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Piney Woods: Lufkin to Nacogdoches to San Augustine to Zavalla to Diboll to Lufkin.

Article Excerpt
THERE'S A BUDDHIST parable in which several blind men argue about the appearance of an elephant after each has touched a different extremity. I imagine that early travelers to the vast area we now call Texas must have brought back similarly varied reports of their explorations, and today their ghosts might recommend that a prudent visitor pack both a wet suit and body armor. That said, a large part of the surface of our state is, like the skin of an elephant, a rough expanse of grayish brown, so the sheltering forests and sluggish creeks of the east are an unexpected sight. Though this region plays an integral part in the history of Texas, its cultural bequest is much more Southern than Western. Here, people whose ancestors fought the first battles for Texas's independence live in swamps and eat squash, just like the indigenous Caddo Indians their forefathers disdained.

Today's journey through the woods and small towns of deep East Texas will follow some of the Texas Forest Trail, a 780-mile loop of highways that takes in most of the region's cities. Starting out from Lufkin, I head north on U.S. 59. Although the road runs from Laredo to Texarkana, I set my sights on reaching Nacogdoches, only 19 miles away.

Today the traffic is moving smoothly along this stretch of highway that swoops up and down, a gentle roller coaster of green hills....

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