Canton, Texas

 The rally was a sell out. We filled the park with 99 Tiffin rigs.  
We enjoyed good food, good company, learned money saving tips and lots of good information from the seminars.

Starting to gather for our Gumbo dinner provided by Robert & Robin

Potluck dinner at the Pavilon

We got our coach weighed at the 4 corner weigh station upon arrival. Dave found it interesting and volunteered to help on Friday.

Canton is world-renowned for its First Monday Trade Days.  Once a month Canton turns into a shopper's paradise.  Between 200,000 and 400,000 tourists, visitors and vendors roll into town and get together to create a shopping experience as big as Texas.  With over 450 acres of shopping, 4 miles of covered shopping, and great festival food, there is sure to be something for everyone - rain or shine.  It has been said that if you can't find it in Canton, they just don't make it.

First Monday Trade Days began sometime in the 1850s. As was common in those days, the circuit judge would stop in certain areas on specific days to hold court sessions. People came to town on those days to see the court proceedings and to conduct business. Canton's designated day was the first Monday of each month, hence the origin of the name. Since most of Van Zandt County was open range at that time, a state law required that all stray horses be brought into Canton and auctioned to the highest bidder. These horses had been picked up on the range and boarded by the farmers until the day of the auction. People came from all around to participate, and this became known as "First Monday Trades Day", sometimes called "Horse Monday". Soon the people were bringing their own horses to sell or trade, and as the years passed, they began to bring their excess crops, such as fresh produce, grain, and sugar cane syrup.

 In the 1930s when the importance of the horse began to decline, it was thought that "First Monday" would vanish. There appeared about a ten year void in Texas between the horse-raising era and the tractor era, and out of state horse traders began to bring in horses to supply this void. Horse buyers from all over the state began to attend "First Monday" and the crowds got larger and larger. It became known state-wide as the place to buy a good "bronc".

Then, in the 1940s, as the tractor came in and horses declined, hog trading took its place. Feeder pigs were raised locally, and soon they gained the reputation of being the cleanest and finest pigs sold anywhere --- cholera free. Buyers came in from all over Texas, Oklahoma, and Arkansas to buy these fine pigs.

Dogs were also a commodity. At first, farmers would bring in strays and unwanted offspring; then the hunters started bringing their hound dogs. Soon the whole town was saturated with hound dogs, some selling for as much as $500. "First Monday" now became known all over the Southwest to dog fanciers as "Dog Monday". One could see anything from a Russian Setter to two types of specialized squirrel dogs (one to hunt gray squirrels and one to hunt fox squirrels). After the event, many of the worthless dogs were released, and Canton found itself flooded with stray dogs; it was soon necessary to hire a dog catcher.


Breakfast in Forney, TX with Dallas Cousins Marnie and Cayce

Terrell, Texas

We were looking for fuel when we came across Buc-ee's.  At .13 cents a gallon cheaper than the surrounding stations we decided to give them a try.  Boy were we surprised.

Buc-ee's are large stores with fueling areas that range from 80-120 fueling positions for gas and diesel.  Tour Buses welcome but no 18 wheeler's allowed.

The super-sized travel center is located on Interstate 20 near Highway 80.
The store features 83 toilets, 31 cash registers, 4 Ice machines, 80 fountain dispensers.

There's also about 60,000 square feet of food, snacks and tacky souvenirs.
Buc-ee's offers products found at most convenience stores such as fuel, cigarettes, tobacco, chips, drinks and Texas-themed specialty gifts .  Some of their Travel centers include a deli, coffee shop, exterior tunnel car washes.  All Buc-ee's are open 24 hours per day, 365 days per year. There are currently 35 locations all in Texas.   Buc-ee's announced its first location outside of the state of Texas would be located in Baton Rouge, LA. The location is expected to open in early 2017.

Buc-ee's offers private labeled beef jerky, novelty candy, trail mixes, granola, pralines, jarred vegetables, preserves, and salsa. Their #1 branded product is caramel and butter-glazed corn puffs known as 'Beaver Nuggets.'