A Tour of East Texas

Sated. Every once in a while, I just want to drive. Well, actually that's a pretty common wish, but I don't get to act on it very often. In the middle of February, though, I did just that. I grabbed our dog, Callie, and took off for the day on a loop tour of the piney woods of East Texas. Callie and I got into all sorts of adventures on our day, and I'm going to make a point from now on to go on mini day-long adventures more often from now on!

Our first stop was Martin Creek Lake State Park, where we stretched our legs with a short hike around the perimeter of the small island within park boundaries. The island is wooded, though it does have an open grassy area in the middle that excited Callie, probably due to the little scurrying creatures in the grasses (don't worry, she's well trained and leaves local wildlife alone!) We walked mostly along the shoreline, watching the low gray clouds and avoiding the chilly wind as much as possible. A couple of times we startled a bunch of ducks as we came around a corner on the shore, and boy did Callie love to watch them swim off!

We then moved on to Sabine National Forest and stood on the shores of the giant dammed Sabine River, looking across the water toward Louisiana, walking softly among the pines and marveling at how green it still was, even in the middle of February. There was nobody around, and given the wind and the threat of rain, I wasn't surprised to have the place to ourselves. We didn't stay too long on the shores of the lake, but instead found ourselves a patchwork of Forest Service dirt roads that entertained me greatly. I have to admit, I was half-hoping to see a Louisiana Black Bear while cruising those back roads, though I know we didn't get nearly deep enough into the forest to really have a sporting chance. I turned around after a while, mostly because I didn't have a map of the forest roads and I really didn't want to get lost. So we moved on.

Our route took us through Angelina National Forest, on fantastic highways whose speed limits reached 75mph, to Davy Crockett National Forest and our final destination of the day, Mission Tejas State Park. We toured the park, stretching our legs again at a small pond around which trees were just beginning to bud. Callie was upset that she had to stay in the car as I explored the old mission and house on site, but I wasn't too long. I don't think she really minded too much, considering she passed out on my seat as soon as I came back.

Our tour of East Texas was short, but we managed to see and do a lot in one day. I have a goal to see as many parks as possible, and hitting three of the four National Forests in East Texas made me happy! Next time Callie and I go on an adventure, we might go West!