. The stones were carefully replicated to match the layout of the original site, but of course, they are not as eroded as the original stones, and some of the fallen stones were righted (so as to improve the fidelity of the operation).

Alternate Stonehenge

I even managed to smuggle out a photo taken at ground level.

Figuring that such photos would eventually surface, the US Military built a fake Home Depot in the background as a means of confusing enemy imagery analysts. (They considered building a fake Starbucks or McDonalds, but were concerned that due to the small size of those buildings, they would not be clearly visible in a smuggled, ground level photo.) So...rest assured that the power of Stonehenge is being protected. And if you happen to know the location of Alternate Stonehenge, please contact me so I can pass your name to the Authorities.

Robert Smithson

Spiral Jetty [41 26 16N, 112 40 08W]

Nancy Holt, creator of the Sun Tunnels, was married to an earthworks artist, Robert Smithson. Not far from the location of the Sun Tunnels, Smithson created an earthwork called the Spiral Jetty in 1970 along the north shore of the Great Salt Lake. I've never made it out there, but it would be an amusing side trip if visiting the Golden Spike area again. Turns out that Smithson died at age 35 in a plane crash while surveying a site for an earthwork to be called Amarillo Ramp. His wife implemented his design for Amarillo Ramp at a small, private lake northwest of Amarillo, Texas. Like many bodies of water in the Texas panhandle, the lake disappears during times of drought. But Amarillo Ramp is still visible 39 years after it was built.

Amarillo Ramp [35 22 31N, 102 01 48W]