Louisiana - Hot & Spicy

St. Bernard State Park, New Orleans, LA

Palmetto Island State Park is a pretty wild place, wild with nature that is. Nutria were scurrying all over, the insects and frogs were roaring, and there were supposedly bears and alligators within the park. Since we pulled in at dark, Ned and I couldn't wait to go for an early morning bike ride and see it first hand. I just loved the ride through the swamp in the early morning light.

 

 

Once the troops were rallied, we headed for Avery Island where Tabasco Sauce is made. We took the self-guided tour through the facility. Ned and I were last here about 7 years ago. They've upgraded the tour tremendously since then. It goes without saying that we had a great time viewing the greenhouse, warehouse, blending and bottling facilities. The best part was visiting the country store afterwards and tasting everything Tabasco from ice cream to soda, and every kind of sauce you can imagine.

 

 

Ned is a funny guy.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Except when he wants to get another barrel for chocolate aging and carry it across the U.S. Nooooooooo! - once was enough!

 

 

Avery Island also has a Jungle Garden Tour. Ned McIlhenny wanted future generations to enjoy and study the wonders of nature while observing plants and flowers from around the world. The grounds are dotted with massive live oak trees with Spanish Moss hanging from them and there are several gardens, ponds, a bird sanctuary and a Buddha shrine. We spent most of the afternoon exploring them and enjoyed spotting the occasional gator and unique birds.

The Buddha shrine was built by Emperor Hui-Tsung of China in 1101. Centuries later, the temple was looted by a rebel general who took the statue as part of the loot and sent it to NY to be sold. The statue was given to D.A. McIlhenny as a gift by two friend. My two cents: bad karma dude, give it back.

 

On our way to New Orleans, we made a quick stop in Morgan City to show Gary & Linda the riverwall that prevents Morgan City from flooding everytime the Atchafalaya River floods. For the Army Corp of Engineers if it's choice between Morgan City getting flooded or New Orleans, Morgan City loses.

Seeing the different high river marks on the old seawall lead me to believe that Morgan City lives on the edge.

 

After this action packed day we headed straight for New Orleans. Linda had her heart set on dancing at a certain club on Frenchman's Street. Perfect. I was looking forward to exploring that neighborhood.

It was so much fun walking Frenchmen's Street. We took in a Friday night art walk and the music was just pouring out of the clubs. By 9 pm there were jazz players on the street corners and dancing in the streets. Unfortunately, we had to check into our campground before they locked up the gates so off we went to St. Bernard State Park. Great campground just 25 minutes away.

Whew, what a day. We better rest up cuz it's Memorial Weekend in NOLA and we got a lot of partying to do!

 

 

 

 

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Louisiana: Exploring Creole and Cajun Country

Palmetto Island State Park, Abbeville, LA

Our first stop of the day was Natchitoches (pronounced Nack-a-tish) the original French Coloniy in Louisiana. It was established in 1714 and is the heart of the Creole Cane River Country.

We walked around the charming town, did a little window shopping and stopped for a coffee. (Real coffee not the instant we make for breakfast every morning). The boys also tried a meat pie. It was more like an empanada with a pastry exterior.

So what defines being a Creole? Depends on who you ask. It's a mixture of French, Spanish, Native American, African-American, and English/American settlers' culture. One of our guides said it in a way that cracked me up. "It's a culture where you speak French, cook Spanish and are Catholic."

This area has several plantations scattered through out. We opted for the oldest intact plantation that was owned by only one family since 1821 and given to the National Park service in the 1990's.

We arrived in time to take a 12:30 tour of the slave cabins. Our guide was really personable. He knew a lot about the history of the area, this family and the life of a slave on this particular farm.

 

 

We enjoyed that tour so much we decided to take another tour of the main residence. Because it was in the same family since 1821, seeing the original artifacts and how the house evolved over almost 200 years was fascinating! There were pieces of furniture dating back to the original owners, and a 1953 kitchen and bath. One of my favorite things was a gentlemen's outfit coordinator circa 1920's. The picture is the middle one on the left. You dial in what color tie you are wearing and it matches up your shirt and suit. I like to think of this as the original app.

 

Our guide for this tour was even more remarkable. He knew so much detail about the Creole culture, the history of this particular family and did research about some of the slaves on the farm. He wrote a book called "A Blacksmith's Son goes to War: The Story of William Smith." Lucky me, I received a free autographed copy from him!

