The ST's do the Texas Forrest TrailGenealogy is defined as the study and tracing of family pedigrees. This ride is through the middle of Texas Genealogy so, it's time to share our Genealogy.My younger but, larger brother ST1300 (Pan European, Sport Touring, ST) is garaged outside of Eureka, with a grand view of Richland Chambers Lake. Our tour starts as we head East across the Trinity River into East Texas.Flat river bottom land gets wooded and rolling when you approach Cayuga. Covered with Oaks, Elms, Pecans, etc. the green pastures and flowering weeds have the appearance of spring, not late September in Texas. Cayuga was once a shipping point for cotton and timber down the Trinity to the port of Galveston until 1870's when the Trinity was no longer navigable.We turn south from US287 on FM642 to Tennessee Colony. Early settlers from the Tennessee area named this community and farmed this rich black bottom land. Four Texas Department of Corrections facilities close by, employee locals. The wooded area supports abundant wildlife and the hunters. We stop on the roadside to checkout a very large dead Hog. It appears to have been shot and left on the roadway.US79 south on the west bank of the Trinity takes us to Oakwood, named after the abundant Oaks in the area. Oakwood was once a booming cotton production and shipping center, now only a bank remains downtown. Oakwood State Bank was established in the early 1900s and looks just like it did then. Wood trimmed teller windows and a large walk in safe with the old round safe mounted in the wall. Just like you stepped back in time and this bank is still operating. A bullet is still lodged in the frame of a teller window from a shot at a would be robber by one of the bank officers.The banks of the Trinity have remains of former communities and lots of old cemeteries. The area was covered with cotton farms and new Texans in the late 1800s, thanks to the newly built railroads. Sweet Oak was one of these communities, named after the large oak trees in the area. The fertile soil supports natural grass and wild flowers in the pastures and roadside. TX7 is one of the twelve numbered Texas two lanes that intersect Crockett. Crockett is the county seat of Houston County, one of the oldest counties in Texas. The town was named after our hero Davy Crockett. In 1836 they camped in this area on his way to the Alamo, following the Old San Antonio Road.Crockett was known as a mustering and training location for the Confederate army during the Civil War. Now the mustering is at the Moosehead cafe and coffee shop on the square. The cafe serves great food and all the friendly local flavor of the area. In 1872 the Houston and Great Northern Railroad was built through Crockett, thus assuring its place as a regional trading center. The Depot has been restored and now is a local museum. This part of US287, south out of Crockett, does not resemble the US287 of central Texas. Large Oaks, Elms, Pecans, and a few Mesquites shade the roadway all the way to Pennington and the Davy Crockett National Forrest. Pennington is a small rural community but, was the county seat of Trinity County before the railroad chose Groveton as their destination in 1882. East bound on FM358 then north on FM233 and FM357 toward Kennard, deep in the Texas Forest Trail. The forest shows few signs of logging with large stands of Pines with some hard wood trees. The area is very similar to the Natchez trace in Mississippi and parts of Western Arkansas.Rain takes some of the fun out of riding. The showers only lasted long enough to get the roadway good and wet. We take a coke break and watch two Harley riders suit up in rain gear then peel it off when the sun pops out. Our Frog Toggs are still in the bags when we splash our way up TX 7 to Ratcliff. Another once booming logging community, that dwindled when the 120,000 acres forest was cleared. The Civilian Conservation Corp undertook the reforestation of the area in the 1930s and created this National Forest.The Texas Forest Trail follows FM227 in the deep woods north to Weches and the San Francisco de los Tejas Mission state park. We continue to yield the right of way to cows, horses, and deer that own these roadways. They favor the grass on the roadway shoulders over the pastures.Augusta was settled in 1821 and named after an early settler Daniel McLean's daughter. Under a beautiful large oak tree stand four historical markers to this once local plantation trading center on FM227. Only a few homesteads remain in the old community area and no sign of commercial trade. The trees in this area are more hardwoods than pines as we leave the Texas Forest Trail and get back into the Texas Lakes Trail region.The clouds are moving in a getting dark as we roll on TX294 west to US84 toward Fairfield. We don't make it without some rain, so we stop on the side of the road and slip into Frogg Toggs. I shouldn't laugh but, it is funny to watch hopping on one leg then rolling on ground while putting on rain pants. Frogg Toggs will go down as one of the new wonders of the world. They keep you dry with out making you sweat. Finally someone discovered, in Texas it is often hot and humid when it rains.There are only a few miles of real riding in rain then, only wet roads up FM 488 back to US 287 and Eureka. I record a total of 450 miles by the time I get back to the garage but, that includes to and from Village Creek area just south of the Trinity River. Old Blue the ST1300 only racks up 275 miles to and from Eureka.The Forest Trail area is the genealogy of Texas. This area of Texas drew settlers from Georgia, Tennessee, North and South Carolina, and other more populated states when the railroads appeared in the late 1800s and early 1900s. The land was fertile, cheap and wide open to king cotton.Thank the good Lord for the beautiful scenery and a chance to burn some fossil fuel at the rate of about fifty miles per gallon.C-yal, Ride on TEXAShiramgj 2007
This is a motorcycle ride in the state of Texas. This motorcycle route has 9 scenery characteristics and other road conditions to help you plan your road trip. This motorcycle map was created by ST1100 in July. Click here to see other Motorcycle Roads by ST1100