Come along with us as we trace the archaeological sites and campgrounds—the Shadow Trails left by ancient immigrants who crossed the Red River, traveling south along the Balcones Escarpment and into the lush, welcoming valleys of the Texas Hill Country.

Our journey begins on the Old Preston Road (State Hwy 289) which was originally part of the Old Shawnee Trail, a major Indian hunting route that crossed the Red River at its confluence with the Washita at the Rock Bluff low water crossing.

The Texas shoreline, with its rising and receding water levels, releases chunks of red clay from its banks, coloring the water and giving the Red River its name.

The Red River was dammed in 1936, creating beautiful Lake Texoma, a vast water reservoir now enjoyed by campers, explorers, and fisherfolk. Our story begins here, 11,000 years ago, with a flash flood of mass destruction at the confluence of the Washita and Red Rivers.

In our story, the flood washes away a Paleoindian camp, marooning members of the band along the banks of the raging river. Mahrahmi, one of our main characters, is washed onto a pile of debris below the rocky bluffs of Preston Point on the Texas side of the river where, in more recent times, Holland Coffee operated a trading post.

On the Oklahoma side of Lake Texoma, just below the Alberta Creek marina, rests Moonshine Cave, submerged now by the flooded river, but in ancient times it was no doubt used by Paleoindian travelers, perhaps as a spirit cave in which spirit talkers such as Mahrahmi’s grandmother, Shonahnay, revered member of the Sisterhood of Healers, sought guidance from the spirits of her ancestors.

Today’s travelers can float fifty feet above ‘Moonshine Cave’ while enjoying a meal of catfish and fries at the Alberta Creek Café. The owner warned us that with the rising water, snakes were on the move and feelin’ mean!

And of course we ran into a coiled-to-strike rattler on our trail and had to write it into the story.

From the Texas side of Lake Texoma, perched on what was a tall bluff before the flooding of the dam, we can see Washita Point on the Oklahoma side where our band of Paleoindians, made camp while they waited for the Mother to raise the land from the raging river and allow her people safe passage onto the lush Black Prairie where migrating herds of bison graze in the warm southern sun.