March 25 - Fredericksburg to San Antonio

Clear, cold and windy this morning. Sustained winds of 18 mph and gusts up to 29 at the airport next door. A little nervous about pulling the trailer but want to get closer to San Antonio and somewhere with WIFI. I plot a course which will take me through the world famous town of Luckenbach.

For a couple miles at the beginning of the trip I was on a 4 lane road with a speed limit of 70. The winds were pushing me but as long as I paid attention it was not difficult to overcome.

In order to check out Luchenbach the route turned off the four lane road onto a smaller 2 lane road with a 60 mph speed limit and very little traffic. I don’t think I’ve had anyone tailgate me in Texas yet and the trucks today were no different. I’m more comfortable letting my speed vary drastically going up steep hills when someone is not right behind me. It was a great drive. A few miles down was Luchenbach. It’s pretty much a couple buildings down by the river at a wide spot in the road made famous by Willie Nelson & Waylon Jennings. Not much was happening at noon on a Thursday.

Shortly thereafter, I turned off onto small, paved and striped county road. It was posted at 35 mph and had animal grates with signs stating “Loose Livestock”. The road was incredible - winding up and down along the side of the Guadeloupe River amongst ranches. There were deer grazing beneath the trees everywhere.

The road was hilly, not the smoothest, and definitely had some dips as well as cattle guards every quarter mile or so. With NO traffic but me, my sightseeing of the awesomeness and considering my demanding schedule I was going between 15 and 20 mph most of the way, occasionally slower. Shortly we came to a one lane bridge sign. The bridge didn’t come into view until rounding a corner into a drop-off towards a stream. When I saw the bridge I was in awe. It was a narrow one lane, had a cattle grate in the center, small curbs on either side and was close to the water. A lot runs through your mind with something like that in front of you but I slowed down and went for it, rolled slowly across and up the other side. What a great road was all that was going through my mind. It was less than 10 miles and after about 3 or four I did see a little traffic – one pick up with a farm trailer and a UPS truck. Came across a second one lane bridge a few miles later but this section of the road seemed to be more regularly traveled so it was more of a substantial structure.

Pulled into the next campground and found it to be appropriately named “Top of the Hill Park”. It’s a few miles outside the city but we’ll drive in tomorrow. Nice folks got me checked and we got setup. Spent the afternoon picking out pictures and finally updating the blog.

March 24 - Fredericksburg (War of the Pacific Musuem)

I asked about the ambulances and helicopter while at the office this morning. It was the husband of a couple in their 80’s who have been at the park all winter. He had a severe stroke. Apparently the wife doesn’t drive and when asked if there was anyone who could be called she said no, that it’s just the two of them. A local hospice like volunteer organization arranged to get her to the hospital. Sad situation.

The antique car rally was in downtown Fredericksburg today so I saw many of the cars again. They did not park together, instead were spread all over town.

Admiral Nimtz was born here which is why the Museum of the Pacific War ended up in the middle of Texas. Starting with the invasion of China by Japan, through every major military action of the Pacific, to the end of WWII they explain with large story boards, videos and interactive exhibits what went into the strategic decisions and outcome. At each exhibit there is typically a display of pertinent military artifacts. On the grounds there are many military relics, mainly large weapons. There is also a tribute to the presidents of the US who served in WWII. The ten consecutive presidents following the war had served. In a separate are a couple blocks away there is a recreation of a combat zone where recreations of battles are performed a few times a year.

After grabbing a bite to eat I took Sunny on a walk along a nature trail in the park. It crossed a stream then went alongside the reservoir upstream of a small dam. The banks were steep from the path to the water. At one point where the vegetation was not very thick Sunny decided she was going to the water. I called her back before she got in and she started to come but then started sliding backwards down the hill towards the water. I could see the slope didn’t get any flatter beneath the water and was trying to help her up by pulling on the leash. Her collar was dangerously close to sliding off and she wasn’t moving up or down. The water was probably 6 feet lower than the path so quickly but carefully got down to a point I could grab Sunny’s nape and pulled gave her a hand getting back up to the path. Crisis averted except she still wanted to swim. We headed back to the stream crossing and found a deep hole for her to play in for a while.
It’s great seeing clear water again! I noticed it a few days ago, in Austin I think, for the first time. No black water, no muddy water, just crystal clear spring water or runoff from rocky uplands which are slow to erode.

