March 16: Lake O' The Pines & Cypress Springs Lake

Our day in Longview was a day of running around. We did laundry, tried to do banking but they don't have a Bank of America, got the head light replaced in the Crossfire, ate at Cheddars and this took almost all day. Our campsite was really pretty as have been all the Corps of Engineer campgrounds.






We're now at Wayne and Sharol's although Sharol is in Wichita right now. It's been really rainy here but I hear the weather in Wichita is expected to be worse. Doing laundry here at Wayne's and eating leftovers - both his and ours. The sprinkler running in the yard is actually the septic system running out clean water - pretty cheap lawn watering system.



This was how Larry and Wayne spent the afternoon. Hooking up a new DVD/VHS box to the old system - but making it new by eliminating the old DVD box and another box which was the VHS. The hardest part was keeping track of which of the half dozen remotes actually did the work required to make the TV and satelite work. It was really quite funny at one point. They had the TV turned up loud and both of them yelling to be heard over it. I sat back and was laughing behind my hand wishing Sharol was here to witness all this. I finally took the controls from Wayne's hand and turned it down. Amazing!!! Sharol - the picture is much better - you'll like it. They're still in there yelling Video 1 and Video 2 at each other. I think it'll be OK, Sharol - I think. What could go wrong!

We'll leave in the morning for Oklahoma - hope the weather cooperates. Sharol called to let us know that Wichita is expecting 6" of snow tonight or tomorrow. Hope it doesn't move thru Oklahoma and that it's all cleared up by the time we get to Wichita.

March 22: Days of Rest

Yesterday and today, we hung around camp. Watched several NCAA basketball games and drove into town for a Subway sandwich.








Because of the area we're in, the KU game was not going to be shown and we had stayed here another day just so we could watch KU play (plus the Lady Vols will be playing tonight also). So I got out the computer and found CBS Sports on-line and watched the KU game thru that medium. The auxiliary fan conked out so Larry had to re-wire it -- the switch was broken. Then I was able to watch basketball on the computer again.







After the KU game, we went for a short walk on a 4-wheel trail that runs around the three ponds we're camped by. Didn't want you all to think that Larry and I just tear off across the country looking for trails that take us into the back woods. Check out this photo and you'll see how far away from civilization we were today.




Tomorrow we're leaving for Lake O' The Pines just north of Longview, TX. The next time you hear from me will probably be Tuesday when we go into town for prescriptions and do some banking. Probably have to latch onto some motels wi-fi again. At this point in time (and that's always subject to change) we will probably be back in Wichita by March 31st or April 1st. We probably will start out camping at Lake Afton and see what happens with getting the trailer sold.

March 20: Cane River Plantation Trail

Cane River National Heritage Area in northwestern Louisiana is a largely rural, agricultural landscape known for its historic plantations, its distinctive Creole architecture, and its multi-cultural legacy. Historically this region lay at the intersection of French and Spanish realms in the New World. Today it is home to a unique blend of cultures, including French, Spanish, African, American Indian, and Creole (straight from www.caneriverheritage.org if you want more information). It was truly a unique drive. There were thousands of acres of land that grow cotton, pecan orchards, cattle pastures, corn soybeans and grain sorghum. But cotton was and still is King.



Oaklawn Plantation was constructed in the 1830's and sits at the end of the third longest oak lane in Louisiana. It is privately owned so there was no getting out and walking about.



Magnolia Plantation House was the one plantation we were going to tour - however, it was closed today. I did take a photo of the wild Wisteria growing up into the tree beside the house. This plantation is the largest in the area. It didn't look that large; maybe the size was based on all the out building still sitting around the property. The home does have 27 rooms and a Catholic Chapel.




St. Augustine Catholic Church and Cemetery was founded in 1803. It is the first Roman Catholic church established by and for people of color in the U.S. This is the third church built on this site.



We ended up at Melrose Plantation. This home was established by a family of free people of color around the time of the Louisiana Purchase. This became an artist colony in the 20th century.






This bedroom was a guest room and the lopsided chair was specially built for a lady guest that was slightly deformed. When she sat in the chair, she could sit straight up. There was a rolling pin bed in this house too but I didn't take a photo.



