Coushatta Louisiana: Natchitoches and the Cane River

You may have noticed a lot of food photos yesterday. Get ready for more today. Louisiana cuisine is not to be denied. I won't be putting a map up today because, honestly, I'm not quite sure where we went or how we got there.

Pam had gone to work this morning before we got up. She is a nurse practitioner at a clinic a few miles from here. By the time we got out of bed, Thomas was cooking a breakfast of sausage, bacon, eggs and toast. We ate it out by the pool.

My friend Oscar looking for food

Sandy and Thomas enjoying breakfast

It was windy this morning and Thomas took me for a spin around his property in his Polaris Razor. This 800 cc machine isn't quite a car but is more than an ATV. They have taken it west on vacations and explored some hard to get to places. It might be just the thing for tooling through the desert in Yuma with Sherm.

The Razor and the RV

Pam got home earlier than expected so we all got in the truck and headed for Grayson's BBQ in Clarence, Louisiana. We managed to get in before the Sunday church crowd. Each couple ordered a mixed plate consisting of one huge rib, ham, beef, potato salad, beans and a side of coleslaw. The ladies took some of the sides and the rib while Thomas and I attacked what was left. We also bought a package of six large chocolate "cookies" on the way out.

In front of Grayson's BBQ - Clarence Louisiana

Sandy's rib

My mixed plate after Sandy took her share

Well fed, we continued on to Natchitoches (pronounced NAK-i-tush) and drove through the historic streets along the river. We also past the Steel Magnolias Bed & Breakfast where some key scenes for the movie were filmed.

Park in Natchitoches along the Cane River

Natchitoches cobblestone streets and historic buildings

Leaving the town, we cruised along the winding Cane River and looked at old plantations. This area is populated by descendants of the Creole people, particularly those described as Creoles of color. The architecture along here is largely Antebellum, with large houses and groves of spreading live oak trees.

Antebellum plantation house and live oaks

Another one

Outbuilding at the Melrose Plantation historical site

Another Melrose Plantation outbuilding

Thomas, Sandy and Pam at the Melrose Plantation

(note the pecan grove in the background)

Raised vaults in St. Augustine (est. 1803) churchyard

St Augustine Church

After our tour of the Cane River, Thomas stopped in Natchitoches to buy crawfish. The first place was sold out so we proceeded down the street where he got a bag with 31 pounds of the critters. We took this back to their place and they proceeded to get ready for a crawfish boil, a whole new experience to us.

Thirty one pounds of live crawfish

One escapee

Challenging Oscar - the crawfish won

Hosing them down

A seething mass of crustaceans

Thomas pouring the creatures into boiling water

Boiled crawfish about to be seasoned

Adding the seasoning

Our chefs

They look good enough to eat

Shrimp appetizer

A crawfish plate with corn, red potatoes, mushrooms and sausage

Happy converts to the crawfish ritual

We needed to be taught how to make sure the crawfish had curled tails (straight tails meant they were dead before they hit the cooking pot), grasp them by the body and twist the tails off, peel one segment of shell and then squeeze the tail and pull the meat out. Then you dip the meat in the sauce and pop it in your mouth. Thomas said the real coon-ass (Cajuns) also suck out the body from the other part of the shell. This was a new experience but we are now ready to join in the next time someone suggests we have a crawfish dinner. After we were done, Thomas separated the remaining crawfish tails from their bodies and prepared them for freezing.

Thomas preparing the leftover crawfish for freezing

Dinner, done, Thomas jumped in the pool, which was 84F. The rest of us tried to convince Oscar the water was his friend. He wasn't too sure about that.

Thomas in the pool

Pam checking the water temperature

One of Sandy's flower photos

Oscar getting closer to the water

Northerners by the pool

I think we have been eating too much the last few days but then the food is too good. We spent the evening watching TV and talking, with a time out for some home made pecan pie.

Pecan pie - the dessert of champions

Then it was off to bed again.

Fredericksburg Texas to Coushatta Louisiana

There was good news and bad news today. The good news was that I found a really nice and technically challenging motorcycle road. The bad news was that I was driving the motorhome at the time. But I'm getting ahead of myself.

We were up early and, after breakfast, I unhooked the utilities. We were on the road by 7:15 just as the sun was starting to rise over the Hill Country landscape.