A storm was rolling in so we headed back. The clouds were wild but it was only a squall line so before the storm reached us we could already see the sun on the back side of the storm. Pretty cool. Winds came up and it rained hard for just long enough to make a bunch of mud!

March 23 - Fredericksburg (Enchanted Rock)

Up before dawn and short walk around campground. Talked with neighbor, coffee and headed out to the Enchanted Rock State Natural Area as I have been told the park closes for the day as soon as the small parking lot fills up. The ride there was great on twisty, hilly roads. The Enchanted Rock was amazing. It is a granite dome rising 450 feet above the surround ground. It is open and there is a path to the summit. I asked about taking Sunny and was told it’s a pretty rough climb, especially at the beginning from a roughness perspective then the remainder is smooth, sloped rock. We started out on the trails and went along the path until we had gained probably 50’ in elevation before I made the call to abandon the summit and take the path along the base which loosely follows a stream. It was a great walk and there were no other people on the trails we followed. Saw many small birds and walked right up on a white tail deer which stopped and stared us down for a minute or so before trotting off.

Early when I was checking in I had talked with an organizer (who has a ’31 model A Ford) of a weeklong classic car rally which was on its way to the Enchanted Rock. Knowing this and seeing some of the cars arriving when we started out, I arranged our walk to take us to the parking area where the 90 or so cars were and wandered through. Very nice cars from the late 20’s through the 60’s.

Just like at home, needing to be the center of attention, Sunny laid down right in parking lot road while I was talking to some folks. There was not enough traffic for it to be a problem but it was pretty funny as noted by a few passer-bys.

Needing to take care of some business, I tried to find an ATM which I could deposit some checks. The one I came across near the campground did not allow deposits at all. So we returned the camp.

At a trailer near the entrance were two ambulances and a fire truck. Shortly thereafter I saw a helicopter circling. Initially this seem unusual since we’re adjacent to an airport and I’m pretty used to the ghetto birds circling my neighborhood in Tampa, however there were very strong winds and then the helicopter landed about 500 feet from my trailer, in the park. Unfortunately, it was a life flight chopper and they brought one of the ambulances over, loaded up a patient and took off. I have not found out what happened.

About 1 pm, I discovered my cell phone was showing “extended network” and quit working. Since I’ve been using the cell phone tethered to my computer for internet access, I grabbed the laptop and headed into to town in search of an ATM and WIFI.

The campground host had told me during check in of a small coffee shop downtown with great breakfast and WIFI so I found a parking spot near there and fired up the computer. I was able to access their network and got the license renewed. My phone still won’t work so I Googled Verizon stores and got an address a few blocks away and drover there figuring they may have shut off my account because of the tethering. I arrived at the store and went in to find that Google failed me because the store was strictly a Sprint store, not Verizon. And they were busy. Realizing they were not going to be of any help and not wanting to wait to hear them tell me that I took off in search of and ATM.

I went to a drive through and it said out of service. Headed down the street to a walk up unit and it also was out of service. This one was next to a bank entrance so I went inside and discovered everyone’s cell phones and many land lines were out of service. This apparently effected the teller machines connections as well.

So being a little defeated on my plans but with no recourse I decided to hit the local visitors center and investigate the War of the Pacific Museum. Knowing it was already 2:30 and the museum closes at 5 I did not plan on making it there today any longer. I did pick up a bunch of pamphlets and guidebooks.

Went for a late lunch/early dinner since last night I discovered the town closes early. Found a place with an outdoor patio so Sunny got to sit with me. The server brought out a dog bowl and filled it with ice water while we were sitting down. I enjoyed a big slab of mahi mahi with mango salsa and fresh avocado on a bed of rice and asparagus.

