Louisiana has Soul

The whole of the Gulf Coast had been inundated with rain, thankfully, as they had such drought last summer. It has its downfalls though, does the rain…. mosquitoes come up for blood, and in Louisiana, the humidity is sapping of energy. After the rains stopped we headed to ‘Big Thicket’ for a walk among the swamps and tree’s, yes it was muggy but as dusk came in, it was gorgeous with the frog chorus of gribbits. Then we headed to Sam Houston Jones State Park . The camping looked very different to the google earth images, because it had been completely wiped out by 2 hurricanes in 2020. Sadly, so many of the glorious Magnolia trees were also lost. We had a good walk around the area though, met 3 local teachers for a natter and got bitten. It was a stunning spot though, especially as the sun went down, the Cypress trees reflecting in the calm waters.

Lake Charles was a handy stop for groceries etc and it seemed quite a prosperous place. We figured out why once we started to head East and came across the largest concentration of Petrochemical and Oil industries in the World. The whole area of Beaumont, Port Arthur, lake Charles and Orange form this ugly zone where climate change are forbidden words. Eventually freeing ourselves we were into agriculture and flooded fields. Who knew that rice and crawfish (Crayfish) are cultivated in the same flooded paddy fields, not us until chatting with those in the know! We were heading into real Cajun ‘swamp country’ Louisiana but we did stop by a Gulf Coast beach for the last time. It was awash with shells and boon-dockers in all kinds of rigs… we didn’t risk it after so much rain and having seen the ’emergency tractor’. It’s not a free night if you need hauling out of the sand!

Hard to comprehend, we found ourselves passing lost communities on a coastal road through the marshes (Oak Grove Hwy 82.) Too many to count, concrete slabs with nothing remaining, roofs of houses in fields, a lone post box or chimney stack where there once was a home. That’s the devastation of 2020 hurricanes Laura and Delta making landfall at South Cameron, creating 18ft storm surges and high winds. (aerial pic internet) The community was lost, from c 3000 to c 350 now, libraries, schools, business, gone. Many people never returned, those who did often had no choice and now live in RV’s and trailers, ready to hitch up and leave should the warnings come.

We had the most amazing time, boondocking in the swamps as they call it (marshes to us) with Jeff and Stacey at Grand Chenier. A couple of local hippies currently building a home out of shipping containers that they hope will be hurricane proof. Everything they have, they are prepared to lose, much of it recycled. That philosophy is the only way of life, if living there. We chatted with them for hours over drinks, with friends too who turned up to meet us. We were celebrities for 5 minutes! He was a real life alligator hunter, he had some stories. It continued the following morning, learning about the area, the history and the Creole and Acadian cultures of Louisiana. We certainly understood what resilience after catastrophe really is. Insurance is a joke, they never pay out.

Sometimes you just have to move on and we did, continuing East on the same road, more devastation. It seems odd to say it but it was a wonderful drive, the roads were quiet but there was a lot to observe and palmetto’s were becoming prevalent. We had a great stop at Palmetto Island State Park, greeted by a gator and saw our first Armadillo of this trip thanks to a cat with a good nose! After a quiet morning there, it was so calming we headed to The Tabasco Museum. Yes we were on Avery Island where Tabasco (friend or foe) is made. We wondered if King Charles likes it, the Queen obviously did! Given it’s all over the world we assumed a massive factory but in reality it was quaint, like its bottles. It was a superb self guided tour experience, seeing all the different stages and watching the ladies on the bottling line trying to fix a labeller that was going berserk! The warehouse where they store the ‘chilli mash’ for 3 years before using in the process was packed with salt sealed barrels. The factory gardens were stunning, Spanish moss laden trees and more alligators.

The Cajun Corridor as it’s know, the highways and byways of Louisiana is a great route to take to avoid the interstates, although the road surfaces can be a tad iffy. The road meanders through the swamps and agriculture fields before nearing the mighty Mississippi where we Harvest Hosted at Houmas House, an old plantation house. They like you to eat there in return for the free parking but it’d help if there was something veggie on the menu! The ‘Plantation Map’ of the area and ‘The Confederate States Map’ are fascinating. On a positive note we were seeing a lot of new homes, in contrast to previous drives around this area where there were still Katrina tarps and ‘fragile’ houses. Likely the heavy industry is bringing an stronger economy but we’ve heard several people talking about concerns that the swamps will soon disappear, as will Louisiana’s beautiful Gulf Coast coastline as the industry ‘land grabs’. Modern day plantations perhaps? There’s plenty of conspiracy theories about insurance companies not paying out = worthless land = bought cheap and developed by industry, collusions… we have to say, we can see it.

Next stop New Orleans and Mardis Gras party time…. I’m getting too old for this but i’ll give it a shot!

Jigsaw here…… it’s been a while since you had pics of me. I’ve quite enjoyed the nature but I don’t really appreciate being in car parks or places where there are big snappers, so can’t be left alone to roam! The tall one has chaperoned me everywhere. Most of the time I end up just chillin’ listening to Cat Stevens on the radio….