January 27, 2022 Road Trip around Calcasieu Parish

Another beautiful day so we decided to take another road trip.  Right by the campground is a bridge that goes over the Bayou Lacassine and then down a dirt road to who knows where.  Well today we decided to find out where.

The Lorrain Bridge:

The Bayou:

Every day, we see folks bring their boats and fish – looks murky to me. We also hear gun shots too – probably hunting season.

The road:

Cool trees in the swamp:

Yes, folks do live here.  There were some areas where I swear I heard dueling banjos.

The road went past fields like this.  They are built in squares with a dirt berm, then flooded.  We have not been able to figure out what they are growing.  In some of the ponds there is netting laid down first so we are assuming some type of fish farm.  So if anyone knows, let us know.

Grain storage by a larger lake:

We also saw lots of cattle and horses and patches of homes here and there.  There are also other roads off this main one but do not look as regularly traveled plus we did not know if they were private.

The road finally ended in route LA99 and from there we headed north and east.  We went thru the little burgs of Welsh and Roanoke and into the little city of Jennings where we had lunch.  From there we headed south to Lake Arthur and west and north to home.  In between the little cities and towns are farms with cattle, goats, and horses and many of those water farms too.  Plus a lot of wetlands and what I call “scrub” areas.  Very interesting.

Tomorrow we continue our journey east so stay tuned and enjoy today.

 

January 26, 2022 Road Trip to Holly Beach and Cameron in Louisiana

We both woke up feeling good and decided to do a road trip.  We did sightseeing here in 2011 and I wanted to go back to some of the places.

We started heading south on SR27 – The Creole Trail.  It is a nice two lane road that passes thru many wildlife refuges.

Yes, we did see so much damage from the storms – it was so sad.

These are pine trees that were stripped of their greenery. We found some trees just stumps and those stumps were twisted and shredded.  But there is still beauty along the way.  All the birds and creatures have returned.  And the refuges have survived.

Our next stop was the Intercoastal Parish Park.  We were on our way here on Monday until I found out that the RV camping is closed for now (not sure why?!)  Anyway, we decided to have lunch here.

This is where we camped 10 years ago, facing the intercoastal waterway and watching the barges.  Each RV site has a shelter and water and electricity for $12.00/night. The bridge in the background is a draw bridge.

The Gulf Intercoastal Waterway:

In the background is a barge in waiting:

Some damage here from the winds – part of the fences were missing or shredded:

After lunch we continued on our way down SR27.  This is the road and there is water on both sides of the road (bayou).

We stopped in the Sabine National Wildlife Refuge – isn’t it just beautiful!

This is looking north:

This is looking south:

They had a nature trail but we decided not to do it.  The weather was windy and in the 40’s.  Yes it is cold.  And then we saw this at the beginning of the trail – Yikes!.

We will be back someday when it is warmer and explore these refuges.  They are just amazing.

We continued our journey to Holly Beach.  Holly Beach is a resort town and sits on the Gulf of Mexico.  They also were affected by the storms.  Some places were fixed up, some in the process, and some lots that were empty.

Cool looking houses:

 

The Gulf of Mexico:

 

 

I also call this shell beach..  There were not as many as I remember in 2011 but still scads of shells – all colors and sizes.  I did pick some of the little ones cause I would like to see how I can incorporate them in fused glass when I get home.

We continued on our way to the next town – Cameron.  But first we had to cross the Calcasieu Channel.  There is a ferry that runs every 15 minutes for 24 hours a day 365 days per year.  Not only do tourists use it but many workers walk on and go from one side to the refinery on the other.

Here it comes:

Leaving the docks:

Heading across the channel:

Coming to the other side:

The Ferry – we were second in line:

This little one guided us in to port – LOL!:

And we were off and on our way to Cameron.  Oh my!  This town has suffered greatly in the last couple years.  We saw so many homes and business destroyed.  Some are rebuilding, some are not.  We saw many trailers and 5th wheels where people are living.  And so much debris in the swampy areas.  It was so sad.

One of the Catholic Churches:

It does look like they are starting to rebuild the parish center:

One of the many sites.  If you look closely at the road on the right, it ends at a concrete slab where a house once stood.  In the background is still debris and some of that debris goes for miles.

This looks like a business stood here and they decided not to rebuild.

It was very emotional to see.  Some of these folks keep rebuilding.  I am not sure if I would.

Tomorrow we may do another adventure so stay tuned and enjoy today.

 

January 23-25, 2022 Travel to Louisiana

We left our little spot in Hickory Creek and headed east but first a stop for DEF and Diesel – what a learning experience.

We took a lot of the blue roads thru Texas:

The RV was nice riding although a little bumpy.  So we will be trying to get use to that.  And we learned what was not secured – LOL.

Sunday night found us south of Marshall, Texas at Laguna Vista RV Park – a Passport America Park.  It was a reasonable price and okay for an overnight stop.

Monday we woke to rain and fog and continued our journey on the blue roads:

We stopped for diesel at Pilot using the truck lanes and found out that if you do not have a company card, even with our Good Sam Discount, it was more expensive that the other stations around.  Another learning experience.

We found out that we did good on securing some stuff but not all.  Will be changing things around again – LOL!

We are staying at Lorrain Parish Park near Bell City, Louisiana.  It is a little park with nine spots with electric and water for $12.00 per night.  We have decided to stay for four nights.

From their website:

“This park is located at the foot of Lorrain Bridge. Because of its unique design and construction, Lorrain Bridge is being considered for placement in the National Register of Historical Sites. The site was acquired in 1894 and the bridge was constructed around 1895 as a wooden type draw bridge. In 1920, it was re-constructed, still as a wooden draw type bridge. It was damaged in 1950, repaired in 1951, and in 1955 the draw bridge portion was disabled. The bridge remained open and connected Calcasieu Parish and Jeff Davis Parish until it was closed to traffic in March of 1998. Due to joint efforts of the Lorrain Bridge Association, the Calcasieu Parish Police Jury and Jeff Davis Police Jury, the bridge was rebuilt and opened to traffic on July 1, 2004.”

Travel Stats:

Sunday, January 23, 2021

Texas: Hickory Creek Road; Point Vista Road; Turbeville Road; I35E N; SR288; US380; US69; I20 E; US59 S; CR1027

Miles Traveled: 198 Miles

Monday, January 24, 2021

Texas: CR1027; US59 S; US84 E

Louisiana: US84 E; US171 S; I-10 E; SR 383 S; US90 E; SR 101; Lorrain Road

Miles Traveled: 238 Miles

Today, Tuesday, 25th,  we woke to more rain and fog so decided to take a little ride and make a few stops for supplies.  This area was hit by back to back hurricanes in 2020 and major storms/tornados in 2021.  It is very emotional to see how folks have suffered and inspirational on how they continue to persevere.  We were here in 2011 and saw some of the devastation from Hurricane Katrina.  I don’t know how they do it.

Back home, we decided to take a little walk around the park.

The dock area:

Love the trees:

The Bridge:

We took a little ride earlier in the day and saw a beautiful blue heron – huge animal.  Now that we know where the road goes, we may follow it tomorrow.

The campground:

Notice the trees/swamp behind our MH.

Another cool tree:

One of the things we do is try to clean up around our campsite.  When I was out picking up some of the trash, I came across what looks like alligator? snake? skins.  There were eight of them and looked like they were cleaned and just dumped.

And we found bones..

So we are not going out at night – LOL!

Tomorrow we will be doing more exploring so stay tuned and enjoy today!