Walked a few blocks downtown looking at the old buildings, shops and galleries. While walking we came across a vacant lot with a little grass Sunny seemed very interested in (hint hint) so we hung around there for a couple minutes in hopes of maybe discreetly taking care of business. Nothing but sniffin' going on so we kept walking.

The old buildings are mostly narrow so the first door was maybe 50 feet down into our advancing walk when right in the middle of the sidewalk, in front of the store door, Sunny suddenly half squats and pushes a turd out, followed by another, and finally a third all sitting tall right on the bricks. Thankfully they were firm, well formed and for the fact I’m in the habit of carrying a bag so we swooped them up with only three or four people laughing!

Talked with a neighbor back at the campground who’s from western Michigan and a rock hound.

March 22- Johnson City to Fredericksburg

Woke up to no heat, which didn’t surprise me. I am not using the auto switch valve so I know when one tank is empty. Went out to switch propane tanks and found frost on everything. It was a beautiful, cool, crisp morning. Got the heat back on, made coffee and wrote a little. Took Sunny on a walk to a scenic overlook near the camp. The trail was steep but not too rough except in one area where the path went down some large boulder steps and Sunny took a less than ideal path. She got turned backwards on the rocks and couldn’t push up hard enough with her hind legs on the smooth rock to stop from sliding/rolling backward down the rocks about 5 feet to the bottom. Once on the flatter ground, we brushed her off, she shook it off and was fine. The pictures is of a typical trail section, not where whe fell.

The overlook was of two small waterfalls and worth the walk. Made it back to the trailer, packed up and put Sunny in the truck. While doing so I found a tick on her. And then another. Thankfully, both came off easily.

The route I took brought me to the LBJ Ranch and the Texas White House, about 15 miles west of Johnson City. Near the visitors center they have a life since bronze statue of LBJ pointing to towards the Pedernales River, where he felt at home. They provide you with a CD for your driving tour which takes you though the ranch with periodic stops including his burial site in the family cemetery and culminating at the White House of which you can have a guided tour.

There is an oak tree estimated to be 450 years old near the front of the house. The area used as an office during the Presidency has been restored to the office. The living room, dining room and kitchen were also part of the tour. The house was only turned over to the park service in 2007 after Ladybird’s death.

The tour road is through fields which have longhorns grazing. I also saw three Blackbuck Antelope and several white tail deer.

We followed Texas Ranch Road 1 west until it joined 280. There are a lot of grape and peach fields. Made it into Fredericksburg and was shocked to see a bunch of people in the downtown area. It’s a Monday after all.

Found and checked into the Ladybird Johnson Municipal Park about 3 miles south of town. After setting up we headed into town for a few groceries and a quick tour before sunset. We found Cross Mountain on the north side of town which is a large limestone and marl hill on top of which is and has been as long as white men have been here a large cross. It was a pretty strenuous climb to the top but the view overlooking Fredericksburg and the surrounding valley was great.

Discovered when we got back to they roll up the walks early. Watched 24. I filled my camera's primary disk and the free space on my extra disc today so I spent some time copying, backing up and cleaning off them off.

March 21 - Austin to Johnson City

Got up and on the road relatively early because the forecast is for the strongest winds in the early afternoon. It was a windy drive but the trailer pulled fine. It’s obvious eh this is called “hill country” and it is beautiful terrain with great vistas to see across the valleys.

Arrived at the entrance to Pedernales Falls State Park and was surprised to discover three more miles of narrow winding, hilly road to get to the headquarters. Some of the dross road culverts have sluice gates on the downstream end which can be manually closed. I assume this is for flood control of some sort but it is unusual.

Since this is my first time visiting a Texas state park, I’m not sure what to expect. The campground is another mile past the headquarters and is great. Spaces are spread out with a lot of trees. The camp is in a valley and there is no cell phone service here at all. It is beautiful and quiet. Walked to a scenic overlook near the campground and talked with a few neighbors before heading into Johnson City.

On the drive to town, I was surprised that nearing the bottom of every small valley the road crossed there was a warning sign to watch for water over the road and then at the bottom of every hill beside the road there are flood depth gauges standing 5’ above the road surface. I guess they are serious about the potential for flooding! I found it a little strange that at these crossing there appeared to only be one or two small culverts so the road crossings are designed to flood.