Sunrise over Texas Hill Country

We drove east on US 290 past the LBJ ranch to Johnson City and then, instead of continuing straight over to I-35 in Austin, I followed the GPS route north on US 281 to Marble Falls. So far, so good, but I have enough experience with the Zumo to know that I shouldn't accept a cross country route without double checking it on a map. But I didn't do this and, following the voice from the dashboard, I turned right on Ranch Road 1431. Due to road construction signs on Farm to Market Road 1174 (you have to love the names) towards Bertram, I opted to stay on 1431 all the way to I-35. If anyone is looking for a great bike road, 1431 from Marble Falls to Cedar Park would fit the bill. As for the RV and I, you can check out the depressions my white-knuckled fingers left in the steering wheel. After Lago Vista, the road straightened, widened and started to go up and down over bigger hills than I thought they had in this part of Texas.

Hills coming out of Cedar Park Texas

The drive up I-35 was calm with a strong tail wind. I needed that. After trying to get into a Love's truck stop for fuel where the gas pumps were in line, I gave up and moved on to a better laid out Pilot station near Waco. Fueled up, we turned east north of Waco on US 84. The tailwind was now a nasty crosswind as we headed across flat country. The nice thing about this stretch was that the bluebonnets we missed in Hill Country were all over up here.

Bluebonnets along US 84 east of Waco Texas

More bluebonnets

From there to the Louisiana state line, US 84 exhibited multiple personalities. In some spots, it was wide and straight. In other spots, it was narrow, curving and up and down. It reaffirmed why I prefer Interstates with the house car. Sandy did have a large wasp that partly splattered on the windshield in front of her. After she got a picture of it, it managed to pry itself free but I don't think it had any hope of survival.

Sandy's bug on the windshield

US 84 in East Texas

Near the Louisiana border, we found the worst stretch of road of the entire trip for the few miles through Joaquin, Texas. We entered Louisiana at Logansport, where the speed limit dropped from 70 MPH to 55, a much more reasonable limit considering the roads and what I was driving. The GPS guided me almost to Thomas' (Wiliedog's) house but took us too far. Luckily, there was a truck terminal where I could get turned around and call Thomas, who came out to the road to guide us in. In the yard, I had to pull onto the back grass, back up and then pull forward. After three tries, I managed to get backed up without running over the tomato plants and got oriented properly.

Thomas guiding me backwards

The new Boston Terrier, Oscar (Ollie is hiding)

Thomas and Pam welcomed us and told us we were just in time to jump in the truck and get to the Superior Grill in Shreveport for Happy Hour. It was a pleasant drive up but the Superior was packed with people, including a large number of teens bound for prom. Jose, the manager, greeted Thomas like a long lost brother and made us four of their famous (and excellent) margaritas to drink while we waited for a table. We were number 73 and headed outside to wait as they were seating number 53. It wasn't five minutes before Jose came out and told us that he had a table for us. It's nice to hang out with VIP's.

Inside, we looked at the menu and made our choices. The food was beyond great.

Waiting for a table at the Superior Grill - note the margaritas

Sandy's Superior Salad

Pam's quesadillas

Thomas and I had the El Paso combination plate

And margaritas

Thomas chowing down

Pam looks happy with her choice

So does Sandy

Thomas displaying some food that got away

Sandy, buzzed by the drink, had a laughing fit when I got in a fight with a folding chair

After supper, we drove back to Coushatta and sat out by the pool, which was new since the last time we were here. Sandy was feeling the effects of her margarita since she doesn't drink very often.  A comfortable breeze blew over us as we talked about old and new times. Before too long, we went to bed in the guest suite, the first time since Chattanooga that we didn't sleep in the RV.

Today's Route (421 motorhome miles):


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Fredericksburg Texas: National Museum of the Pacific War

This morning was overcast again and we listened to more news of the impending government shutdown. If they don't come to an agreement, this will be the last day the US Government is fully operational. I feel sorry for Dieter and Ursula from Germany and their month long plan of visiting National Parks if the situation isn't resolved.

Since we are rolling out tomorrow for Louisiana, I did some motorhome chores this morning. I checked all the tire pressures and compared the gauge with the monitor readings. Everything seemed good although all the tire pressures were up equally. This was probably due to the additional 1,000 feet in elevation from the last time I checked them in Yuma. I emptied the holding tanks, which seem to be good for more than a week with just the two of us using them. Then I checked the tire tread depths and found nothing to be alarmed about. I know I'm a little bit anal about this stuff but now I can relax and just drive the thing. I also called Eric at Camping World in Chattanooga and booked an oil and filter change for a week from today. They will also check out the backup camera while we're there.

