One of my favorite childhood activities was playing in the woods near my house. As I grew older, this evolved into riding my dirt bike and four wheeler down the trails to the creek. We had a maze of trails cut that led to a nice white sand bar on the bend of Village Creek. We modified our trails over the years as land was developed and new houses were built.
Ever since moving back to Silsbee I have wanted to try and find our old trails. I finally got the chance over the past Christmas holiday. The weather was nice and warm so the wife and I decided to take the dog and go for a hike. The trail head was just as I remembered, tucked behind the neighbor’s fence.. Obviously the next generation of backwoods explorers have been keeping it cleared. Soon, however, the trail disappeared into the underbrush of the thicket. Two major hurricanes and six years of undergrowth had changed the landscape. We decided to pick our way through the thicket in search of the trail. Thanks to my wife’s orienteering skills, the beagle’s sense of direction, and google maps on my driod, we found our way to the main trail after about a half mile.
From there it was easy going down the trail to the abandoned dirt road, passing the brick chimney ruins, and on to the sandbar. We let the dog off the leash to romp through the white sand and take a swim in the creek. It was just as I remembered. We hung out at the creek for a while and then hiked back home.
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