Texas Tree Country

Well I will have to say that my impression of Texas is quite different from what it used to be.  Now as we ride into eastern Texas, the landscape is changing once again.   Thick forests are beginning to dominate, including these Loblolly Pine groves in Bastrop, which are recovering from a 2011 fire.

 

The Loblolly pines look a lot like the Ponderosa's we have in Idaho, although they seem to grow taller for their diameter than our Idaho trees.

Along some of the roads, the trees are tall enough to make a canopy.  Here's Paul C. boring through a tree tunnel on William Penn Rd, not far from Navasota.

The rivers now seem wide and full, instead of the little aroya's.

 

It still cracks me up that Texas' idea of a bridge is a couple of concrete culverts with a concrete overflow if they can't handle the flow. 

There is a lot more agricultural activity now.  I got a kick out of this farm that was selling Halloween pumpkins.

And so we keep rolling along.  I think Adventure Cycling should call the "southern tier" the "BRAT" - Bike Ride Across Texas!  The following map shows our route so far.  We're nearing the eastern edge of the state - Only two more full days in Texas.

I thought that the map was especially interesting since it shows the underground cavities from all of the fracking operations in Texas.