East Texas Ramble - The Most Scenic Drives in America: 120 Spectacular Road Trips - page 770

8. Caddo Lake State Park
Festooned with wispy strands of Spanish moss, bald cypresses tower above the waters of
Caddo Lake. Miles of ''boat roads'' lead down channels in this watery wilderness, where
anglers in search of bass and catfish might hear the drumming of the pileated woodpeck-
er or the curious ''Who-cooks-for-you?'' call of the barred owl. The lake itself, geologists
say, was created as a result of an earthquake, which formed a natural dam on a bayou. The
CaddoIndians,accordingtolegend,wereforewarnedoftheearthquakebytheGreatSpirit.
Jay Gould's private railroad car, open for touring
9. Jefferson
Few spots in Texas can match Jefferson's nostalgic charm. Among its many restored struc-
turesistheExcelsiorHouseHotel,wheretheguestshaveincludedsuchnotablesasUlysses
S. Grant, Rutherford B. Hayes, John Jacob Astor, and Oscar Wilde. Another patron was
railroad baron Jay Gould, whose private railcar rests just a few steps from the hotel. Local
loresaysthatGouldprophesiedthetown'sdoomwhenitscitizensrefusedtolethisrailroad
pass through. And Jefferson did in fact undergo a decline—but that very lack of progress
places today's visitors on the threshold of Texas as it looked more than 100 years ago.