Found the visitors center for the LBJ childhood home in Johnson City and took a tour of the 1901 home. They also have original buildings and a homestead from the mid 1800’s open for walking tours. I saw my first longhorn steer and they are BIG.

Grabbed dinner at a place recommended by someone at the park called the Silver K Café. Had honey pecan glazed fried chicken, mashed potatoes and green beans. Good down home cooking.

Saw our fist tumble weed blowing across the road on our way back to the camp. Between that and the longhorns we’re surely in Texas!

When we returned to the park, we drove to the parking area near the falls since it is a mile or so from the campground. Sunny and I walked to the scenic overlook of the falls and discovered they have steps and navigable granite slabs down to the river. The falls are basically huge, sloping granite slabs, almost like table tops with the lower two legs removed, which the water flows across. We took the steps to the bottom and wandered to the river. It took all of about two seconds before Sunny jumped in. I kept her in a small ‘inlet’ area off the main channel because the water is very swift near the falls. After swimming for just a couple minutes, Sunny tried to lead me away. Instead I kind of hung out and she got into the water again, cross the small inlet and started climbing the gravel slope on the opposite side towards some folks enjoying the view. I called her back and she turned, ran down the slope and dove into the water. She reminded me of the long jump dog competitions I’ve seen on TV except the move was executed by an old dog who was feeling young at the time. We played around down by the water a for a little while and Sunny totally wanted to run and explore. Knowing we had the steps to go back up, I didn’t let her expend too much energy on the beach. We made it back up the hill to the parking area and Sunny was clearly tired. Her back left leg was kind of vibrating from muscle spasms. Not that she was complaining since she wanted to keep going, but not wanted to wear her out I put her in the truck and drove around the park before getting back to the camp.

Sunny still wanted to walk more but knowing the condition of her leg I made the decision to stay.

After dark I stepped out and was amazed at the night sky. So many stars and satellites were visible. I remember when I was a kid how rare it was to see a satellite passing overhead. They’re not so rare anymore. Predictions are for freezing temperatures tonight.

March 20 - Austin

Cold rain 1”, Big rain and wind storm rolled in about 6 am. Decided to take advantage of the wet morning and get some laundry done. Was slightly surprised when halfway through getting the laundry started I discovered someone sleeping under the back counter in the laundry room. Towards the end of the loads another guy was waking up the sleeper. They are students in Dallas camping for SXSW and got water in their tent during the storm so he escaped to the warmth of the building.

Spent some time researching my upcoming route and next steps. I heard there were gusts up to 39 MPG here today and it’s predicted to be still be windy tomorrow so I’m not going to go very far but want to get on down the road.

One of my trip planning tools (which I may have previously mentioned) is a book my brother sent me before I left. It’s “120 Scenic Drives In America” by Readers Digest. I have already driven portions of several of the routes and there is another from Austin to San Antonio.

Another site I checked up on, being in Texas and all, was "Diners, Drive-ins and Dives". Turns out the place I ate last night, Hill's Cafe, was on it. Another was a place I was already considering for dinner tonight called the Magnolia Café. Seemded like it was meant to be so I headed there. The atmosphere was nothing special but the shrimp enchiladas in corn tortillas were pretty darn good.

March 19 - Austin

Sunny and I headed out on a somewhat questionable (due to her hind legs) adventure to Mt. Bonnell which is the highest point in the City of Austin. The reviews indicated there are some steps to the top then a sloping path back down. When we arrived and started up the steps, Sunny was sort of hoping with her hind legs together pushing her rear end up to the next level. Looked a little funny but worked for her. A few steps up she went to the slope along the side of the steps and made her way more gracefully for a ways. There were probably 200 steps so a few times she came back onto them and did fine. At the top the views were spectacular. There is a smaller, slightly lower observation are from which you can see in opposite direction. The path to this had a few steps and many relatively large steps on natural stones. Sunny decided to show off her agility going up and down them. She did surprisingly well. We took a water break to cool down back at the top before walking the longer, sloping path back to the parking area. Of course after all the exercise, she had to take a dump on the path on the way down… Always finding the best places she is.