This out building had 14" walls and a 12' wide eve. This was to keep the sun from shining on the walls. It was about 20 deg. cooler inside and stays about that ratio all summer long. The posts that support the corners were only added right before Katrina and Rita came ashore. Normally the eve is held up with 3 beams radiating out from each corner of the building. It is thought that it was used as a store house.



Clementine Hunter was a field hand and later a cook for this plantation. As artists started coming for extended visits, she decided she could paint from the oils they left behind. She began to record the people, life, and scenes of Cane River in her bright primitive style and soon attracted the attention of a number of collectors. Clementine’s national recognition was evidenced by exhibitions at the Museum of Modern Art in New York and the New Orleans Museum of Art before her death in 1988 at age 101.

Her colorful murals surround the second story of the above African House. This painting was in one corner of that room. It was of wash day - always Monday. She wasn't too impressed with men and always showed them lazing around. You can see one in the door way and one on the banks of the Cane River fishing. Clementine pictured herself painting in the upper right hand side. You can see the women washing, rinsing, ironing, sweeping and bring a tray of drinks probably to the guy in the doorway. Her painting of women picking cotton leaves out men. She felt that the women picked the cotton clean while the men were just in a hurry to get it done and over and left too much still on the plants. She also didn't like the son of Melrose who inherited the home when his daddy pass away. Nor did she like preachers. In her paintings, she would show preachers and the son as being about the size of small children in relation to everyone else in the picture. As far as I could tell, she mostly didn't like men. She was married 3 times. Not sure what happened to them.

All of these plantations were owned by Creoles who had earned their way free and eventually became slave owners themselves. At one time, 18,000 acres were owned by 10 families--all brothers and sisters. Only 16,000 acres are currently in the hands of their descendants.

On a sadder note, when we returned to our camper, Virginia Hayes called to let us know that her husband and our good friend, Kenny, had passed away. He was riding his Harley and apparently had a heart attack. They are in Apache Junction, AZ and she now has her kids and several friends with her to help get the rig and Kenny back to Wichita. Kenny took us fishing on Texoma and showed us how to catch lots of strippers. We loved sitting around the campfire in the evening with Virginia and Kenny and all of their friends while we were at Texoma.

We met Kenny and Virginia at Lake Afton when Larry turned too sharp under too low of a tree. We jammed the a/c unit into a tree and the jet ski trailer jack knifed into the rear bumper of the trailer. Kenny came out of his camper (probably because of all the noise), put a jack under the jet ski hitch and made me stand back while it all came apart. Then they both guided me out from under the tree - this was all in the dark of night. This was the same time frame that Larry had his back surgery and Kenny and Virginia offered to check in on him while I was at work. A year later we ran into them again at Lake Afton and showed him the Crossfire that Larry had traded the jet ski for. Kenny's words were "Ya shoulda bought a Harley." He was a great guy and we will miss him.

March 19: Downtown Natchitoches

Historic downtown Natchitoches was our goal today. We stopped at the visitor's center to get our walking map and headed out. It was about a 2 mile walk but we cut it short about 1/2 mile by not going to Fort St. Jean Batiste. I have determined that Natchitoches is an Indian name so if we go to the local Indian Cultural Center, I'll inquire about how it's pronounced and a story I heard about two Indian brothers that this town was named after and the other was Nacogdoches in Texas.

The whole area was lined with hundreds of pots of tulips of every color - some double tulips too. Lots of hanging baskets of pansies. As you can see, the architecture is the same as at the French Quarter in New Orleans.





The first home I took a photo of was the Prudhomme-Rouquier House. It was about a block from the downtown area. Built about 1790, it was the largest home in town. Tours were by appointment so we didn't go inside.






This home is the famous Steel Magnolia House/Taylor House. It was the primary location of the 1989 movie Steel Magnolias. Today it is a bed and breakfast. It was about two more blocks down from the above home.




The American Cemetery was not very good for driving thru (I felt like we were 4 wheeling in the Crossfire) and there were signs posted that you couldn't park. So I just snapped a photo out the window of the dogwoods with a stone in front. The cemetery was established early in the 18th century. The oldest marker dates to the late 1700's but we didn't find it. Also, this is the cemetery where Shelby from Steel Magnolias was buried.




The Roque House was built around the time of the Louisiana Purchase. It has no nails and was built by a freedman of color. The house was lived in until 1941 and was named after that occupant, Madame Aubert Roque. It was moved here from its' original location.







