Two ST's and Two HD's Tour Teague, TEXAS

Two ST's and Two Harley's TourDuring the early spring in North Texas something very unique happens, the Ranunculus calinianus and the Lupunus Texensis bloom in abundance in the pastures and grassy areas near all the Texas roadways. The rumor is that some of these plants are not naturally planted and have been seeded. I would bet the Ranunculus Carolinianus or what we call Buttercups, which cover the pastures with a golden yellow glow, are natural.If you needed an excuse to tour Texas two lane highways, this out burst of blooming Buttercups, Bluebonnets, and Indian Paints, is a good one.Honda Motor Company has created the best sport touring motorcycles available since 1991 with the ST1100 and the updated ST1300 since 2003. I am proud of my heritage as a 2001 Honda ST1100 and my younger brother 2005 Honda ST1300. This tale is about another of our adventures. Secure in our standings as sport touring motorcycles, we are open to touring with other motorcycles, even Harley Davidson.This touring adventure is a group affair. The ST Brothers team up with a '96 Road King and a '03 V-rod for this colorful Texas tour. We gather between the banks of the Richland and Chambers creeks, on a small hill with a grand view of the lake. Heading South on US287 through Eureka, this community dates back to 1870 and once had steam gristmills and cotton gins, we turned past the dam on FM488 South.The Sun had appeared from rain threatening sky's that we had been watching for the previous week. It looked like every motorcycle that would run was out of the garage to smell the new spring growth. Turning West on FM416 takes us through heavily wooded area with large oaks, rolling pastures and roadsides covered with Buttercups and Bluebonnets. Streetman is located on US 75 at the Freestone-Navarro county line and was created in 1906 when the Trinity and Brazos Valley railroad made a station there. We take a tour of the remaining town, then FM 246 Southwest to Wortham.The area is covered with oil and gas production sites and ranches. The Houston and Central Texas railroad bought right away through this community that dates back to the Mexican land grants. The ranches in this area favor Texas Longhorns, beef cattle, goats and even llamas.State highway 14 South takes us to another Texas town only the locals can pronounce correctly, Mexia. This town was named after the family that original received the land grant in 1833. The town boomed when Mexia oil field was discovered in the 1920. We were unable to locate Anna Nicole Smith's home site. After a short break and an ice cream cone at McDonalds, we find FM 1365, and head southeast.One of the pleasures of our Texas two lane tours is finding these paved Farm or Ranch roads that are usually not on your regular highway maps. With the help of Microsoft Streets and Trips program and the Crossroads of Texas printed map book, these roads are discovered and inspected. FM 1365 took us through more ranch land covered with more wildflowers with plenty of water in the stock tanks and creeks. The map tells us we have passed through the community of Point Enterprise but, we see no signs of a town site.Entering the town of Teague on FM 1365 crosses the old Trinity and Brazos Valley railroad tracks at the Teague Depot and Hotel. The depot has been restored and is now the Teague Historical Museum. On display is a wonderful example of the steam locomotives, a Baldwin 2-8-2, boiler tag number one, parked next to the depot building.The remains of the Teague Hotel are still standing but, the interior has deteriorated. The hotel is a two story narrow structure with brick exterior walls. Trinity and Brazos Valley railroad established it machine and car shop here in 1906. Teague is the half way point between Houston and Fort Worth. Railroad magnate Benjamin Franklin Yoakum named the town after his niece Betty Teague. Large deposits of coal, lignite, sand, clay and natural gas has revised the local economy after years of decline.Luna road or FM 1435 runs southeast from Teague to FM 459 West and we see more Buttercups, Bluebonnets, and a few Texas Paintbrushes' Castilleja Indivisa. FM 459 leads to US 75 and the remains of the community of Dew. The small farming communities, like Dew and others, declined when tracks were not located close to them.US 75 North from Dew goes through the low lands that drain into the Trinity River. The ditches beside the road look like swamp land and we cross numerous creeks before we approach Fairfield and higher ground. We are only a few hundred feet east of Interstate 45 on US 75; this once was the main route between Houston and Dallas, now only used by locals and few touring motorcycles.The county seat of Freestone county since 1850, Fairfield was by passed by the Trinity and Brazos Valley Railroad and built through Streetman in 1906. The Confederate annual reunion was held in Fairfield from 1890 through 1933. Rich farmland and transport for crops on the Trinity River supported the early settlements near the town siteThe circle is almost completed and so is this touring adventure. The old ST1100 heads for the garage along the banks of Village creek while the Harley's and little brother ST1300 head North of FM 488 back to their garages along the banks of Richland creek.We experienced some beautiful Texas two lanes in bloom here in our small part of God's green Earth. We have already started planning the next tour. C-yal, Old ST.hiramgj,2007

This is a motorcycle ride in the state of Texas. This motorcycle route has 8 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