 

 

It was such a gorgeous day, warm but not too hot with a nice breeze. Perfect for a mid-afternoon picnic lunch!

 

We were so fascinated by this plantation we decided on a quick stop to view the brick slave quarters of the Magnolia Plantation, which was close by.

Again, so fascinating, but to be honest it's a bit emotional to walk the grounds.

I picked up lots of reading material and am looking forward to diving in and learning more about the Creole familes and culture of the Cane River area.

 

 

 

 

 

 

What's a road trip without stopping by a farm stand? This one specialized in pecans. Who knew there were so many varieties? And yes, we tasted them all including all kinds of amazing things that you can do with a pecan...coat it in chocolate, cane sugar, cinnamon, etc. Delish!

 

 

 

 

 

Late in the afternoon, early evening we drove thru Cajun country stopping at St. Martinsville to see the monument to Longfellow's Evangeline. Such a beautiful setting.

And then finally off to more Cajun food and dancing! This place was great. A dance hall with live Zydeco music. Linda was in heaven. So cute to see Gary and Linda take a few rounds on the floor. Linda would have stayed til they shut the place down, but I knew we had another hour to go before reaching our campsite for the night. So, at 9:30 we headed to Palmetto Island State Park.

For those inquiring minds dinner was: fried alligator, seafood gumbo, corn and seafood bisque, crawfish etouffee and fried crawfish...shared by all. It was superb.

 

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Louisiana: Buddies, Biking and Bayous

Lake Bistineau State Park, Doyline, LA

We had a leisurely morning at the campsite before we packed up and began rolling into Shreveport. We kept our first day traveling as a posse light with minimal travel and few activities. We wanted Gary and Linda to get settled into their rental RV and work out any kinks.

This pic is of the amazing Lake Bistineau where we are camping this evening.

 

 

 

Shreveport was only about 1.5 hrs away, and an easy drive.

We started a walking tour of the city, but after a few blocks of not being very impressed we said fuhgetaboutit and found a Cajun restaurant.

Here's Ned being our fearless leader and guide on the walking tour.

 

 

This is Linda's first trip to Louisiana so we are having a great time introducing her to the local cuisine. Today's lunch was crawdad etouffe (Ned), crab cakes (Linda), catfish (Gary) and blackened chicken and pecan salad (Debi). Of course we shared everything. So tasty! P.S. Linda says these were the best crab cakes ever!

 

 

Gary, you shouldn't be this happy getting eaten by a gator.

 

 

 

Because they're with us, of course they did a bike ride. We rode the Red River Trail and managed to do over 12 miles.

 

 

 

 

Riding the trail.

 

 

 

 

 

 

It was a really windy bike ride, but the upside was watching some cool kites.

 

 

Gary has old army buddies everywhere. This is Sam who served with Gary in Vietnam. After doing the bike ride we met up with Gary and Sam at the El Dorado Casino for drinks and reminiscing.

 

 

 

Tonight we are camped on a bayou. When we arrived the sun was shining directly on the water highlighting the cypress trees and Spanish moss. It was almost surreal. There is a dock coming from our campsite and we all took a moment just soaking in the beauty.

 

 

Had to include this pic cause it's our 13th anniversary. Love you sweetie.

 

 

 

 

 

Camground meals are the best! Tomorrow we head further south through Cajun country.

 

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Texas: Lions & Tigers and Flowers, oh my.

Tyler State Park, Tyler, TX

Last night was one of the most intense thunder and lightening storms we've ever experienced. We were woken up at about 1:15 am with absolutely deafening thunder and lightening striking all around us. It went on for about 20 minutes. It was quite a show and left me quaking. See that magenta area? That was us.

Then when all was absolute quiet a very chatty whippoorwill decided to let out his signature "whip-poor-will" every 2 seconds til dawn. If you haven't read the James Thurber short story "Whipporwill" let's just say it didn't end well - I completely understand.

We were in Dallas at the auto shop, Lord of the Rings, by 7 am. Great shop, awesome owner and best news Winnie is recharged with fresh Freon. The not so good news, she does have an unspecified Freon leak somewhere so who knows how long we'll have A/C for. Time to keep rolling.