Another picture of the beautiful Azaleas blooming all over in this state. They grow like wild weeds. I also am seeing Wisteria growing like wild vines--blooming out of cedar trees and pine trees.





As we told you yesterday, we did sit on a hard bench and cheer on WSU and KU. They were up against Northwestern and University of Central Oklahoma. The WSU girls got beaten once by UCO, but that was the only time I saw WSU loose a race. I don't think I saw KU win any. This is a slow sport. We waited about 20 to 30 minutes between heats. Next time I'm taking a book. In this photo, WSU men are in the lead, followed by KU and if you look closely on the left you'll see what looks like a black stick in the side - that's a UCO oar.


I included the video because it had all the KU kids yelling in the background. They'd already lost but the kids cheered them on anyway.



Tomorrow we're heading for the Cane River Road to do the plantation tour. Only three are open so that will cut down on Larry's misery.

March 18: Natchitoches, LA.

Another big 1 1/2 hr. drive and we land in Natchitoches, LA. I have been pronouncing this wrong (along with many other people) for all my life. It is pronounced Nac a tish. I'm anxious to hear from my French speaking friends to get a real French pronunciation of this one. The locals seem to thinks it's a Louisiana thing - may not be the original way to say it.

Natchitoches is the odlest permanent settlement in the Louisiana Purchase. It was established in 1714. It was originally an outpost on the Red River to trade with the Spanish in Mexico. The sucess of trading with the local Indians, prompted leaders to establish a trading post here and named it after the local Natchitoches Indians. The Cane River Lake is where the Red River once ran. Over the course of years of normal current and flooding, the Red River changed it's course and bypassed Natchitoches. Northwestern State University is located here, too.

After we got set up and established TV and Wi-Fi - YEA!!! we drove into town for lunch. Ended up at a place called the Chuck Wagon. It was a converted Wendy's and served basic American food. Larry ate fried chicken and I had a chicken fried steak. The big deal was in a closed off room there were a lot of students. Larry asked about them and we found out that the KU rowing team is down here for spring break training on the Cane River. We chatted with them (I of course informed them that I was K-State but they were OK with that) and we all went our way. We decided to drive downtown to see the area and got out to walk. Found WSU is also here. We visited with them and found that there is going to be a scrimmage tomorrow between several schools. Larry and I will wear our WSU t-shirts tomorrow and go cheer them on. Small world.

Tonight as I sit here updating three days of my blog on Wi-Fi (after days without it - I'm just really, really excited to have it back) and watching TV (yea!), I can hear frogs around the small pond behind our camper. Probably have to close up the windows tonight to block them out. We're also camped behind a truck stop so I'm hoping that won't be too noisy.

We will be seeing several more plantations. I'll try not to bore you with too many photos - Larry says once you've seen one, you've seen them all. But I enjoy the history of them - and the beautiful landscaping. The downtown area looks like the French Quarter in New Orleans and there are several restaurants to try out before that diet plan goes into effect. Larry's anxious to try real Creole/Cajun food - maybe not crawdads - but the other stuff. I'll be looking for fried shrimp or hamburger steaks - maybe another chicken fry. Meat Pie is the big food around here so I'll try one of those. And I'm sure the desserts will be unique too.

In case you didn't notice, I've updated three days, so go back and check out the other two if you started here.

March 17: Hiking

We went hiking today. It's hard for Larry to get me out for a walk around the camp ground but I can't wait to go hiking. This was a 2 mile walk along a path called Eagle's Nest Trail. It followed a small part of land that juts out into the lake. We had a hand drawn map and a list of flora and fauna we'd see. However, there were no pictures so we had to guess at what we were looking at. Fortunately I knew some of it but not nearly enough. I saw a weed that had a sign that said "Do Not Touch". Looked to me like a weed that I'd yank out of my garden in a heart beat. Read my flier and determined that it was a Bull Nettle. It's needles sting when touched. It was only about 3 inches high but already looked bad. Never did figure out why they could put a sign on this weed and in two places where leaf cutter ants crossed the path but couldn't identify the trees and shrubs along the way. I determined one tree was a sassafras tree and we sampled the leaf. Tasted like sage. We both hoped it wasn't a fatal sample.