We made our way across Austin to find the Texas State Cemetery. Parking was challenging and since sunny was with me (and I’m not about to let her walk around in a state cemetery) we drove through stopping to walk to specific makers of interest. The only other car that came through while I was there was a State Trooper. Although not as large as I had imagined, the cemetery had some impressive monuments and a large civil war veteran section. There are at least two veterans of the Revolutionary War buried here. Also there is a 9-11 tribute with actual steel from the twin towers.

After taking Sunny back, I went to a place called Hills Café for dinner before heading downtown to wander. Earlier on our way out of town I saw a parking lot which I wanted to go back to. Unfortunately it was full and I got routed into the party area due to closed and one way streets. It was pretty much grid lock for 20 minutes or so before I was able to score a parking space for $10 in a ramp.

The biggest name band I heard while in Austin was Cheap Trick. They were playing by the river at large outdoor area for free. Also by the river was a tribute to Stevie Ray Vaughn which I wanted to see so I walked that way. By wandering along the river trail, I was able to get behind the stage and see the band briefly. Talked to a former Michigander who moved to Austin 19 years ago and loves it. He pointed me in the direction f the SRV tribute by the river. It is a life size bronze statue of him standing and leaning on guitar facing south. On the ground behind him is a metal cutout ‘shadow’ of the statue except in the ‘shadow’ SRV is playing the guitar. It was too dark to get any quality photos…

Wandered the streets for a while taking in the sights and sounds before finding the truck and navigating out of downtown.

March 18 - Austin

Made my way to the Lyndon B. Johnson Library and Museum on the campus of the University of Texas in Austin. Saw the Longhorn Stadium on the way. The Library and Museum is a ten story building but only three stories are open to the public. The other floors are the library. They do have an arboretum where, along one wall, you can see a sample of several floors of the archived document storage. There is also a recreation of LBJ’s oval office on the tenth floor. There are a few cases of gifts and artifacts all of which are impressive in their own way.

Walked around downtown and got a BBQ at Stubb’s. Heard many more bands and people before heading back.

March 17- College Station to Austin

Rain stopped overnight so we woke to a beautiful sunrise and took a walk around the park. Not the nicest place to stay to say the least. I suppose the 25 or so mailboxes near the entrance with space numbers on them was a sign. I never once interacted with any park staff in person, only prior to arrival on the phone. Weird.

With SXSW going on in Austin, I made reservations and got on the road. The drive was great and we made it to the park with no issues. We were greeted at the gate by a host in a golf cart and led directly to our site before even checking in. Told us to get set up and stop by the office anytime before 6.

Took care of setting up, got registered and headed to downtown Austin to see what was going on. Found pay parking without much trouble. It was nearing sunset so I walked towards the Congress Street bridge which is the home to a huge bat colony. Every night at sunset they come swarming out on the hunt for dinner. I got to the bridge and was surprised to see how many people had gathered for the exodus. There are even tour boats in the river just off the side of the bridge. There definitely were a lot of bats that took flight in the few minutes I watched.

Walked back towards the area where the biggest concentration of activity was, on 6th Street. They close several blocks downtown to all but foot traffic during the festival so I wandered the streets. Essentially every other door was a place with a band playing, many of which you could hear from the street. It was a great time with an extremely diverse crowd. There’s a local campaign to “Keep Austin Weird” – well they have definitely have something to “keep”. It’s a unique place in a great way. Wonderful parks and pathways along the river downtown and the city is definitely in “hill country”. Friendly locals. Nice place.

March 16 - College Station

Rainy day. Went to office to pay for another night, no one was there so I used the drop box.

Took Sunny with me to the campus of Texas A&M for a big walk around campus (with an umbrella). Put the dog in the truck and visited the George H.W. Bush Library and Museum which is located on the campus. Very interesting museum. Access to the library is by reservation only, you cannot take any paper of any sort into the library area and a caretaker provides you with the requested documents, paper and pencil. This is to ensure that nothing is removed from or, as importantly I learned, ADDED to the archives. A lot of gifts to the president from both foreign and domestic sources were displayed along with a very through history of GHWB’s life and service to the country.

