Our visit to Camp Casey, Crawford, Tx
August 20, 2005
We got up around 6am and left Dallas for Crawford around 9, arrived at 11:30.
The trip down was uneventful excerpt for the 10 state troopers that were following two unmarked cars going at a great rate of speed
that passed us 10 miles out of Crawford. We assume they were also headed for Crawford because the pResident was leaving that afternoon. Undaunted we continued on our way. There were several signs right outside of town paying homage to Jr. and Laura.
We had no idea what to expect so we had coolers full of ice, water, snacks and sandwiches. We were pleasantly surprised at the organization and food and drink that were available, all at no charge. At the Peace House we signed in and browsed around at the various bumper stickers, t-shirts, literature and buttons that were available for a donation in the amount of your choice. We sat and talked to several people that were in the outside dining area, we met a man in his 60's, from Alabama who had sold his business 5 years ago to work full time in the effort to oust bush. There were about 150 people at the Peace House when we arrived, which is located in downtown Crawford, a city of 705 people. We learned the Peace House had taken in $90,000 in donations in the first weekend alone, quite an amazing feat along with all the other supplies.
We stood in line for the shuttle that would take us to Camp one (the original camp) or to camp two with the huge tent on an acre of land, a stones throw from the bush ranch and between the church he attends and his ranch (It was actually a little more than a stones throw since the western WH sits on over 1600 acres). All roads that led directly to his ranch were double barricaded with Tx state troopers and SS patrols manning the checkpoints. We saw around 50 'bikers' (you know the yuppies that wanna be bad) zip by us that were protesting the protestors.
The first stop was Camp Casey One, it was very cramped (around 300 people) with 70 or so small tents lining the ditches along the roadside. There were 9 counter protestors on the other side of the road with 6 state troopers between us and them. One of the counter protestors was arrested when he crossed over to our side. The police were very friendly and accommodating which was rather a nice surprise as one of the myths of Texas, especially in rural areas is that Texas is bush country.
We decided to go on to Camp Casey Two first because of the congestion at camp one. We drove past several checkpoints and arrived at camp two in several minutes. We were really impressed with the huge tent that had been erected, complete with a stage for bands (Joan Baez preformed Sunday evening) lots of seating and tables and a catered buffet with iced water and gatorade. There were around a hundred or so when we arrived and about 500 when we left for camp one around 6:00.
We chatted with a lot of people and I met several I converse with on DemocraticUnderground.com. Everyone was in good spirits and very friendly, we met people from upstate NY to Oregon and all points in between. The atmosphere was somber but not stifling although the heat was, it was 99 degrees but there was a strong breeze that kept you cool as long as you stayed in the shade of the big tent. There were many small tents outside the big one where people were camping out during their stay.
We stayed to hear several bands play folk type music and decided we would head over to camp one to round out the day. We waited for the next shuttle about 5 minutes and headed off.
When we arrived at camp one there were even more people than earlier in the day, we got off the shuttle and the first thing we noticed were the rows of crosses that designated our fallen soldiers. The rows of crosses stretched as far as the eyes could see it was quite an emotional sight, one that I will never forget. There were many reporters covering the event as there has been since the beginning, it made me wonder why there is so little coverage on the news.
We stayed at camp one for several hours, walking around and taking it all in. The whole experience was overwhelming. We took a shuttle back to the Peace House, stayed for an hour or so there and headed home.
The heat was draining but the trip was very worthwhile and a real eye opener seeing the dedication of some many in a common effort of getting an answer from the pResident as to what is noble about this war. It is really a very simple question.
We met people that were genuinely concerned with the direction America is headed and that are trying their best to stop it's decline into the abyss.
We are making plans to go back this weekend
Cross linked with pics at
http://sensiblyeclectic.com/b2evolution/blogs/index.php/mainsite/2005/08/22/our_visit_to_camp_casey_crawford_txEdited for spelling
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