East Texas Ramble - The Most Scenic Drives in America: 120 Spectacular Road Trips - page 769

plants. To learn about the best places for spotting the carnivorous pitcher plants and sun-
dews, stop at the main visitor center, which sits just east of Rte. 69 on Rte. FM420.
4. Alabama-Coushatta Indian Reservation
A side trip to the west on Rte. 190 brings motorists to the home of the Alabama-Coushatta
Indians,whohaveprotected4,600acresofforestsincethemid-1800s.Alsopreservedhere
arethetribes'time-honoredtraditions:Visitorscanobservetraditionaldancesandthemak-
ing of authentic handicrafts. If you have time, be sure to take a tour of the area's virgin
woodlands.
5. Sam Rayburn Reservoir
After returning to Rte. 69, the drive winds through the rolling countryside to Rte. FM147
and the Sam Rayburn Reservoir. For about two miles the highway skims right across the
man-made lake, which is hemmed in by Angelina National Forest, part of what local Tex-
ans call the Piney Woods. Several recreational areas dot the lake's shores, and the forest's
designated pathway, the Sawmill Hiking Trail, parallels the Neches River as it passes the
remains of an early mill and wends beneath towering long-leaf pines, oaks, sweet gums,
and beeches—a reminder of East Texas as it was before the advent of large-scale logging.
6. San Augustine
Rte. FM147 soon sweeps into San Augustine, a town that took root as a Spanish mission
in 1716. More than a century later, Sam Houston, the man of boundless bravery who led
Texas in its fight for independence from Mexico, could be seen striding down the streets
here. For a sampling of residential life in that spirited, glamorous era, visitors can tour the
Ezekiel Cullen Home, an 1839 mansion.
7. Marshall
Heading north from Tenaha, Rte. 59 passes through Carthage, home of the Texas Country
Music Hall of Fame and Tex Ritter Museum. The drive next crosses the Sabine River on
the way to Marshall. This community's legacy as one of the first cities in Texas lives on in
buildings such as the 1896 Ginocchio Hotel, with Victorian architecture, and Maplecroft, a
well-preserved Italianate home built in 1870. The town is also the home of Marshall Pot-
tery and Museum, found 2 1/2 miles south on Rte. FM31. The star attraction in Marshall,
though, is its Christmastime Wonderland of Lights: about 6 million bulbs adorn the city in
one of the nation's largest and brightest holiday displays.