January 2, 2026
The surgery went well. I followed my doctor’s instructions during recovery and was given the green light to resume walking the week after Christmas.
We are both ready to do some exploring after being mostly housebound for the past few weeks. I still find it very uncomfortable to sit with my leg down for prolonged periods, though, so any exploring in the near term must be short.
Today’s adventure explored the other end of County Road 4025 in Houston County. During our Abandoned Places adventure right before the surgery, we drove to the northern end of FM 1309/CR 4090 from FM 1280 and then turned left onto CR 4025. This time, we turned right.
There’s not a lot to talk about other than it was a very pretty drive. I had intended to add another road to this trip, but various factors, including fatigue, convinced me to cut the drive short and head home.
Shortly after turning onto CR 4025 I stopped and took the picture above. It’s barely visible, but the road makes a sharp turn to the left up ahead. Not visible is a barricade that came into view near the bend.
“Well, this may be a short trip!” I said. But it turned out that the barricade was a marker put up to warn drivers of an eroded section around a culvert. The road continued on…
(On a side note, I mentioned in our previous adventure that CR 4090 was a bit rough. The rough spots, which were partial washouts, have been repaired.)
The picture below is what lay beyond the bend. Lots of sand, lots of dry pine needles and leaves, and lots of solitude. This portion of the road appeared seldom used.
Beyond the trees in the pictures above, we drove along or through several pastures. There were, of course, the obligatory cows. None of the cows were of an unusual size.
Unlike the other end of CR 4025, we did pass several other vehicles–especially near the end. I’m sure they were all locals and all wondering, “Who are those people in the little white truck?” There’s really no reason to be out there unless you live or work there.
Gail Creek is the dominant waterway in these parts. It crosses CR 4025 in two places. Below are pictures of the crossing on this, the northern end, of the road. The southern crossing and the history of the creek’s name is recorded in the previous post.
There’s always something green in East Texas, regardless of the time of year. When the temperatures drop into the 70s and 80s during the fall and winter, the rye grass grows in the shade. But if nothing else, there’s always the pine trees…
And that’s pretty much it. CR 4025 becomes FM 2712 where the pavement starts near the junction with CR 4020, which we explored in Rock Hunting in Houston County.
We started on the second leg of the adventure and drove a short distance before deciding it was a good idea to return home. So, we’ll save that route for a future adventure!
Wishing you a complete recovery.
As I scrolled through the photos, I could hear Willie Nelson singing “On The Road Again” in my head.