Discovering Texas: Paris, Atlanta and a Little Bit of Louisiana

When my sister visited me in Topeka last year we spent a day roadtripping through Kansas. We were guided merely by a map and wanderlust. It was one of my most favorite adventures in Kansas.

I knew when I moved to Texas that I wanted to discover it the same way I did Kansas: through road trips. Last week I got a large fold-out map to start deciding on where I could go (this map, however, is less cool than the Kansas map because it doesn't include cool sites to see like "World's Largest Ball of Twin" or "Geographic Center of the United States").

Saturday I was feeling the wanderlust, the desire to get out and drive and see new things. I was already in Prosper for a birthday party, so I decided to head east to Paris, Texas.

Paris is a cute little town, with a square similar to ours in Denton. It's smaller, and filled with more antique shops than is probably necessary. It has some great architecture that I tried to capture. In the middle of the square is a fountain, with their courthouse off the square.

Sadly, there were many closed shops and vacant buildings, not just downtown but everywhere. It makes me sad when I see cities appear to be falling apart. I imagine that it was once a thriving town full of character and life and people. Then highways get built and freeways, and roads that used to take you to town now take you through town.

Some years ago the Paris, Texas Eiffel Tower was built. It is smaller, obviously, than the original in France, and also is adorned with a red cowboy hat.

The day was still young-ish, and instead of heading home I decided to head southeast on Route 77, through Atlanta, Texas, to the intersecting state boundaries of Texas, Louisiana and Arkansas. I'm a sucker for things like that. I thought there would be a sign of some sort marking the spot, or at least an area to pull off that had signs for all three states. All I found was a bar and a liquor store.

Since I had never been to Louisiana before I decided to keep going. I made a stop at a Walmart in Vivian, where I seriously considered going the thirty-five minutes to Shreveport. I decided against it and started my road trip back home.

My computer is still being strange, so I can't download photos. But if you want to see some, check out this link.