Sun Dappled Forest and Dusty Spiderwebs (Part II)

October 15, 2022

In our previous adventure we explored some forest service roads in the Sam Houston National Forest. All during the week that followed Kristi and I talked about what a good time we had exploring that day, and how beautiful and peaceful the forest was. We made plans to go back the very next weekend and explore the other side of the Forest Service Road 206/246 fork:

FR 246 heads east, then ends at FR 207. FR 207 turns south and runs by the entrance to Forest Glen Camp & Retreat. A short distance beyond the camp the road changes to dirt. The road travels through some woods and by a neighborhood before passing by a natural gas compressor station. I don’t know why, but the compressor station fascinates me. Perhaps it’s because such a large, impressive structure seems so out of place out in the middle of the forest.

It was late afternoon by the time we started our journey, so the sun was at a good angle for making pretty sunbeams through the trees. FR 207 passes by Log Creek Farms, and it was along here that we saw the sunlight illuminating the undersides of the lower tree limbs along the road:

This portion of FR 207 is also called Big Woods Road, which is the name of a ranch across the road from Log Creek Farm. The junction of FR 202 is located south of these two properties. The Lone Star Hiking Trail crosses here, as well.

We stopped here for a few minutes to take some pictures, and I found this interesting spiderweb at the base of a tree. See if you can find the creepy smiley faces in the leaves under the web:

FR 202 is a narrow road out in the middle of nowhere. It is in good shape, however, and is a pretty drive. A camping area is located about two miles from the entrance at FR 207.

The Forest Service periodically conducts prescribed burns within the forest to, among other things, reduce the amount of fuel that would otherwise cause smaller natural or human-caused fires to grow into large, uncontrollable fires. One of the consequences of this procedure is that it creates a park-like appearance on the forest floor. Early entrepreneurs who were exploring East Texas for logging noted that huge areas of the forests naturally had this look and feel. Prescribed burns help maintain the natural habitat while reducing risk to persons and property.

The horseflies haven’t been nearly so bad as last year. This is probably due to the recent drought. Regardless, they are still present, and the deeper we drove into the woods the thicker the swarms became. This hindered our ability to take pictures in part because we didn’t want to get out of the truck or roll down the windows. One actually made it inside the truck while we were taking pictures. After a brief episode of undignified screaming and arm flailing, we managed to chase it out.

For the shot below I parked the truck crossways, rolled down the window just enough to use the camera, then closed it back as quickly as I could. No horseflies breached the perimeter!

Why are trees with holes in them so interesting to me? Maybe it’s due to reading all of those fairytales where talking animals or magical creatures lived in trees. Or maybe it’s because of my fondness for cookies. And elves. And elves that make cookies. Regardless, this tree caught my eye because I’m 99% certain that the hole on top is (or was) a woodpecker nest.

And not very far from the tree above was this tree:

Have you ever spied a pathway through the woods and thought, “I really want to see where that goes?” If the horseflies weren’t out in such large numbers, I would have definitely hopped this gate and gone exploring. Maybe when the weather cools enough to kill the demon bugs we will come back.

Low sun angles and spiderwebs placed high in the plants make for a pretty scene. There was also a large patch of American Beautyberry plants here.

At some point along its run, FR 202 becomes John Warren Road–or maybe that is the name of the entire road. After a long, straight run we came to the edge of the national forest.

John Warren Rd passes through a rural neighborhood. If you drive through this area, be mindful of any dogs that may be roaming around. We came up on three dogs who were barking at several other dogs who were located behind a fence. I slowed down and the three dogs moved to the side of the road to let us pass. As soon as we passed, the three dogs resume barking at the dogs behind the fence. Sometimes neighbors just don’t get along, I guess.

John Warren Rd ended at FM 150. We turned west and then turned north onto FM 945. I got really excited when I saw this sign:

I grew up along the West Fork of the San Jacinto River. My first thought was that this was “my” river, but it was out of place. It took me a second to realize that we had stumbled upon the East Fork.

FM 945 ended at FM 156. We took FM 156 north, which passes by the Bullet House Grill and ends in Point Blank. From there we headed home.

I highly recommend taking a drive down FR 202. The road is in good condition, except for a few potholes and one small sandy patch, and it goes through some beautiful forest. Definitely stock up on the DEET insect repellent if you go during horsefly season and want to walk around.

I would like to go back and explore further down Big Woods Rd someday–maybe sooner than later. With hunting season about to get into full swing, though, we may curtail our forest adventures for a little while. Or maybe I can put on an orange vest so that I don’t get mistaken for Bigfoot.

Bonus Picture

A few weeks ago, Kristi and I went on another unplanned adventure through the Sam Houston National Forest. It was short and we did not take many pictures. We explored further down 4 Notch Road than we have traveled before and came upon this scene:

This is not a scene from prehistoric Earth or an alien planet. Those are lily pads in a private lake. The water should be up to the bottom of the leaves, but this year’s drought has dropped the level several feet.