 

We were out of the shop before 9 so we decided to take advantage of being in Dallas by visiting the Arboreteum and Botanical Gardens.

 

 

 

Even tho rain was threatening we took our chances. We arrived just when the Gardens opened and had the place to ourselves for awhile. The flowers were simply breathtaking as were the different gardens and waterfalls scattered throughout the grounds.

 

 

 

 

We also came across several sculptures scattered here and there. I enjoyed them almost more than the flowers! We learned that this was part of a sculpture exhibit from Zimbabwe. There were over 100 sculptures beautifully placed among the landscape. I loved that you'd walk round a bend and there would be this art piece. The skies did open up for about 15 minutes, then we were treated to sunshine. So interesting to see the juxtaposition of the Botanical Gardens during both the rain and sun.

 

 

 

 

After spending almost 3 hours at the Gardens we decided that a bike ride around White Rock Lake would be fun. We had just gone a couple of miles when Linda and Gary asked if we wanted to meet up at the Tiger Sanctuary. Heck yeah!! A quick u-turn and off we went towards Tyler, Texas.

First, it was great meeting up with Gary and Linda our travel buddies for the next several weeks. And second...those tigers! There were pumas, servals, bengals, and lions. We spent an hour or so walking around with a guide learning about each of the cats when the skies opened up again. Fortunately, we were at the end of the walking tour so getting drenched wasn't too bad.

Note: Ned and I looking like Safari hotties.

 

Went for BBQ again tonight at a local place called Bodacious. It was the usual meat and 2 sides. You know the drill.

We were joined by Gary and Linda and Butch and Gail. Gary attended flight school with Butch 42 years ago. Butch is a real character and a great story teller. He kept us in stitches telling stories about growing up in Texas. He's also an amazing artist and woodworker.

Tomorrow we travel as a posse and the adventure continues. Louisiana are you ready?

 

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Texas: Bikes, BBQ and Bridges

Hickory Creek Campground, Lewisville Lake, TX

 

This was our final destination tonight. Not a bad spot on the shores of Lewisville Lake on the outskirts of Dallas. Lots of bunnies, birds and fish jumping in the lake.

We've officially left the dry western desert and have entered into the land of the humid. How do I know? My hair has gone from straight to very curly in just one time zone. From past experience most likely this will be the last time our towels will be dry for the next several weeks. Ah humidity, bring on the sweet tea.

 

The journey today took us mainly thru small towns that were boarded up or barely surviving. So sad to see town after town with vacated brick buildings. You could tell these were once thriving communities. Where did everybody go?

We've never been to Wichita Falls and thought a good way to experience it would be on a bike path that took you past the falls and through several parks. Only one small problem. Most of the paths were flooded out and the falls were not running. We did ride about 10 miles next to the Wichita River and over several rickety bridges. I don't see us swimming in this red, muddy water anytime soon. Oh South Yuba River you've made us swimming snobs. Wichita Falls, although expansive, also has seen better days.

 

 

While in Texas we had to make sure and sample some local "que." Yelp is helpful, but the true test in Texas is how many local pick-up trucks are parked in front of the restaurant at lunch time. Bingo on the Branding Iron. Unassuming restaurant, no windows, but sure had the pick-ups.

This place was the real deal - a plate and 2 sides. Ned opted for the BBQ pork loin and I got the BBQ pork shoulder. Of course it comes with Texas Toast. We opted for the coleslaw and beans. It was delish! The pork shoulder just melted in your mouth. We washed it down with tea. Ned went with "sweet tea" to fully embrace the experience.

 

We were going to stay at Lake Arrowhead tonight. Unfortunately our air conditioning went out again...Sigh. We found someone in Dallas who works on VWs (his shop is Lord of the Rings) who will take a look at 7 am tomorrow.

We found this sweet Corp of Engineer campground, close to Dallas, that has tons of bike trails, so that was a plus. We spent most of the afternoon exploring the place on bike. Seems to be our day of riding across bridges. So fun!

We snagged a great spot right on the lake. We're really enjoying the peace and quiet on a Monday night. We're resting up for New Orleans over Memorial Weekend. That should be insane.

Tomorrow we meet up with Gary and Linda at Tyler State Park. Here's hoping for a quick fix on the A/C. Luckily, the van is running top notch in all other categories. Worst case scenario we ride with the windows down and the wind in our hair...

