Sam Houston National Forest Service Road, Texas - nothing technical or fancy

[bendyprissy]

Well I decided to take everyone's advice from my "off-roading lite" thread & check out a forest service road since Sam Houston National Forest is literally over the hill & through the woods from my house. Loaded up the Lab, Blackie, grabbed the camera, & we were off. First went to the Forest Ranger Station to see if 4X4 trucks are allowed on the multi-use trails & in fact they are not...only ATV's & dirt bikes. But no worries, the service roads it is. I only went down one road...one very long road, with a couple roads branching off, & checked those out too. It was a nice leisurely drive. Nothing fancy or technical, but pretty nonetheless. I only took a couple pictures & hubby will go with me this weekend so we can check out the other roads & I can get more pics.
Again, nothing breathtaking but thought I'd share anyway.

The camera does not do the color of these flowers justice as they are a brilliant lilac-purple & there were tons of them everywhere. I tried to get a pic of the fields of them but they just look like a blanket of white flowers. However, if you look closely there was a beautiful, huge, yellow & black butterfly that posed long enough for me to snap the shot. Butterflies were everywhere.


This is a pic of Blackie who always loves going on road trips as she knows how special it makes her.


I had to stop & take this pic as I was driving into this section of one of the branching roads as it reminded me of the road to Sleepy Hollow. Kinda creepy & fun at the same time.

Right after I drove through this section I had the pleasure of 4 deer run across the road & it was nice that I wasn't having to swerve or slam on my brakes while taking my life into my own hands like while driving 60 on the highway at night. Unfortunately by the time I was able to get my camera up to my face they were long gone. Maybe next time.

Then to my suprise, lo & behold, a lake in the middle of nowhere & then a campsite not too far from there. It was pretty & there were plenty of people on the banks fishing, to the right of the pic, & kayakers to the left, both out of the shot. Definitely bringing the little dinghy next time for some relaxing fishing.


Lastly, I had to get a shot of my lab getting excited over the lake. She is definitely a water dog...except for the dreaded bath, & then evidently I am killing her. Gotta love this shot though...
Oh mom, can I pleeeeeze?


Well, like I said, nothing fancy, but it was really pretty with lots of animals & beats sitting at home. My birthday present to myself.

 

[Green 1]

Glad you had a fun day . Nice pics.

 

[3Hummers]

Any day in the dirt is better than a day on the asphalt. Sounds like a relaxing fun day.

 

[MtnRsqDawg]

Any day in the dirt is better than a day on the asphalt.

Definitetly...anytime you venture out on the road less traveled is medicine for the soul. Plus the expression on Blackie's face is...priceless. Thx for sharing the pics.

 

[LagunaH1]

Doesn't have to be white nuckle technical to be a good day -Getting away from it all for a few hours and meandering down dirt roads is plenty good enough for me quite often.

Cute dog!

 

[alrock]

Dogs rule! Glad you had a good day, sounds like it was fun.

 

[mudbug]

Nice looking shots. Good idea checking with the ranger station on what trails to go down. We went up to the Crocket area and ended up on a unmarked horse trail. Highly illegal but it was fun. There are lots of national forest in Southeast Texas so enjoy.

 

[bendyprissy]

Nice looking shots. Good idea checking with the ranger station on what trails to go down. We went up to the Crocket area and ended up on a unmarked horse trail. Highly illegal but it was fun. There are lots of national forest in Southeast Texas so enjoy.

There were a lot of trails people made & some of the ATV trails that were very tempting but 1, I was by myself, & 2, I know my luck as that would probably be the one day in 6 months the Ranger went to inspect the trail or something.

And there are lots of service roads here. My parents live near Jasper & there are quite a bit more service trails there by Indian Mounds, ect.

 

[Gunner_45]

Good choice staying off the ATV trails.

The last person I heard about doing that......Had thier H3 slide halfway down a mountain some where in California.

All manner of drama ensued with the recovery and the authorities.

 

[mudbug]

There were a lot of trails people made & some of the ATV trails that were very tempting but 1, I was by myself, & 2, I know my luck as that would probably be the one day in 6 months the Ranger went to inspect the trail or something.

And there are lots of service roads here. My parents live near Jasper & there are quite a bit more service trails there by Indian Mounds, ect.