The eagle's nest had been damaged in hurricane Rita so it was no longer used. But it was a really nice hike. Found lots of stuff to take pictures of:

Well - I don't know what I took pictures of. This flower on the left smelled a little like a honeysuckle. The one on the right was very delicate. This white bell was about 1/2" long and notice the little bit of pink flower up closer to the leave.





This is the one of thousands of dog woods in bloom in the area. On the right are a couple of bigger ones and grew along side the tall pine trees.








This beautiful butterfly finally stood still long enough for me to get a picture of it. I couldn't even find the lizard in my camera until Larry got a stick and made it move. It did seem to want to stop and pose for a long time. Larry finally tried to catch it but it was way too fast for him.




This is the visitor's center. It had a view out the back of the lake that was just beautiful. It was closed today - only open on Saturday's so we didn't get in on any informative seminars.





This state park is very new but we had to jack up the wheels on the right side about 5". Our neighbor said he couldn't believe that a contractor didn't already own or wouldn't spend the $12 required to purchase a level to make level camp sites. The bottom step came to Larry's knee. We have another step that we put on the ground but it still made for a big step for me. There is also no TV, cable or wi-fi. Larry played a lot of Hearts on the computer and I got a lot of reading done. A night or two without news and computer isn't bad but that's about all I could handle. Especially with the NCAA March Madness coming up. Gotta get to TV and Wi-Fi somewhere.

I have also scanned about half of my slides I brought with me. The last group "Grimes" has as many slides as the others put together. I also have Larry's slides that he has from his previous life to scan but he has to sort them first.

Tomorrow we head for Natchitoches and a private camp ground WITH TV AND WI-FI.

March 16: Toledo Bend Lake/Alexandria, LA.

We pulled into Toledo Bend about 1 1/2 hrs. after leaving Lake Charles. We're working our way north slowly. Toledo Bend opened up in 1969 and has become a huge fishing lake. There was a tournament going on while we were there.

In my younger years, I grew up in a great neighborhood probably typical of any neighborhood in the 50's. I grew up with boys - no girls my age anywhere close. I leaned to play ball - any kind of ball; I leaned to love snakes, lizards, frogs (never did get close to spiders), hide & seek and kick the can. The kids I grew up with were great. All we wanted to do was play outside (mostly some kind of game involving a ball), ride our bikes and run over to the river to play there. We dug holes (forts) in the railroad that ran behind out house and killed many an enemy playing "army" or "cowboys and Indians".

One of my good buds, Norman, lived in New Orleans. He is now moving to Treasurer Island, Florida on the coast. His home in New Orleans was flooded by Katrina but he's rebuilt it and sold it. He and his wife, Sharon, have been in Europe for 7 months but returned to New Orleans to visit Sharon's relatives. They are now on their way to Kansas to visit relatives. We met them in Alexandria LA. We ate lunch at Ryan's and had a great visit. Talked about old times and our current situations. Now we can only hope that someday, we'll get to visit them again in their new home on the east coast.

We got into Alexandria about 9:30. We had lots of time to kill so we looked up the Chrysler dealer to replace a head light on the Crossfire. The only dealer in town did not have a Crossfire trained tech so they couldn't touch it. We're driving the car only during the day until we can find an authorized dealer. Lord knows how long that will take.

To kill time, we went to the mall and ate a small lunch. Then drove to Kent Plantation House. This home is listed in the National Register of Historic Places and is an authentic Creole plantation house built around 1796 prior to the Louisiana Purchase. Standing on the original land grant from the King of Spain to Pierre Baillio II, it offers a glimpse of the French, Spanish and American cultures that have influenced Louisiana. All three flags fly over the entrance. Also, Spain only gave land grants to Catholics so we know that Baillio and family were Catholic which was apparent by some of the furnishings in the house. The picture on the left is of the front court yard--looking out to the area where I took the picture on the right.

The plantation house is one of the oldest standing structures in the state of Louisiana. Together with its outbuildings, it preserves the homestead of a successful Creole family typical of a Louisiana colonial era working plantation. Alexandria was burned to the ground by those "damn Yankees" in 1864. This home and a Catholic church were the only two structures left standing. The home owner kept his family and a few slaves in the home to keep the soldiers from burning it down. Plus the home was along way from Alexandria at the time. The Catholic church was left standing because the priest stood on the front steps with a shotgun in his hands. Apparently God was on his side.