 

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Texas: Making a run for the border

Cap Rock State Park, Quitaque, TX

First stop of the day was Billy the Kid Museum in New Mexico. We thought it would just be a quick walk thru, but we ended up spending a couple of hours here.

Yes, there's definitely the memorabilia for true Billy the Kid aficionados, like Billy's real rifle (!), the curtain that hung on the door where he was killed, and the door - with bullet holes - where he was shot. Of course, there was a disclaimer that said the bullet holes were put there years AFTER he was shot, but nonetheless...the real door!!

We really enjoyed the PBS film about Billy the Kid and learned so much. I'm just waiting for someone to ask me something, anything about Billy.

This museum went on and on. It also had just about everything you can imagine. Collections of typewriters, saddles, pottery, dishes, farm equipment, cars, rifles, sheriff badges...

There was also the replica of Billy the Kid's grave. The real grave is about 3 miles away. We were going to go there, but then read that they weren't sure that Billy the Kid was actually buried there. Between vandals and torrential rain storms that have washed it away it can't be verified. So, we decided to just be satisfied with the replica.

Yeah,we got the obligatory shot of Ned in jail.

 

 

 

We had planned on staying at a state park in New Mexico tonight, but while stocking up for supplies we discovered that New Mexico doesn't sell beer (or any alcohol) on Sundays. WTF?! We made a run for the Texas border and pushed on...

A great decision. We're staying at Cap Rock State Park that is a sanctuary for Bison. We had a great time watching the herd of Bison as we pulled into the campground.

 

We took a bike ride thru the park and also discovered Prairie dog town. OMG - we had so much fun just watching these little guys scurrying around, chattering away and ducking in and out of their holes.

Love the picture of Ned capturing video of the prairie dogs. You can't help but crack up watching these guys scamper around.

If you're ever driving thru the Panhandle of Texas for sure check this out.

 

 

The views here are also spectacular. We're camped on a bluff overlooking this red rock mountain range.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The wind has really kicked up so it made the bike riding a bit of a challenge.

Here's our home for the evening. Howdy y'all.

 

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New Mexico: Land of Fire & Ice

Monzano State Park, Monzano, NM

 

There are two things I was really appreciative of this morning when it was 33 degrees. 1 - my husband figured out how to turn on the heater without us getting out of bed and 2 - the jacket my son bought me for Christmas.

Our big outing of the day was visiting the Land of Fire & Ice. A rather cheesy roadside attraction that nevertheless drew us in.

The Fire portion was taking a hike up to a blown out volcano. The views were great and the hole was about 1400 ft deep and 1000 feet wide. You could see 15 other volcanos in the distance.

The ice portion was hiking down to a collapsed lava tube with ice perpetually captured in it that is 20 ft. thick.

 

We also stopped by El Moro National Monument. This was the only place within 30 miles that had a water supply. It was located at the base of a sandstone butte. Travelers used this landmark for thousands of years to locate a source of drinking water while on their journey.

Along the way many of them left their mark on the sandstone walls. We saw petroglyphs dating back to 1200 and signatures from the Spanish explorers and the first American pioneers.

What amazed me was the source of water was not from a spring, but rain water running off the mountain. We were not very impressed with the quality of the "oasis" we saw. You'd have to be pretty dang thirsty to want to drink that water!

Man does not live by historic monumnets and schmaltzy tourist attractions alone. We heard about Mary & Tito's Restaurant in Albuquerque. It was given a James Beard Award and noted for their very authentic adovada dish. Sounds like a good reason to stop.

This place is very unassuming. It's located in a semi industrial neighborhood and the decor hasn't changed for decades. Perfect.

I had the traditional adovada dish and Ned had the adovada enchiladas. It blew our heads off. They make this spicy chili sauce from scratch and it's very earthy and hot. It's served over a seasoned roasted pork. It ain't your traditional California-Mexican chili red sauce that's for sure. As I'm typing this, I'm still trying to recover, thus my glass of red wine...

 

We're really enjoying our campground tonight. There are only about 12 sites (yes, I did book this one ahead of time). It's located in the mountains at an elevation of about 7200ft. We're enjoying the sun knowing that we'll probably have another cold night ahead.

Tonight's plans include taking a hike on the nature trail and a rousing game of Skip-Bo.

 

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