An Old Spanish Road,Natchitoches and Nacogdoches

I love riding great historic roads.  The El Camino Real de Los Tejas National Historic Trail in Texas and Louisiana didn't let me down.   The old Spanish road that runs from Mexico City Mexico to Natchitoches LA.  The road was key in the Spanish settlement of Texas and Louisiana,. We took a chance and went down Christmas week, we had great weather and great riding. 

Our first day we rode up to Natchitoches, LA.  A chilly 59 degrees at the start, but over 70  on the way back. Once we got there we had lunch some gumbo and a meat pie with red beans and rice.  It’s going to be serious YMCA time after this trip.  Great town a mini New Orleans but unspoiled.  Lots of history originally a Spanish settlement, then Part of New France.  The oldest settlement in the Louisiana Purchase.    Also, the movie Steel Magnolias was filmed here.  We walk by the house and the graveyard where part of the movie was filmed. 

The next day it was off to the Texas Nacogdoches following the El Camino Real.  They say everything is bigger in Texas, well it is.   On our ride to Nacogdoches, TX you immediately know this.  When crossing the state line which is Toledo Bend Lake the speed limit jumps to 70 miles per hour on better roads.   Normally these roads would be 55 to 45 MPH in Tennessee.  If you don’t do the speed limit you’re going to have to pull over every so often.  Plenty of passing lanes for traffic traveling 80-90 MPH.

We rode about 260 miles on Christmas Eve, with about 200 on the El Camino Real.  The section between the two Natchez’s has some dramatic changes in the countryside.  Going from pine barrens to hardwood farmlands much like roads in Tennessee.  There are lots of hills, high speed turns and intermittent twisting turns.  Much of it is rideable at the speed limit if 70 MPH slowing to 60 MPH in unincorporated small town crossroads.  In the twisties 30 MPH warning sides. 

There are historical markers every couple of miles or so, too many to stop at all of them.  The one we did stop at told a story about the Spanish leaving Louisiana ceding it to France.  Those Spanish settlers resettled in eastern Texas.  Making it the earliest European settlement in eastern Texas.

On the way back from Nacogdoches we rode around to the Toledo Bend Lake Dam.  We stopped to watch the sunset over the lake and Texas.    It was a great couple of days riding.  We are now headed to the Gulf Coast and the Cajun Riveria.   Better get those Po Boys ready.