In a courtyard of the museum, there is a large statue with bronzes horses running through the Berlin wall representing freedom.

After the museum, we drove around the campus on a little tour and found a post office. Rain never really let up all night.

March 15 - Beaumont to College Station

To avoid Houston and see some sights, I headed north toward the Big Thicket National Wildlife Preserve. Met some nice people at the visitor’s center including a metal art professor and two friends who were just heading out for an overnight backpacking trip. I considered going along (I have my gear) but the trip was 15 miles in two days, which I’m afraid would be too much for Sunny. We walked the first part of the trail into the thicket with them before taking the loop back to the parking lot.

Travels went well and it was interesting to get into hills that were more substantial than a man made bridge rising over a river. Called the park I was hoping to stay at and discovered they were full. Asked for a recommendation of another place, called there and reserved a space. Arrived about 5:30 and checked in without seeing anyone, just using and envelope and drop box. The park appears to be mostly permanent residents and they put me in a pace that was only about 25 feet long so the truck has to go along side the trailer once in place. Neighbors were not around until late in the evening and pretty much kept to themselves

March 14 - St. Martinsville to Beaumont, Texas

Looking at the map, feeling like getting some miles under my wheels and getting out of Louisiana today I decided to take I-10. It was not a lot of fun traveling with trucks and cross winds. Note to self - stay off expressways when possible. Arrived at Gulf Coast RV resort in Beaumont Texas mid afternoon. Sun was beating down and it was hot! Got set up and put the awing out to have some shade to sit in while researching travel brochures.

Talked briefly with neighbors who had just moved into their RV full time after some unfortunate life events. They were having power problems and were clueless as to a solution. I offered a couple suggestions and they got the power back on. After walking Sunny I was getting ready to head out and find dinner when they neighbor came over with a plate of BBQ ribs, chicken, baked beans and potato salad as a thank you for the suggestions. The BBQ ribs were great.

March 13 - St. Martinsville

St. Martinsville is famous as the place where the characters in Longfellow’s Evangeline met. In downtown there is the Evangeline oak, which is reported to be the most photographed tree in the country.

The first Louisiana state park was the Evangeline-Longfellow Park where they have a museum and old homestead. While talking with one of the employees, who was dressed in period appropriate clothing, he expressed that his may be the best job because everyone who is there to see the park is there because they want to be so everyone is happy and friendly. Makes a lot of sense.

There was a local craft show/farmers market at the park and I spoke with a couple vendors who had bird houses and some nice wood boxes, bowls and turned vases.

March 12 - Morgan City to St. Martinsville

Up early and it was a bit chilly but nice for a early morning stroll. The sunrise over the lake was beautiful. I had heard about a 106’ tall bell tower nearby on the lakeshore so went and found it. Very interesting history. They have pictures of both the bell tower construction in progress as well as the bells themselves being cast. Talking with the host at the visitor’s center, I learned that they have no one who knows how to play the bells anymore so they only play pre-recorded rings now.

After leaving the bell tower, I swung through downtown to fuel up. Got back and packed up to get on the road.

The route I chose to travel is one which is listed in a book my brother gave me before the trip called 120 scenic drives in America. The road basically followed the Bayou and many large old homes were visible along the way.

I arrived in St. Martinsville and had trouble finding the campground so I called. I looked at the map and needed to turn around. Unfortunately I was on fairly narrow roads with open ditches and short drive culverts. I drove a little ways until I found a slightly wider drive in an area with good sight distance and threw it in reverse in an attempt to push the trailer into the drive and turn around. I was able to do it without incident and made our way to the campground. The place is not only a campground but a fishing pond which they stock with catfish.

After setting up, I met a neighbor and took sunny for a walk. Word had it that no gators had been seen in over a year around the ponds. After walking about halfway around the ponds, Sunny wanted to swim. The banks were too steep and we were in the area where people fish so I wouldn’t let her. We walked some more and came upon a pond with shallower banks she could walk out so I let her jump in. She proceeded to swim along the shore probably 50’, then headed towards the middle of the pond, then back towards me and along the bank again before finally getting out. She hasn’t swum like that in several years! When we got back to the camp she was acting like a dog 5 years younger, playing and dancing around. It was great to see.

