OldSchooling on the "Lone Star Trail"

[BeerTeam]

Piney Woods
cover an area of (54,400 sq mi) of eastern Texas, northwestern Louisiana, southwestern Arkansas and the southeastern corner of Oklahoma

Sabine National Forest
borders the 300,000 acre Sam Rayburn Reservoir and Toledo Bend Reservoir, the fifth largest man-made reservoir in the United States

In the mid-1930's, when the land that makes up the Sabine National Forest was purchased, most of the acreage was cut over with few trees left standing.

Motor vehicle use map:http://www.fs.fed.us/outernet/r8/tex...um_index.shtml

Sam Houston NF
has a total of 85 miles of Multi-use motorized trail
I was told that it was not easy trail and had a bunch of sand.

The World Wide Fund for Nature considers the Piney Woods
to be one of the critically endangered eco-regions of the United States.

National Forests of Texas
Texas Outside.com

"Dirt Roads, Texas Dual Sport Rides" Map



Referred to collectively as the National Forests in Texas,
the Angelina, Sabine, Davy Crockett, and Sam Houston National Forests
are in the heavily forested "Piney Woods" of East Texas.

They are comprised of 634,912 acres of federally owned land
scattered throughout 12 counties.


DAVY CROCKETT NATIONAL FOREST -
161,500 acres in Houston and Trinity Counties

SABINE NATIONAL FOREST -
Includes 157,951 acres in Jasper, Sabine, San Augustine, Newton and Shelby Counties

SAM HOUSTON NATIONAL FOREST -
161,154 acres in Montgomery, San Jacinto and Walker Counties

ANGELINA NATIONAL FOREST -
Smallest with 154,307 acres in Angelina, Jasper, Nacogdoches and San Augustine Counties,

East Texas is often considered the westernmost extension of the Deep South
and is culturally connected much more Southern than Western

[BeerTeam]

CONTROLLED BURNS FOR FOREST HEALTH -

U.S. Forest Service burning in the National Forest of Texas
to control underbrush and reduce the potential for large wildfires.

strong winds from hurricanes
ripped needles off pine trees, tore branches from trees and blew trees over
creating kindle for forest fires

[BeerTeam]

1988 BMW R100 GS -
awesome two wheel Swiss Army knife

[BeerTeam]

Texas
If it grows, it sticks

If it crawls, it bites

[BeerTeam]

Welcome to Texas - it's like a whole 'nuther country!

Some of the following is attributed to
the great Jeff Foxworthy


You know you're from Texas if....

1. a Shiner is a beer - not a black eye.

You measure distance in hours.

2. You've ever had to switch from "heat" to "A/C" in the same day.

If you have worn shorts and a parka at the same time, you might live in Texas.

3. Stores don't have bags, they have sacks.

4. You see a car running in the parking lot at the store with no one in it,
no matter what time of the year.

The value of a parking space is not determined by the distance to the door,
but the availability of shade.

5. You use "fix" as a verb.
Example: I am fixing to go to the store.

6. All the festivals across the state are named after
a fruit, vegetable, grain, insect or animal.

7. You install security lights on your house and garage . . .
and leave both unlocked.

8. You carry jumper cables in your car . . . for your OWN car. . . and your wife or girlfriend knows how to use them

9. You know what "cow tipping" is.

10. You only own four spices: salt, pepper, ketchup, and Tabasco.

Fried catfish is the other white meat.

Chili does NOT have beans in it. Brisket is NOT 'cooked' in an oven.

Rocky Mountain oysters are NOT oysters. Don't ask

BBQ is a food group. It does NOT mean grilling burgers and hot dogs outdoors.

You think of the major food groups as beer, fish, and venison.

"Tea" = Iced Tea. There is no other kind.

Everything goes better with Ranch dressing.

If someone tells you "Don't worry, those peppers aren't hot"
you can be certain they are.

11. The local paper covers national and international news on one page but
requires 6 pages for local gossip and sports.

12. You think that the first day of deer season is a national holiday.

13. You know all four seasons: Almost summer, summer, still summer, and Christmas.

Four seasons: December, January, February, and Summer!

