The Red river (of the south) was named for the red bed country of it′s watershed, and is one of at least two rivers of the same name. The other Red river (of the north) flows north from North Dakota into Canada.

The Red river seems to have once been a parallel river to the Mississippi river, with both flowing separately to the Gulf of Mexico. However, due to a meandering of the Mississippi river, Tumbull′s Bend connected to the Red river which then became a tributary of the Mississippi river. Some time later, a steamboat builder and river captain, Henry Shreve cuts a channel taking the main river flow away from Tumbull′s bend and back into the Mississippi river. However, the same Henry Shreve removed a log jam in the lower Red river that caused an increase flow of water from the Mississippi to the lower Red river

By the 1880s, the lower Old River channel had began flowing in reverse and much of the water from the Mississippi was flowing west into the Red river causing the Red river to change from being a tributary to become a distributary of the Mississippi river. Too, the name of the lower Red River was changed to Atchafalaya river and the Red river became a tributary of the Atchafalaya river.

In the 1950s, it was believed that the flow of the Mississippi river would change its course to the Atchafalaya river as early as 1990 if it was not controlled, especially since the Atchafalaya path to the Gulf of Mexico was shorter and steeper.

By 1963, the amount of the water that would flows from the Mississippi river into the Atchafalaya has been controlled by structures built by the US Army Corps of Engineers surrounding the area where Tumbull′s Bend once existed. The structure is called the Old River Control Structure and is a floodgate system which regulates the amount of water flow traversing from one river to the other. Only ten years after the completion of the Old River Control Structure, the flood from the Mississippi river in 1973 nearly cause a catastrophic failure of the entire structure, which damage required that it be repaired with additional structures built.

Researchers believe that eventually, the structures will fail again, and most likely the flow of the Mississippi river will completely alter it′s it course to the Atchafalaya river basin for ever. This will then change the Atchafalaya river to the Mississippi river, causing the Red river to change back to a tributary of the Mississippi river and create a new distributary out of the old Mississippi river channel.

And their belief is that it is only a short time until this inevitability.

(31.020000 -91.750000)

(34.5764, -99.965)

Texas: Prairie Dog Town Fork Red River,

Oklahoma: Salt Fork Red River, North Fork Red River, Cache Creek, Beaver Creek, Mud Creek, Walnut Bayou, (Lake Texhoma), Washita River, (Denison Dam), Blue River, Muddy Boggy Creek, Kiamichi River, Waterhole Creek,

Arkansas: (US 71), Little River,

Louisiana: Loggy Bayou(Flat River), Saline Bayou, Black-Ouachita River, (Mississippi River Outflow Channel) Upper Old River, Lower Old River,

Texas: Prairie Dog Town Fork Red River, (OK state line) Pease River, Wichita River, Little Wichita River, Fish Creek, (Lake Texhoma), Deaver Creek, Harris Creek, (Denison Dam), Choctaw Creek, Canney Creek, Bois d′ Arc Creek, (AR state line)

Arkansas: (US 71), Sulphur River,

Louisiana: Twelve Mile Bayou, Bayou Pierre, Atchafalaya River.

After the meeting ends, I pack out to the jammer, start the engine and drive out of the parking lot to begin today′s roadpath journey.

I first drive the short distance south, just past the D-mart where during the last week, I haven been overnighting, then take a right onto US 82, and drive west for thirty-two miles to De Kalb, Texas. Here I turn right onto US 259 and begin my drive north, first across the Red River into Oklahoma.

After coming in from Arkansas a short distance above Texarkana, the Red River becomes the state line between Arkansas and Texas crossing the top of Texas, however, after some twenty-six miles, as the crow flies, the Red River becomes the state line between Oklahoma and Texas, which it then continues nearly all the way to the Texas north Panhandle. However, for some reason which totally escapes me, the name of this river makes a change to the Prairie Dog Town Fork of the Red River near to where it leaves the state line of Oklahoma and enters Texas.

The Red River does not continue elsewhere nor is there some other fork, instead, the Red River just changes its name to continue as the Prairie Dog Town Fork.

Further upstream, the Prairie Dog Town Fork enters Palo Duro Canyon and the State Park of the same name. In fact, the Red river is what carved this canyon. While it flows through the bottom of the canyon, the park road bridges the river six different times along its way down the river valley. Amazingly, even in the driest of seasons, this river continues to flow as I have never visited this park and not see water flowing here.

Awake, dress in my fall blues and drive south back to the SH 335 loop, then east to IH 27 and drive south to exit 106 where I leave the IH and turn east on SH 217. From here, I drive into Palo Duro Canyon State Park for a hot shower and to change into clean clothes.