We left out from Lufkin and went around Toledo bend and ended up over around Crockett all on service roads. We did it while it was raining so it was a bit muddy. I would like to try to find service roads around the Burkeville area I know there is a orv park their but I never been, so I don't know if it is hummer friendly.

 

[Hunner]

I'm not sure the term "technical" implies crashing over rocks or pushing to the point of breaking things, even if you think your not by spotting and going slow.
Technical may not apply at all but more like "trials" motorcycle riding and finessing over obstacles is the method best describe for what I like to do.

Prissy you are now an "adventurer" exploring areas you have not been and taking it all in while driving a survivable vehicle. It's fun knowing you could take off the beaten path but I think your were wise and thoughtful to check in with the Rangers.

About those wildflowers. That is a very hard color to capture accurately. In the "old days" I used several different "film" emulsions to capture the range of colors. Then there were not some inks available to print them properly.
I have had my Dad's Wildflower book "digitally remastered" and corrected some of the older colors. Inks are now available and blended to reproduce the nearly correct colors so his book can be an accurate field guide.

Those flowers are in the Phlox family (Polemoniaceae)
From what I can tell by the photo probably Blue Phlox, Sweet William
I saw the Tiger Swallow tail. They don't sit still long, do they?
I have some of that planted as "bait" for photo subjects.
Hummingbirds like it also.
Have fun out there and be careful. When travelling remote areas checking in with the Rangers is a good idea and checking "back" with them if you advise them of a returning time is also a good idea.

 

[bendyprissy]

We left out from Lufkin and went around Toledo bend and ended up over around Crockett all on service roads. We did it while it was raining so it was a bit muddy. I would like to try to find service roads around the Burkeville area I know there is a orv park their but I never been, so I don't know if it is hummer friendly.

My parents live on Toledo Bend (Texas side). Tons of service roads over there. Are you out that way much? How were the service roads?

 

[bendyprissy]

I'm not sure the term "technical" implies crashing over rocks or pushing to the point of breaking things, even if you think your not by spotting and going slow.
Technical may not apply at all but more like "trials" motorcycle riding and finessing over obstacles is the method best describe for what I like to do.

Prissy you are now an "adventurer" exploring areas you have not been and taking it all in while driving a survivable vehicle. It's fun knowing you could take off the beaten path but I think your were wise and thoughtful to check in with the Rangers.

About those wildflowers. That is a very hard color to capture accurately. In the "old days" I used several different "film" emulsions to capture the range of colors. Then there were not some inks available to print them properly.
I have had my Dad's Wildflower book "digitally remastered" and corrected some of the older colors. Inks are now available and blended to reproduce the nearly correct colors so his book can be an accurate field guide.

Those flowers are in the Phlox family (Polemoniaceae)
From what I can tell by the photo probably Blue Phlox, Sweet William
I saw the Tiger Swallow tail. They don't sit still long, do they?
I have some of that planted as "bait" for photo subjects.
Hummingbirds like it also.
Have fun out there and be careful. When travelling remote areas checking in with the Rangers is a good idea and checking "back" with them if you advise them of a returning time is also a good idea.

Shame you are in Arkansas...very far. You sound like you would be a blast to go off-roading with. And yes, I see things totally different since my first off-roading trip in my Hummer. I see opportunity everywhere where I never saw that before. I'm also new to my camera & have not had the time yet to go over it with a fine-tooth comb & learn all about it. Hoping to get more experience with it on our Marble Falls trip this weekend. Thanks for the education...love it!

 

[Steve #1]

Shame you are in Arkansas...very far. You sound like you would be a blast to go off-roading with. <snip>

Being in Arkansas isn't something that would keep Hunner from making a beach run in Texas. He's good people.

 

[bendyprissy]

Hey, anytime your ready to hit those trails Hunner then let me know.

 

[bendyprissy]

Dogs rule! Glad you had a good day, sounds like it was fun.

You should see that dog at the beach when the seaweed is plentiful. There will be so much of it sometimes that it starts building a barrier/wall at the shoreline. She made a game up on her own to get the seaweed out of the ocean & carry it to the "barrier". Then hubby started to throw it to her from between his legs, like a football, & she would jump up, catch it, & take it to the "barrier". She did this for hours. It was hilarious.