Texas has one natural lake — and most people have never heard of it. 🌿

Caddo Lake State Park in East Texas is unlike anywhere else in the Lone Star State. We're talking 400-year-old bald cypress trees draped in Spanish moss, a swamp full of alligators, 12,000 years of human history, and a founding father of the Republic of Texas who was shot dead in the water on

Independence Day. Yeah. It's THAT kind of place.

In this episode we cover everything you need to know:

🏹 HISTORY

- 10,000 BC – The first humans settle the Caddo Lake area

- The Caddo Nation — their origin story, culture, and forced removal

- The CCC cabins built in the 1930s that you can still stay in today

🌊 THE LAKE

- Texas' ONLY natural lake — formed by a massive log jam called the

"Great Raft"

- Home to the largest flooded bald cypress forest in the United States

- Internationally protected under the Ramsar Wetlands Convention

🎣 THINGS TO DO

- Kayaking & canoeing through an ancient cypress maze

- World-class fishing — 71 species including largemouth bass and crappie

- Hiking, birdwatching (200+ species!), and wildlife photography

- Staying in the historic 1930s CCC log cabins

📍 Caddo Lake State Park | Near Karnack, TX | ~150 miles east of Dallas

🔔 Subscribe for more Texas travel, state parks, and hidden history episodes.

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LINKS & RESOURCES

- Reserve campsites & cabins: https://texasstateparks.reserveamerica.com

- Park info: https://tpwd.texas.gov/state-parks/caddo-lake

- Texas State Parks Pass (free entry to all 89 parks): https://tpwd.texas.gov/state-parks/park-pass

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#CaddoLake #TexasStatePark #EastTexas #TexasHistory #HiddenGem

#TexasTravel #OutdoorTexas #CypressForest #Kayaking #Fishing

#TexasIndependence #NativeAmerican #CaddoNation #TexasPodcast

#StateParks #NaturePodcast #TexasNature #SwampLife #WildlifeTexas

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Welcome back to Two Chicks with Hiking Sticks! 🏜️ In this episode, we're heading to one of the most jaw-dropping places on Earth — Arches National Park in Moab, Utah. Home to over 2,000 natural sandstone arches (yes, TWO THOUSAND!), this park is a bucket-list destination for a reason — and we're breaking down everything you need to know before you visit.

In this episode we cover:

• The fascinating history of how Arches went from a cattle ranch to a National Park

• The geology behind those incredible arches — and why they're still forming (and falling!) today

• The best easy-to-moderate hikes for the 50+ crowd — including Landscape Arch, the Windows Loop, and the iconic Delicate Arch trail

• A complete first-timer's itinerary so you don't waste a single minute

• Cultural history including ancient petroglyphs and Edward Abbey's Desert Solitaire

Whether you're planning your first trip or returning to see it through fresh eyes, this episode is your go-to guide for Arches National Park.

📍 Location: Moab, Utah | Arches National Park

🎙️ Two Chicks with Hiking Sticks explores the intersections of culture, history, and the natural world — one trail at a time.

🔔 Subscribe and hit the bell so you never miss an episode!

#ArchesNationalPark #NationalParks #MoabUtah #HikingOver50 #WomenWhoHike #NationalParkService #DelicateArch #UtahHiking #TwoChicksWithHikingSticks #DesertHiking #BucketList #OutdoorWomen #HikingLife #ExploreMore #NPSParks #ActiveOver50 #AdventureTravel #VisitUtah #RedRockCountry #LandscapeArch

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She escaped slavery alone at night. Then went back. Thirteen times.

In this episode, we dive deep into the full, extraordinary life of Harriet

Tubman — from her brutal childhood on Maryland's Eastern Shore, to her

daring escapes on the Underground Railroad, to her secret career as a

Union Army spy who led the most successful military liberation raid in

American history — freeing over 700 people in a single night.

We cover:

✅ Her complete biography — the real story, not the sanitized version

✅ How the Underground Railroad actually worked

✅ Her role as spy, scout & the first woman to lead a U.S. military raid

✅ The Harriet Tubman National Historic Sites — Maryland & Auburn, NY

✅ Where you can actually HIKE the Underground Railroad routes today

✅ The 2019 film "Harriet"

✅ Fascinating lesser-known facts that will leave you speechless

This is the Harriet Tubman most history books were too afraid to show you. It's about a woman who carried a pistol, ran a spy network entirely from memory, fought for women's suffrage into her 80s, and built a home for the elderly while living in poverty herself. She was, in every sense, extraordinary.

🗺️ PLAN YOUR VISIT:

Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad National Historical Park (MD): nps.gov/hatu

Harriet Tubman National Historical Park (Auburn, NY): nps.gov/hart

Full Byway Guide: harriettubmanbyway.org

👍 Like, subscribe, and share if this story moved you — because it should.

#HarrietTubman #UndergroundRailroad #BlackHistory #AmericanHistory

#HarrietTubmanMovie #CivilWarHistory #WomensHistory #MosesOfHerPeople

#HistoryPodcast #BlackAmericanHistory #HarrietTubmanNationalPark

#UndergroundRailroadHistory #CombaheeRiverRaid #Abolitionist

#TrueHistory #HistoryFacts #BlackHistoryMonth #AmericanHeroes

#HiddenHistory #WomensRights #SuffragistHistory #MilitaryHistory

#SpyHistory #NationalParks #HikingHistory #HarrietTubmanByway

#HarrietMovie #CynthiaErivo #HistoryLovers #UntoldHistory

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