I had received a recommendation for dinner and Cajun music at a place called Mulate’s in Beaux Bridge. It was very interesting to see the large, family style tables and people gathered for dinner. Shortly after arriving the band started and immediately a couple was on the dance floor two stepping. A few more songs and the dance floor was packed. Of course I don’t think there was a hair on the floor that wasn’t white but there were younger people in the place and suspect that as the hour gets later the more experienced folks head out and the younger crowd takes over. It’s obviously a very family oriented culture.

March 11 - Morgan City

Walked sunny in the morning. Started talking with the neighbor when we returned. Shortly thereafter her husband got back from checking his lines with two big baskets full of catfish. The proceeded to skin and fillet the live fish, cleaned and rinsed the meat, showed me how they batter the fish with mustard, salt pepper and fish fry and cooked up a big batch. I can honestly say it’s been a long time since I’ve eaten fish that fresh. Since the fish were only filleted, some of them wer literally still breathing in the bucket while we were eating it. Talk about tasty. After packaging the remaining fish, they gave me 5 half pound packs for the freezer.

In the afternoon I went to the Rig Museum. It is the actual first offshore drilling platform which is now in the water on the bank of Morgan City. The rig is named Mr. Charlie and was fascinating. It is now a school as well. Students can come and live on the platform while taking classes in order to get a feel for the lifestyle, before being ‘trapped’ off shore. The guy that bought the rig in 1993 was my tour guide and is also a civil engineer. It was a fascinating tour.

The town is protected from flood waters by what is known as the great wall. It’s a 21 foot high flood wall running along onside of Main Street. They put a walkway along the top where great views of the river and town are available. Several movies have been filmed in town, most recently scenes from the Curious Case of Benjamin Button.

After grabbing some groceries I discovered I had locked my keys in the truck along with Sunny. No problem, I’ll just call Onstar. I’ve only used it once in the past three years but it worked as advertised. When I spoke with the Onstar representative, they could not communicate with my truck and therefore wanted to send roadside assistance to unlock. A few minutes I received the automated call from roadside assistance indicating the locksmith would be there in 3 hours and 25 minutes! I understand I’m in southern Louisiana, but over three hours? The passenger side window was cracked so I kept trying different items to lift the door lock. Finally, I got a pry bar with a hook on the end which I was able to open the lock with and get on the road.

When I got back to the campground, the neighbor was pulling back in from checking his lines again and hollered for me to come over if I wanted to see a big catfish. Well he had one and it was 42” long and weighed 45 pounds. It was the biggest I’ve seen in person and interesting to see him bleed and fillet it all while hanging from a tree. I’m sure I’ve never seen a fish big enough that it needed to be hung to be filleted.

The evening cooled down just enough to windows open at night. Sunny and I both slept great.

March 10 - New Orleans to Morgan City

There was a thick fog hanging in the campground in the morning. Got around and headed to the welding shop. Stopped and got a new bolt and saw a redheaded woodpecker up close and personal. Spray painted the fresh welding and put it all back together.

I took off for Morgan City in southwest Louisiana. Travel was rough on the Louisiana roads. Had some cross winds and just plain old roads through some of the small towns and along the bayou. Saw many houseboats and it is clear that the fishing and oil industries play a huge part in the local economy.

The park is alright with friendly neighbors. I got a fairly tight spot requiring me to back between two trees. The park has a small marina which some house boats are stored in. We walked around and visited the waterfront. There are a ton of birds. Used the AC for a little while in the evening. Took a quick tour of downtown Morgan City and came across several impressive historic homes.

March 9 - Crossing Lake Ponchartrain

Got up to indications of a storm coming so got the trailer hooked up, visited the neighbors until the rain came and went inside the trailer to wait out the storm. It was a hard rain but only last an hour or so. Once it stopped all the birds came out, most prominently a lot of robins and cardinals.