14. You find 100 degrees F "a little warm."

15. You describe the first cool snap (below 70 degrees)
as good chili weather.

The temperature drops below 95 and you feel a little chilly.

The potatoes cook underground, so all you have to do is pull one out and add butter, salt and pepper.

Farmers are feeding their chickens crushed ice to keep them from laying boiled eggs.

The cows are giving evaporated milk.

The trees are whistling for the dogs.

Get used to the phrase "It's not the heat, it's the humidity". And the collateral phrase "You call this hot? Wait'll August."

16. Going to Wal-Mart is a favorite past-time known as
"goin wal-martin" or off to "Wally World."

An Overnight bag is a Wal-Mart sack

Don't be surprised to find movie rentals & bait in the same store.

A Mercedes-Benz is not a status symbol. A Ford F-350 is.

A Texas Cadillac is a pick-up truck

17. Armadillos sleep in the middle of the road with their feet in the air.

18. Raccoons will test your crop of melons and let you know when they are ripe.

If you have had a lengthy telephone conversation with someone who dialed a wrong number, you might live in Texas.

If your dad's suntan stops at a line curving around the middle of his forehead, you might live in Texas.

You see people wearing camouflage at social events (including weddings and funerals).

If someone in a store offers you assistance, and they don't work there, you might live in Texas.

If you're proud that your region makes the national news 365 nights each year because you are the hottest spot in the nation, you might live in Texas.

Up North to you means Oklahoma.

Your neighbor throws a party to celebrate his new pole shed.

You refer to the as the Dallas Cowboys as "we."

19. A carbonated soft drink isn't a soda, cola, or pop. it's a Coke
regardless of brand or flavor. Ex: "What kinda coke you want?"

20. Coldbeer & Fixinto is one word,

'Jeet? is actually a phrase meaning "Did you eat?"

Remember: "Y'all" is singular. "All y'all" is plural. "All y'all's" is plural possessive.

Get used to hearing, " "Y'all" ain't from around here, are you?"

You can identify a northern or eastern accent.

Don't tell a Texan how you did it up there. Nobody cares.

People who moved to Texas in the 1950s are still considered
by natives of Texas . . .to be newcomers.


Texans will laugh harder at these jokes than anyone else because . . .
they will understand the jokes . . .
and will even forward them to all their Texan friends.

[BeerTeam]

Cowboy's Ten Commandments
posted on the wall at Cross Trails Church in Fairlie , Texas :


(1) Just one God.
(2) Honor yer Ma & Pa.
(3) No telling tales or gossipin'.
(4) Git yourself to Sunday meeting.
(5) Put nothin' before God.
(6) No foolin' around with another fellow's gal.
(7) No killin'.
(8) Watch yer mouth.
(9) Don't take what ain't yers.
(10) Don't be hankerin' for yer buddy's stuff.

Christ Episcopal Church in San Augustine, Tx
(Top, Middle & bottom photos)

As early as the 1540s, European visitors were getting lost in the pines around San Augustine. San Augustine is home of many firsts including the first town on the old San Antonio Road, first university and the birthplace of Protestant religion in Texas

In 1691 the Old San Antonio Road (as it was later called)
was cut by Domingo Teran de los Rios

[BeerTeam]

You know you're from Texas if....You can pronounce . . .


Nacogdoches
Oldest Town in Texas


(Above)
Old Time String Shop & General Mercantile
features a vintage Coca-Cola advertising mural on an exterior wall
and colorful red brick streets


Nacogdoches (pronounced nack-a-doe-chis)
claims nine flags. In addition to the Six Flags of Texas,
it also flew under these flags:
The Magee-Gutierrez Republic, The Long Republic, and The Fredonia Republic.

Old Stone Fort was built by the Spanish in 1779 as the first mercantile house in Nacogdoches. It remained the tallest structure in town for nearly a century

In 1902, it was dismantled. The original stones were saved and used to create a reconstruction which resides on the campus of Stephen F. Austin State University.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Old San Antonio Road
http://www.nps.gov/elte/index.htm
(sometimes called El Camino Real or King's Highway)
* Louisiana — 47 Miles
* Texas — 540 Miles

El Camino Real de los Tejas National Historic Trail is one of 19 national historic trails in the National Trail System, which also contains national scenic and recreational trails

It constituted the only primary overland route from the R?¡o Grande to the Red River Valley in Louisiana during the Spanish Colonial Period

Designated as a National Historic Trail in 2004, El Camino Real de los Tejas (Highway 6 in Louisiana and Highway 21 in Texas) has existed for more than 300 years.

