Follow Me on the Mountains of Red River Valley Tour! Southeastern Oklahoma - Little Dixie Southwestern Oklahoma - Meeting the Plains Northwestern Texas - North Texas Hill Country

Jacksboro lies in the gentle hilly terrain of the Jack Mountains.

The hills and valleys in North Texas aren't as dramatic as those in Southeastern Oklahoma, but the varied terrain can surprise you. The Grand Prairie in the east Red River Valley gives away to the breaks of the Cross Timbers in the central valley, and the further west you go, the more the Caprock becomes noticeable. South and west of Dallas and Fort Worth are hills with lush trees and little rivers. In the valleys are little towns like Norse, an old Norwegian settlement, and Meridian, the county seat of Bosque. Realtors like to call this region the "North Texas Hill Country," though that sounds like such a second class statement. Locals have names for the ranges around Palo Pinto and Mineral Wells (well, the Palo Pinto Mountains, to be exact) and I think that's what we should call them. Or "Red River Mountains" or something. Anyway, I'll be adding more photos as gas money permits!

Above: Center Point Cemetery lies in a valley among the hills just east of Wichita Falls.

Above: A Wise County barn and windmill. It's hard to believe that downtown Fort Worth is only 30 miles from here!

Above: The Red River in Montague County, near the Chisholm Trail Crossing at Red River Station.

Above: It's hard to capture the rolling prairie, but here's a photo of my all-time favorite road that goes through Denton, Cooke, Wise, and Montague counties.

Above: The Medicine Mounds just southeast of Wichita Falls are Comanche holy places, and are still revered by Comanche descendants. They belong to someone now, and I hope that someone allows the Comanche to visit these hills. (That the Comanche have to get special permission to visit their own holy sites shows how very different land is treated in Indian and Anglo culture!)

Above: Mineral Wells State Park offers a hiking and biking trail that meanders through some beautiful hills, bluffs, and breaks. From a vantage point on the trail, you can see Comanche Hill (now in the vicinity of a nuclear power plant), another sacred place that the Comanche need special permission to visit.

North
Texas Hill
Country