Apr 18, 2013 - Some pics of the reason we can't go home yet

Thursday, April 18, 2013 Just thought I’d throw out a quick report and show some pics that my sister and other friends have sent us of the snow banks up north so folks can see why they all say “Don’t come home, you’d be crazy if you did.” Ok so we are stuck in the south. Moved 123 miles further north yesterday to the oldest town in the Louisiana Purchase area called Natchitoches (Nok-i-tosh). Pretty little town, right on the banks of what used to be the Red River. That’s right, used to be. The river changed course in the 1850’s and the...

Oct 7, 2011 - Natchez, MS to Natchitoches, LA

We drove around Natchez for a couple of hours in the morning to see the antebellum homes and view of the Mississippi River. There are at least 20 homes on the tour here and people come just to do that. I think I would die if I had to tour the inside of all those homes, but I do like to look at the setting and architecture of the outside of some of them. Do you know what antebellum means? I didn't so I looked it up...answer below. They have a gambling casino here on a river boat, but oddly enough, just one, and it's kind of small. So it's a...

Sep 22, 2011 - Natchez to Natchitoches to Convent, LA

Tuesday the 20th we drove to Natchitoches, LA (pronounced here as nack a chis) about 130 miles from Natchez. Natchitoches is the oldest and longest populated settlement from the Louisiana Purchase. It was founded in 1714. We visited the Cane River National Heritage Area this afternoon, and the Oakland Plantation is part of that. This is a Creole plantation, quite different from the ones we have seen so far. Oakland was started in 1785 by a French family named Prud'homme. The house was built in 1821. Purd'homme descendants lived in the house...

Aug 18, 2011 - Natchitoches, Louisianna......WHERE??

Hi Everyone: Well here we sit in Natchitoches, Louisiana…….where???? , yes you heard it right. It a small Historic Town that lies along I-49 from Shrevesport to New Orleans and it’s the parish seat of Natchitoches Parish, Louisiana, United States. As you know, a county in Louisianna is referred to as a “Parish”. Established in 1714 by Louis Juchereau de St. Denis as part of French Louisiana, the community was named after the Natchitoches Indian tribe. The City of Natchitoches was first incorporated on February 5, 1819. It is the oldest...

Oct 14, 2010 - Day Thirty Three - Louisiana & Mississippi

Hi Guys, Today we regrettfully left behind New Orleans and headed west through Louisiana before crossing into Mississippi and visiting some real small southern towns such as Liberty, Smithdale and Meadville. These places were real southern, full of pick up trucks, churches and fields, in fact I seriously think there were almost as many churches as there where houses, they were everywhere and in every demonination, Baptist, Methodist, Catholic, Seven Day Adventist the list just goes on, I mean these guys must just eat, work and go to several...

Jun 10, 2010 - A Rainy Day for Travel

No problems with the blinds overnight; in fact, I think Joe slept really well because of how dark it was inside the coach, despite a really bright flood light on the MCD building. Peggy got our picture for their feature 'on the lot' for their website. There was a light, gentle mist falling as we rolled out of MCD, which soon gave way to seriously heavy rain. We headed east to Greenville and then caught 69 south to I-20 near Tyler. We stopped for lunch at a rest area. By the time we reached the Louisiana state line, the rain had subsided and...

May 2, 2010 - Out of Florida

We are finally out of Florida, so far we have avoided the nasty weather, good thing we decided to take the southern route. We have had some wind today and light rain off and on, but nothing like they are getting north of here. Tomorrow, if the weather holds, we may get most of the way through Texas.

Apr 18, 2010 - Historic Natchitoches

Saturday morning after breaking camp at Uncle Wally’s campground of America, we had plans to check out the Historic Town of Natchitoches, LA. Our Grandson Jimmy Lee gave us a book called A Thousand Places to See Before You Die, when we started out on the RV Vision Quest. That’s how we knew about Natchitoches. Some of you may be familiar with the name if you have ever seen the movie, Steel Magnolias. Jane tells me it’s a great Chick Flick…..I’m taking her word for it….only thing about it I knew was Dolly Parton was one of the characters in...

Apr 9, 2010 - Natchitoches and about

Hi The first 12 photo's are all from Lake Bistineau which was in the last entry. This campsite is an ideal place to stay, so quiet & peaceful, I walk by the lake photographing all the different birds, there are so many different kinds- Red-Flanked Bluetail, Seaside Sparrow, Bushtit, Killdear, Purple Martin, Cardinal to name a few. Blue Dragon Flies settle by the lake, and of course loads of Turtles. The Killdeer nests on the ground they have had to position a sign over the nest in case anybody drives over it. The first night here we had a...

Apr 7, 2010 - Natchitoches

Hi, We have now moved on another 55 miles staying at a little place called Marthaville not far from Natchitoches ( Pronounced Nak-a-tush ). The campsite is nice and small and by a lake on arrival we find out it has an Alligator in it although we have not seen it yet!!! While in Shreveport we went to look at the Largest Mural in the Nation, it was on 2 sides of the AT & T building in Downtown, while out that night drove over The Texas Bridge which is lit up with Neon lights not very easy to photograph in a moving car. During the day we had...

Dec 14, 2009 - 83rd Annual Festival Of Lights

From Colfax RV Park – Colfax, LA The oldest permanent settlement in the Louisiana Purchase founded in 1714 was again our destination. The weather finally gave us a small break from the rain and fog we have encountered since our arrival almost a week ago. Since our main agenda for coming to the city of Natchitoches was to experience the holiday lights along the Cane River Lake and days were running out to be in the city after dark, we chose Sunday to check this off our “things to do” list. In addition to the touted holiday lights, the city...

Dec 11, 2009 - Nothing Ventured, Nothing Gained

From Colfax RV Park – Colfax, LA Have you ever been hyped by a good marketing plan into wanting to see a particular place or event and then at the end of the day asking yourself why you wasted good money and time doing it? This was the story of our exploits yesterday; however both ventures were FREE and no good money was wasted. As a reader of this journal, you are aware that both Rudy and I like historical sites. When we toured Fort Saint Jean Baptiste, one of the rangers said that we should go and check out Los Adaes which at one time had...