Travels with Auntie M

Created by the Houston Cemetery Company in 1871, it was located in a rural area with natural ravines.

When I was last here, in 1994, it was located in the heart of a poor, run-down, ruff-looking neighborhood.

Now it’s surrounded by townhouses and well-kept apartment buildings.

I love these 19^th century romantic garden cemeteries which were considered landscaped parks in their era and afforded the general public a pleasant place to spend a Sunday afternoon.

I saw signs of well preformed re-construction on statues that had once been vandalized.

I didn’t know it at the time but, Howard Hughes (Hughes Aircraft) and Gene Tierney (Actress) are buried here.

The statue below is the one I remembered the most from my previous visit. Quinlan, Texas is named after this man and Anna, Texas was named after his daughter. The initials stand for Houston and Texas Central Railway Company.

George Austin Quinlan

This is what was written around the base: “He entered the service of the HTCRR Jan 1,1866 and was advanced step by step until he became its Vice President and General Manager Apr 1, 1893. Which position he held at the time of his death.” ”QUINLAN” : “Born Oct 31, 1838 - Died Aug 29, 1901” : “Erected by employees of the HTCRR Co to the memory of George Austin Quinlan.” : “Soldier, Gentleman, A True Friend, A Honest Man”

Eugene Thomas Heiner 1853-1901

The architect who designed the Houston Cotton Exchange, Board of Trade building plus several courthouses and jails.

32nd Degree Mason

Thought I was seeing double:

Captain William Dunovant Confederate States Army

Died 1902

Angel of Grief

They also had some very nice modern sculptures.

See more of my cemetery art: EnfocusGallery.com

A group from work went to check out the nearby Natural Bridge Caverns (San Antonio), the largest known commercial caverns in the state of Texas.

Tinky Winky Takes a Ride

Discovered March 27, 1960 by four college students from St. Mary’s University, who talked Mrs. Clara Wuest into letting them explore the sinkhole on her property…it is still owed and operated by her decedents.

My surprise was the temperature of 70 degrees with 90+ percent humidity…it was like walking through a sauna.

They have two world class caves to explore.

Straws

We took the Hidden Passages Tour first which has “light and darkness combine to enhance your exploration of huge underground chambers decorated with some of our most rare and delicate formations.”

“The Hidden Passages are highly decorated with unusually long 'soda straw' stalactites, waves of 'cave ribbon' and a profusion of intriguing 'welt and turnip shields.' Another unique experience only offered on this tour occurs when all the lights are turned off and you experience total darkness.”

After the first tour TW finds some friends in the gift shop:

Next we took the Discovery Tour which covers a half-mile of the “largest and most spectacular show cavern in Texas.”

Part of the Sink Hole

The only living thing in the caverns today:

Walking 180 feet below the ground, our tour guide educated us on the history of the caverns and the formations.

And we did “See awe-inspiring, ancient formations centuries in the making and still growing today, such as amazing stalagmites, stalactites, flowstones, chandeliers and soda straws.”