El Camino Real has its easternmost beginning in Natchitoches, Louisiana and runs from Piney Woods through rolling hills to the arid lands of Old Mexico.

There is much history, culture and adventure to experience in Texas, if you know where to explore. Many tourists in Texas are limited to the major tourist sites in the large cities. I am sad to say, thy miss the smaller towns and the vast rural Texas where the real Texas can still to be explored

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>Park Mission Tejas State

Mission Tejas State Park
363.5-acre park in Houston County,
constructed in 1935 by (CCC)#888
commemorative representation of Mission San Francisco de los Tejas,
the first Spanish mission in the province of Texas established in 1690.

Tejas, the Spanish pronunciation for Texas

Tejas is the Spanish spelling of a Caddo word meaning "friend" or "ally".

In the 17th century the Spanish knew the westernmost Caddo peoples as "the great kingdom of Tejas" and the name lived on to become the name of the 28th state of the United States—Texas.

++++++++++++++Caddo Mounds Texas State Historic Site

three prehistoric Indian mounds interrupt the prevailing flat terrain

Marker is in Alto, Texas, in Cherokee County
just past Caddo Mounds State Park.

covering about 100 acres
constitute one of the major aboriginal sites in North America

From about 500 to 1100 A.D., Caddoan Indians inhabited the village
which lay near the southwest edge of a great mound-building culture

Called ""Mississippian,""
this culture once flourished throughout the present eastern United States.

Caddo Mounds.com


Just a note:
I am not nearly done with this report,
so put it in your bookmarks and check back in a while
Jim

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>Texas Jails and Trails

Sabine County Jail with Courthouse in background

Used as Sabine County's jail until 1983
the old jail house was built in 1903 at a cost of $8,800

you really don't want to hang around here!
There were two hangings at the jail
the first hanging in 1909 was a public event and was held outside the jail
even though the jail is outfitted with a hangman's noose and trapdoor inside

The second hanging - 1922, was done inside the jail
This was the only time the hanging rope and the trapdoor were used

Hanging was outlawed in 1924

Rusk County Courthouse
Henderson, Texas
Texas Renaissance Moderne style
1928

In the foreground is a statue of J. Pinckney Henderson
active proponent for the annexation of Texas into the United States
Henderson was elected Texas' first governor when it became a state in 1845

Saint Augustine County Texas Jail

[TIMBA]

Excellent!

[Bruce_H]

Very nicly done! Interesting to read with great photos. I sent this link to a friend living near there and have been invited to come and ride Texas... now to find the time.

Thanks for shareing.

[womanridge]

As usual, you've outdone yourself Santa.

[r11rs94]

Very nicely done. I must to add this to my bucket list. And I loved the Cowboy's Ten Commandments.

[henzilla]

Thanks, Timba

The route I took from the town of Kingsland was crossing the "Slab", continue to 308 and you get to an area called "Click". Click is a only a spot on the map. At that point I just guessed my way out of the area with the help of a local rancher. As long as you have gas and the area is dry, you will have fun exploring. When I hit Hwy 16 it was on nice small paved roads to Enchanted Rock.

Jim

BUMP...
I rode some of these back "roads" near Click & Blowout last week...a big section of road was "missing" at a creek crossing where after it finally rained this year it kinda took the road with it! The SAND WAS REALLY DEEP IN SPOTS

Just going back thru these pics is GREAT!

Hiya Jim!

[CATHDEAC]

Great pics... I'm going to keep this link... thanks for the bump!

[GREGFUESS]

I have ever read. And one of the best things I have read on the MOA Forum. I am 4th generation Texan. Live in Houston, and learned new, interesting things. Gotta get out more...

[22600]

Yes , I second and third it; You showed the best of Texas. I have lived here most of my life and been on many of the roads you followed but you brought it all home with this wonderful thread. Thanks Jim