The agenda today called for a visit to the National Museum of the Pacific War, just a few miles away in downtown Fredericksburg. It was near the Super 8 we stayed at in 2004 and 2005 but we were so busy riding, eating and partying back then that we never got around to visiting it.

Chester W, Nimitz was the Commander in Chief, United States Pacific Fleet during WW II. He came from Fredericksburg, where his family had owned and operated the Nimitz Hotel for many years. The hotel was restored and a museum featuring the life of this great commander was housed within it. Then it grew. While the museum inside the hotel still features exhibits related to the history of the hotel and the life and career of Chester Nimitz, the venue has expanded and taken over most of a city block. Behind the hotel and the store fronts, there are gardens and memorials as well as the George H.W. Bush gallery. This building sends you through a maze that explores the circumstances leading up to the war in the Pacific (starting with the fall of the Chinese Ming Dynasty hundreds of years ago) as well as the prosecution of the war. It has 36 segments. We made it through 11. More for later. On the plus side, for those in the area for a few days, the tickets are good for 48 hours.

What impressed me most about the museum was the quality and comprehensiveness of the exhibits. The presentation was far and away better than I expected. After realizing it was lunch time about the time we got to the Guadalcanal campaign, we took an exit and headed down the street for lunch. After walking by a few places, we came to Winslow's where there was no wait and they had a quiche lunch offering that caught Sandy's eye. I had some turkey on a croissant.

Sandy and Betty (photo for Cheryl)

As we were finishing, I realized that we would have to hustle if we were going to make the next guided tour of the third part of the museum, the Pacific Combat Zone. We managed to get there before the 1:00 PM start time. The guide took us through several scenes including a carrier hanger deck with a TBM Avenger, a dock with a restored PT boat, an outdoor Pacific beachhead and a quonset hut set up as a battalion aid station. It was quite well done and they periodically do re-enactments on the beachhead.

Pacific Combat Zone entrance

Anti-aircraft gun

One odd thing as we were moving from the Nimitz building to the Bush Gallery was that a B-24 Liberator flew overhead. Then, as we were waiting at the Pacific Combat Zone, a B-17 was spotted overhead. I heard the B-17 was coming to a nearby airport and that they would be offering rides. For $400 per head.

We decided the rest of the Bush Gallery would have to wait for another time and, in the heat of a now clear afternoon, returned to the motorhome. I plotted routes and we watched trailers, 5th wheels and motorhomes arriving for the rest of the afternoon. This is one busy campground this weekend.  Linda and Tony-Joe, from near Odessa, pulled their trailer in across from us and we got to know each other a bit. Linda has a small Honda step-through scooter we unloaded and then I loaded the Wing in our trailer.

Sandy and I did walk over to check out the two Texas longhorns the owner keeps in a pen. These are registered pure-bred cattle. Longhorns. Skinny cows with scary looking horns. They were feeding them and, despite claims they were gentle, no one turned their back on them. Then we walked to the back of the property where the neighbor has a pair of ring-tailed lemurs in a large cage.  We spoke to a man from near Fort Worth who is down this weekend to compete in a Western Fast Draw competition.

Texas longhorns

The rest of the evening was laid back as we prepared to head out tomorrow morning for Coushatta, Louisiana to see Thomas aka Wiliedog.

Fredericksburg Texas: Llano and Kerrville

We slept in until 6:30 and arose to a 63F morning of solid overcast. This is the first time we haven't seen sun in the morning since passing westward through Nashville a month ago. But no rain in the forecast. The clouds are just to tease the Texans who have been experiencing a major drought for the last year.

We ate microwaved breakfast bowls of eggs, potatoes and ham while listening to the news of the potential US government shutdown. Luckily, we have seen all the National Parks we wanted to on this trip already. I transcribed some blog notes and uploaded yesterday's photos while eating and wondering why we don't have this microwavable Jimmy Dean food in Canada.

