Texas Almanac, 1972-1973 Page: 12
[705] p. : ill. ; 23 cm.View a full description of this book.
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JUDGE ROY BEAN once administered the "Law West
of the Pecos" at the Jersey Lilly Saloon, above; at the
right, dancers in German costumes at New Braunfels' ' '
Wursttest (Sausage Festival).
TEXAS TRAVEL TRAILS
The following discussion of Texas Travel Trails was written especially for the Texas Almanac by the
Travel and Information Division, Texas Highway Department, Austin 78703. Leaflets describing each trail in
more detail may be obtained from that address.Texas was probably more greatly influenced by
trails than any other state.
In 1691 a Spanish provincial official, Domingo
Teran de los Rios, thought he started the trails
concept in the New World when he laid out El
Camino Real-Spain's royal highway connecting its
far-flung outposts in America. Imagine his surprise
when, in the vicinity of present Nacogdoches, he
came upon "the Street of the North," a broad, cen-
turids-old trail connecting several major Indian set-
tlements. Other Spaniards laying out a branch of
El Camino Real in West Texas were in for another
surprise-a hair-raising one-when they intersected
the Great Comanche War Trail.
Later came trails of epic legend. Texas Long-
horns were discovered in the dark days following
the War Between the States-beef for a hungry and
exhausted nation. Texas cattle on the way to north-
ern markets trampled routes still vivid in American
history-the Chisholm Trail, the Dodge City or West-
ern Trail, the Goodnight-Loving Trail and others.
Next came the famous east-west trails as America
expanded from sea to sea. Pioneers and homestead-ers plodded along Texas-spanning routes such as the
Santa Fe Trail and the Old San Antonio Road.
Inevitably, time caught up with trails. Bridges
replaced fords. Pavement was laid over wagon ruts.
And somehow the romance of trails got lost.
Today Interstate Highways in Texas look much
like those in Iowa. Great looping interchanges edg-
ing Dallas are almost identical to those bordering
Chicago. Modern expressways are marvels of travel
efficiency, but their engineered sameness tends to
make driving merely a mechanical exercise.
A few years ago the State of Texas took a giant
step aimed at putting pleasure back in pleasure
driving. Looking to the past, 10 Texas Travel Trails
were established.
Each of the Trails is a great loop of 500 to 780
miles. Shunning high-speed arteries where "getting
there" is the prime consideration, the Trails me-
ander over quieter byways. They introduce the
heartland of Texas, exploring sites of beauty, history
and recreation. Modern Trail riders rediscover the
romance of traveling, the adventure of coming upon
unsuspected new experiences.BLUEBONNETS form the foreground for this scene at Lyndon B. Johnson State Park, near the ranch home
of the Texan who was the 36th President of the United States...... . id
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Texas Almanac, 1972-1973, book, 1971; (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth113811/m1/14/: accessed April 25, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.