Robert J Samples Loc: Round Rock, Texas

It was the 4th of July holidays and I had returned to North Texas where I had grown up. I was armed with binoculars, a camera, a telephoto lens, and a keen desire to find and photograph a ‘mountain boomer’. The moniker of mountain boomer was a holdover from pioneer days when those traveling west in wagons would on occasion hear a weird sound or call. They then attributed this to a small colorful lizard and called them mountain boomers, all in error.
Well, mountain boomers are quite anti-social and prefer to be left completely alone. They are most frequently found in isolated, or remote areas like rocky creeks or canyons. When I was just a kid of 5 or so, some of my older cousins introduced me to them and filled me with fear and awe of their dislike of any human presence.
I was just gullible enough to believe all they told me, and we had been chased away from a nest of Boomers, I believed all they had told me. Only much later did I learn of their desire to be left alone in solitary isolation and that they weren’t poisonous did I have the desire to find and photograph one.

So, I stop at the Dairy Queen in Saint Jo (my hometown) for more information. The Dairy Queen is or has the modicum of all information. You simply must buy a cup of coffee and wait until an assembly of men, the wisdom fully and freely shared with all who wish to participate.

I hadn’t been there ten minutes until in walked Jack Schoppa, who had been a classmate of mine at the University of North Texas and was now a licensed surveyor. He fetched his cup of coffee and joined me. After a short exchange of pleasantries, I asked him if he had seen any boomers in his work.

He said just the past week he had seen several where he was surveying the new highway right of way on the road leading to the Tao Vaya bridge over the Red River.

He had even captured a young one and after petting it a bit, released it back to the wild. Well, I couldn’t wait to get out to the bridge and scout around for a den, or nest of Boomers! You may not have known this, but Mountain Boomer is the state lizard of Oklahoma!

Well, given my luck, I could not spot one anywhere. Maybe because of the new traffic now crossing the bridge to Oklahoma, they had evacuated to more remote areas and were hiding.

I drove along and finally decided to walk down a small gulley for a mile or so, hoping to perhaps find a den. After going about a half mile, I came across an unusual scene. There were two large boulders along the edge of this gully, and it looked like the top boulder had been loosened by rain and toppled down almost upon a lower boulder. But in this happening, it had caught a terrapin who finally died because it could not get free of this heavy weight pinning it down.

Now, that would be one diagnosis. Another was the terrapin had crawled in between the two boulders and discovered his shell was bigger than the gap he was trying to crawl through. This became a trap. He could have backed up and exited the side where he had entered but didn’t appear to think of that solution. So here was the empty shell remains of an animal that could not change its mind and return the way it came. While it didn’t seem fair, as far as I could tell. It cost him his life. Did I ever see a Boomer? No! But you can Google them and get several pictures of how colorful they are. In my next posting, I will offer a full disclosure of collared lizards or more commonly known as Mountain Boomers! Just Sayin…RJS

Passingbye Loc: Reidsville NC

When I was just a 5 year old kid riding with my grandpa to check his oil lease near Black Flat Tx and Scotland Tx, my brother and I armed with BB guns to shoot beer bottles floating in the drip gas pond Mountain Boomers were in good numbers, at 5 years old and not knowing better I shot one with my BB gun, I picked it up and watched it change colors to red, brown, green I asked grandpa what kind of lizard this was, he walked up ready to return to home, that's a Mountain Boomer! Don't shoot them as they eat their weight in mosquitoes. I know it's no Texas horny toads we're protected as they are known any eater's and shoot blood from their eye's.

Have you ever met my grandfather RJS James Dock Goforth? He's worked for Jack Burns and oil man Farrick?

Robert J Samples Loc: Round Rock, Texas

To my regret I have never had the good fortune to meet your granddad, James Dock Goforth. I remained secluded out at Bulcher until I went off to college. Sounded like you have an adventursome growing up life.

Where were you? Was this East Texas? Just Sayin...RJS

Robert J Samples Loc: Round Rock, Texas

I looked up Black Flat and Scotland, Tx and was suprised that both are in Archer County! I had an uncle and aunt who lived in Archer City and raised 5 children. We went there often to hunt quail.

I have heard rumors that Jesse James had a hide out in or around Archer City.

The story goes that he had ridden with another character in the Quantrill gang, and who later was a deputy sheriff in Archer City, so he felt it safer and would get a 'head's up' if any posse was in the area looking for him. Just Sayin...RJS

Passingbye Loc: Reidsville NC

I'm from Wichita Falls Tx but visited many towns coin hunting old school house yard's with a metal detector Saint Jo is where I found a Walking Liberty half dollar, my grandfather and his brother drilled most of the oil wells in Shallow wells field near the Wagoner ranch when my mom was a little girl. My uncle Jimmy Goforth invented the collection shroud that attaches to pecans harvest tractor's and set up a manufacturing operation in Lampasas Texas.

Robert J Samples Loc: Round Rock, Texas

Well, sounds like we might have crossed paths sometime in the past. Just Sayin...RJS