Cleveland to Kountze,TX - 56 miles

Today was a nice relaxing short ride through a thick green forest known as "The Big Thicket." It once covered more than a million acres, with a length of over 100 miles, and a width in some places of nearly 50 miles. There are areas still so thick and brushy with undergrowth as to form a nearly impenetrable jungle. The Big Thicket is neither swamp nor marshland; its soil is dry and rich. It has always served as a handy hiding place for outlaws and smugglers. During the Civil War it became a refuge for service-dodging Texans. The Confederate Army sent squads to look for these men, who became known as "bushwhackers."