I'm here to rant that loop highways and bypasses are stupid ideas.

In his 1844 journal of his trading expeditions to Santa Fe, Josiah Gregg devoted at least four pages to the prairie dog.

The Louisiana Purchase gave way to five territories along the Red River. Here are links to some of the congressional papers.

Until the 1830s, the Disputed Territory along the Red River, where Arkansas, Oklahoma, Texas and Louisiana meet, was a "no man's land."

From 1817 to 1822, the "Sulphur Fork Factory" stood at the confluence of the Sulphur into the Red River in today's Miller County, Arkansas.

After the Battle of Village Creek, the Republic of Texas signed the Fort Bird Treaty of 1842.

A lot of shenanigans and the Adams-Onis Treaty of 1819 established the Red River as the southern boundary of the Louisiana Purchase of 1803.

For Thomas Jefferson, the most important Corps of Discovery in the Louisiana Purchase was the expedition up the Red River of 1806.

The census of Native People of New Orleans Territory included descriptions of tribal languages, places, and affiliations.

Discovery of an ancient village at Fish Creek, formerly a channel of the Red River in Cooke County, Texas, explains Cross Timbers people.

Two maps of the Missouri Territory were either made with a time machine, or one of them is a wee bit older.

The northwestern portions of the Ozark Trail were subsumed by the federal highway project designated as US 66, aka the original Route 66.

I found two other maps of Texas, both from the period after Texas statehood (1845), that shows Warren's trading posts.

Pressler's 1867 shows Warren's Trading House sandwiched between Panther and Salt Creek (TX), and near Red Creek (OK), but not on Mud Creek.

A map about an unrealized future, drawn to indicate where the Texas & Pacific Railroad would pass once it was built west of Shreveport.

The Index Line stretched all the way from Logansport north to the Red River.

I decided to take a look at the life of the Beeswing, a steamer on the Red River, after finding a receipt from 1844.

Between 1810 and 1813, John Maley journeyed up the Red River and visited Natchitoches twice, but didn't enjoy either visit.

The Yellow Fever Epidemic of 1873 claimed several victims in Shreveport, including Eugene Woodruff, who removed the Raft of the Red River.

Several years ago, I took a road trip and found myself at Indian City, USA. I'm glad I did, because Indian City, USA is no more.