Our site at the Fredericksburg KOA

Noting the sign, I hope I'm not here when it finally rains

Guinea fowl near our RV

We set out at 10:30 to meet Coyote for lunch at Cooper's BBQ in Llano, about 35 miles away. On our way up Texas 16, I wanted to ride through the Willow City Loop where we have seen spectacular fields of bluebonnets in past years. Not having a guide, I misprogrammed the GPS and got off on the Old Willow City Road, which added a few miles to our adventure. It also allowed us to see a couple of deer jumping fences ahead of us. No matter how much I fear these hooved field rats, it is impressive to see them leap. I also got to see the only water we encountered on the loop as a small amount of it was overrunning the road on our detour.

Once we connected with the regular loop near the strange bar where my current Facebook profile photo was taken back in 2004 or 2005, I noticed two things. First, there was almost no traffic. Second, there were no bluebonnets or other types of blooms whatsoever. It seems they go dormant when there isn't enough water.  There was another deer, a roadrunner, innumerable cattle on or near the road and an owl that swooped down out of a tree right in front of me. But no flowers. A Gradall was cutting back trees near the end of the loop and I found out that the operator can drive the vehicle portion from the back seat while operating the arm. Cool.

A rare pool of water on the Old Willow Road

A view of Texas Hill Country from the Willow City Loop

The Willow City Loop Road

A fair warning

They didn't seem to concerned we were there

But nary a flower

This Gradall moved for us

The extra time in the loop meant we were a little late getting to Llano and Coyote was a little early, despite his having come over 220 miles from Keller (north of Forth Worth). Still, the connection was made and, after a few pleasantries, we approached the pit and selected our meat. Coyote favoured ribs while Sandy stuck to turkey. Unable to decide, I had one huge beef rib, a half link of sausage and a slice of brisket. We decided to share a serving of coleslaw which Sandy ate all by herself. The meat was excellent and the companionship even better.

Does Gord have a place in Llano?

Coyote about to tear into some BBQ

These were his ribs

Our food - way more than I should have eaten

Sandy and Coyote after the meal

When we were finished, the clouds had given way to blue sky and the temperature was rising.  Coyote had to get on the road to head home. He rode a long way for a short visit, but we were sure glad he did. It was great to see him, even for just a short time.

Before heading back, we stopped at the Llano Radio Shack. The switch box I bought in Carlsbad for the TV inputs was for composite cables while we needed one for co-ax. Luckily, the fellow working the RS singlehandedly found the correct switch box and let me return the wrong one.

Electronics in hand and bellies full, we started back south on 16 at the state imposed maximum speed of 70 MPH (or maybe a little faster). We stopped at WalMart for some small cable ties and to look for a small Texas flag for our friend Bob in Gaspe. The smallest flag we found was 5 by 3 feet, a little big for what he wanted. Then we went back to the campground for a short rest before leaving for our supper date in Kerrville.

Ron used to be known as the Big Guy From Omaha and was a regular at our Eureka Springs Reunions. Then, in 2006, he decided to move to Kerrville, Texas to escape the Nebraska winters and we haven't seen him since. But he tracked me down yesterday and invited us to supper. I plugged the address into my mostly trusty Zumo and we headed out about 4:30 the other way on Texas 16 to Kerrville, where the GPS lured me into the dead end street the other day. We went past there and all the way through town before turning off on a road that led to other roads winding over a hill past some really nice homes. At the very end of the last road, we came to Ron's driveway.

Ron was there to marshal his two dogs as we got parked. Blondy, apparently the only other VROCer to ever be here, said Ron had a really nice house and she was right. We sat and visited for a while until his partner Jeanette and her daughter got home. Then we had a supper of lasagna and garlic bread that hit the spot. Ron, who was able to move because his customer support job can be done from anywhere he can get on line with a computer, said that he doesn't ride as much any more.  Apparently, when you can ride all year, there isn't the same urgency as when it is a seasonal thing.

Ron, Jeanette and the very friendly Patch

We couldn't stay too long because dusk is a bad time to ride in Hill Country.. All of Bambi's Texan relatives come out to play as the sun goes down and we didn't want any part of them. Still, we saw two just after we left Ron's. The one on the road lit out for parts unknown at high speed while the one by the tree just looked at us. I kept it to 55 MPH all the way back to Fredericksburg as the shadows grew longer, but Sandy only saw two others and they were both on the other side of the roadside fence. The sun was just setting as we got back.

Texas sunset

Red sky at night, biker's delight

We found that we missed the American Idol vote-off show, which apparently caused some controversy as one of the leading competitors got sent home over the protests of the judges. Then we read for a while before shutting off the lights and going to sleep.

Today's Route (165 motorcycle miles):


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