We didn't exactly get out of Houston early, but one of the things we found: you can spend a lot of time in Houston talking about traffic patterns, the best routes to take, the best time to leave, where the toll roads are and how to avoid them, etc. We finally opted to get back on good ol' Route 10 and just head straight out.
We have a new passenger. Aunt Helen Barcalow's ashes. Helen died last November 3, 2012 at age 93. Susan is meeting us in Maryland after Memorial Day to bury her ashes at Leeds Cemetery in Child's Maryland, where a lot of the Blake family is interred. And we thought it was easier if we took her ashes with us, rather than Susan trying to go through security at the airport, etc. And besides, Helen didn't like flying!
We were given our instructions, however: Helen also doesn't like to drive fast, she doesn't like heights,
and she is a terrible back seat driver. So Susan says that if we hear anything strange, it is probably Helen telling us to slow down.
Oh, and we've added a case of Shiner Bock Beer. Uncle Bill called from Pennsylvania and told us to pick this up for him.
It's a tradition for me to take a picture of John and Susan
On the way out of Houston, we were on the lookout for this sign. I don't know if you can read it, but it says "Acres of Guns and Gear." It's the 142nd annual convention of the NRA, coming to town just as we are leaving! They say there are 500 exhibitors, and I don't know how many attendees are expected. However, the featured speakers are Sarah Palin, Ted Cruz, Bobby Jindal, Rick Perry, Rick Santorum and Asa Hutchinson. Gee, we hate to miss it!
For the last time on this trip, we will be traveling Route 10. Beaumont and a little beyond the Louisiana border is as far as we are following this intercontintenental highway. Remember, 896 miles of Texas on Route 10?
We crossed the Sabine River and were in Louisiana before we knew it!
Ironically, there was no sign saying, "Leaving Texas." I think it's because they don't expect anybody to actually leave!
We stopped at the Louisiana Visitor's Center, and took a look at the bayou nearby. There were welcoming signs...
Among the first things we see is a casino and attached riverboat. If you look on the other side, there is a gravel pile. It's always hard for us to see the attraction.
We stopped at a gas station, and the guy at the next pump, after saying, "How y'all doin'?, Where ya'll come from? and Where ya'll goin'?" told John he had just won $1000 in the quarter slots. John thinks
he has some really interesting conversations while pumping gas.
We are crossing a lot of rivers emptying into the gulf. One caught my eye: The Old and Lost River.
of course, I had to look it up. And I found this exchange. (Seven different writers)
-I have been traveling on I 10 east of Houston most my life. And I cross a body of water call Old River Lost River. Can anyone explaining what this is, like is fresh or salt. Does anyone fish it.
-I can't remember how that sign reads, but it is the bridge that crosses the Old River and Lost Lake. Basically it is a giant slough that is an old channel of the Trinity River. I know it's good duck hunting. As for fishing you might want to consult Fuzzy.
-I have never seen anyone fishing that area, not from a boat, bank or yak. I've crossed it many times and wondered the same thing. It looks pretty fishy in some areas, the best I can see driving 80 mph and dodging semi's and cajuns.
-I've always wondered the same thing.
-Like everyone else and yourself, I have traveled that road many a time. Never really see boats, looks like there is stumps everywhere. Seems it would be great for duck hunting if you know how to maneuver around the obstacles. Hmmm water could possibly be brackish?
-When I was traveling back and forth to Louisiana in to work on one of my trips I did see a couple of people in a jon boat. I've always wonder if it was fishable myself. just looks fishee
-There's a ramp in one of the bayous just south of the bridge that has a cut into the river. Also winds through the march into trinity bay. Sometimes the ramp is so clogged with vegetation you can rarely laugh. so I'd say brackish to fresh.
- Taste it and see.
I also encountered an exchange that talked about alligators and beavers in this river. Hmmm --an interesting combination. It seems like one of those creatures isn't long for this cohabitation.
However, someone corrected the story to say that the "beavers" were really "nutria", a large rat like creature that was released into the wild after being imported to be made into fur coats. So the alligator and nutria deserve each other, as far as I'm concerned!
None too soon, we are headed north, the first time on this entire trip. We will be headed up Route 165 through Louisiana, eventually to the Mississippi border at Natchez.
Yea! No more Route 10 and semi trucks, John says.
No soon had we turned onto 165 then we came across rural areas, grain elevators, a row of above ground graves right alongside the road, and the Coushatta Indian reservation. What? Never heard of the Coushatta Indians? I'll tell you about them in the next entry!
No comments:
Post a Comment