Got on the road towards the north side of Lake Pontchartrain. The logical route crossed the Mississippi on the Howie P. Long Bridge which I had not yet crossed. It was two narrow lanes in each direction. After the fact, I learned the bridge was constructed in 1932 when cars were a little narrower than my trailer. Slow and steady (and maybe a little ‘taking my half out of the middle’) and we made it. Next came the 23 mile causeway/bridge crossing the lake. Pretty stiff cross winds but the trailer pulled fine.

Arrived at Fountainbleau State Park and discovered a problem with the spare tire carrier on the rear of the trailer. Upon inspection the head sheared off one of the four bolts holding the bracket to the trailer. After removing the bike carrier and spare tire, the steel mount was showing signs of fracture as well as the bolt. I headed out in hopes of finding a welding shop still open at 4:30 but got hung up watching deer on the way out of the park then arrived at the Abita Brewing Company before finding a shop.

I stopped in and had a great almond encrusted catfish dinner veggies and smashed potatoes with an Abita IPA. I got a referral for a welder and headed back the campground. There were a lot of insects which sounded like crickets singing in the woods.

March 8 - New Orleans

Out of clean socks and with access to the park’s free GE font load washer and dryers, this morning was time. Visited with campground folk at the ‘washateria’ which what they call laundromats down here.

It's still a little strange having manual gates across the dike. Here's a picture of one half of one near the campground.

Early afternoon (when people would be around as it was rumored to be a sketchy area) went to find the famous St. Louis Cemetery No.1. It was very interesting and a little eerie but safe enough. I learned how they re-used or added additional remains to tombs. One estimate is that as many as 100,000 people have been entombed in that one block area! Wandered down to Café du Monde for their special powdered sugar covered beignets.

Feeling the need to get some seafood, I found a small owner operated place called Westwego Seafood. They had boiled crawfish on special so I asked some locals how to go about eating such a thing. Not difficult but can be messy. I got a pound and sat down at the counter with work-traveler named Jesica from Georgia who was also enjoying crawfish for the first time.

March 7 - New Orleans

Walked to canal and was amazed to discover manually operated gates on the flood control wall which allow cars to pass to the river side of the wall. Obviously these gates must be closed by hand if a flood is expected. Wow. There’s also a huge pump station located in the park to lift flood waters over the wall. From talking to locals, the station here is a small one. Wow again.
A neighbor, Louisiana native, invited me to join them form some Jambalaya they made at camp for lunch. Very tasty.

Headed to see the Lower Ninth Ward where the worst of the Katrina damage was reported to be. On my was exposed to some additional ethnic diversity – a minivan came along side me that was blaring some sort of Muslim sounding music very loud and had a large sticker on the rear window written in Islamic text. It was a middle aged woman driving with a couple younger kids in the back seat. Got into the lower 9th ward and saw a many block area of missing, destroyed and re-built homes. There was a strange traffic jam on the small torn up streets in the area of the environmentally friendly houses constructed by the foundation Brad Pitt is involved with. I overheard someone say that Spike Lee was a block over filming something and there was a large group of people gathered together waving flags. That may explain the sports car in the picture.

The destruction was somewhat shocking. Amazing the power water can have. I learned the original breach of the dike protecting the area was caused by a run away barge that broke loose.

Drove to the Garden District, found a parking spot and Sunny & I went on a walking tour of the area. Lots of beautiful old houses with ornate iron work. Saw the Lafayette Cemetery No. 1, which has the typical New Orleans above ground graves, but the gates were locked since it was Sunday.

Heading back across the river on the bridge, I ran into a traffic jam. Pretty interesting to sit on top of the bridge over the river. As I got to the far side of the bridge the cause of the traffic jam was a wrecked minivan laying on it’s side. I saw a sticker on the rear window which told me it was the same van I had seen a couple hours before….

Traveling along the expressway through Gretna I saw a cemetery which I thought I had read about so I backtracked to find it. Stopped, walked around and took pictures. Turns out it was the Hook and Ladder cemetery located in Gretna. Very interesting. Headed back to the campground and caught just a glimpse of the white tails of a couple swamp rabbits.