Construction of the house was completed in 1800.

The house, originally only six rooms, is typical of Louisiana colonial construction. It is raised off the ground on brick pillars to protect it from the flood waters of Bayou Rapides. All of the materials used to build the house came from the land: the clay used for the brick pillars, cypress for its sills and beams, and mud, Spanish moss and animal hair for its bousillage walls--sort of a French stucco. It was then white washed.

In 1842, Robert C. Hynson purchased the house from Baillio heirs. He had come to Louisiana from Kent County, Maryland and the house was named for that area. He added the two square wings on each side of the gallery.

This is the dining room. I took this for all you antique geeks out there. I knew you would love the buffet on the side with secret drawers and the table laid for dinner. Note the board over the table is a shoo fly fan - goes to a cord over in the corner and operated by a small black child.

This is the master bedroom. It is in the square add on on the right side of the home. The bed is a rolling pin bed. If you look close enough, you can see the rolling pin on the head board. In the morning, this was lifted off (and I'm told it's quite heavy) and rolled over the feather bed to get the sunken spots out from over night sleeping. Again, this was a slave function.

The small chair at the foot of the bed had a name but I can't remember what it was called. It was used for saying prayers and rosaries. Laid across the top of the chair were hand carved wooded rosary beads.

This is one of the out buildings. It was where the slaves did the washing and ironing chores. The object in front that looks like a small stool with a long handle on it was the agitator that was worked back and forth in the wash tub. Our guide is showing us the lye soap molds. See all the irons on the bench - they are all different weights.



Another crop besides King Cotton, was sugar cane. The cane was worked down to a syrup (another story) and boiled in this building in four different sized vats. They started with the biggest and worked their way back to the smallest. The syrup was boiled down for molasses for their own use. The rest was then boiled further and would form a crystal on the top. This was allowed to dry and was collected and became brown sugar.





More on our hike on the 16th later.

March 14: Lake Charles, LA

I want to thank Quality Inn, Wingate and Candlewood Suites for allowing me to sit in their parking lot and access their Wi-Fi. However, the inconvenience of driving off in the car and not having all my backup paperwork with me is a pain.





Thursday, we drove what is called the Louisiana Outback. They tell you to take snacks, water and have the car filled up because there are no conveniences along the way. We got out at one trail and walked the 1.5 mile trail. Not too much of a hardship because it was paved. One short distance was covered by a boardwalk. We walked along Alligator Alley and only found a dead one - just enough to let us know that they actually exist in this area. The land is at sea level and is still recovering from Ike. Larry is pointing to grass that shows how high the water was in this area when the hurricane came to shore. Yes, Wayne, this is where we were when you called - who knew there would actually be a cell phone signal out in this wilderness.



On the way back around this loop, we stopped at LauBerge Casino. This picture is of the hotel area - the casino is off to the right. It's the newest one in the area and had a really good buffet. I even ate a carrot souffle that a lady told me I absolutely had to try. She said it tasted like sweet potatoes - I told her I didn't like sweet potatoes - she said TASTE IT!! So, I graciously took a small spoon full and absolutely loved it. It really tasted more like pumpkin pie. We proceeded to the casino and managed to loose about $40. What a great day.













Friday (a much colder, wetter day than we've had in months), we drove thru Lake Charles to visit all the historical area. The photo of the Azaleas was taken on the edge of this area. Since I don't have my brochures with me, I can only tell you what I can remember - and we know how well that will work. Some of these homes date back to the 1880's. These homes are in three different parts of town. The oldest neighborhood where the Masonic Lodge is located along side a Jewish
Temple (odd how those things work out); another neighborhood developed in the 1920's (I didn't get any pictures there); and the last neighborhood along Lake Charles where the really wealthy lived.





















Though this area is a walking park along the lake. A 911 Memorial is also located in this park. Two local residence lost their lives at the Pentagon. There is a marble slab from the Pentagon that marks the names of these two men. The I-beams are from the World Trade Center Towers. It was a really beautiful memorial.















We're leaving here tomorrow morning and heading for the South Toledo Bend State Park. Not sure what hotel I'll have to find in that remote area but I'll find something to get in touch with all of you. Sorry if this isn't up to my normal levels but sitting in a truck for an hour with a bad back makes me want to cut this short. I'll post again when we're further north.