MAY 1, 2014 GREAT RIVER ROAD TRIP/ LAKE SUPERIOR

Day 1 of the Great River Road trip.....
Getting TO the Great River Road.

We decided to do a few side trips of interest on our way to the Mississippi River.  From Houston, that means heading towards the coast and then east to Louisiana.  We left home around 6 AM, hoping to reach High Island while there is still good morning light.

High Island is on the Bolivar Peninsula and is home to several birding reserves.  Our favorite is the Smith Oaks Reserve, which includes a Rookery used by Roseate Spoonbills, Egrets and Cormorants.  The Island is on a man-made lake, used in the past for water supply and by a sulphur company which has moved on.  Offering protection from predators , it soon became popular with birds as a rookery where they come to build nests and raise young.  It was extremely busy with birds this morning!  Gators and turtles bobbed about in the water and the croaking of bull frogs and buzzing of insects completed the picture.

Several photographers as well as some visitors from Mongolia who took a peek through our lens at these sites...

roseate spoonbills on nest

great egret with chicks

island on left, observation deck on right

every nook and cranny is busy on the island

Purple passion flower, salvia and other flowers nearby.

Scratch-and-sniff of the day (They are still working on this technology for blogs :)):  Beautiful white flowers on shrubs that smell sweet like honeysuckle.

After High Island, we had to go north again and then over to Port Arthur and into Louisiana.  There used to be a highway from High Island right into Louisiana, Highway 87, but this road ran right along the Gulf and after one hurricane too many they decided not to rebuild it.

We crossed the Intercoastal Waterway, which runs all the way from Mexico and is very busy.  It varies from being very close to the coast to being a mile or more inland. Lots of ships and barges, tugs, etc.

We made our way to Highway 82 which runs along the Louisiana coast, and stopped at a little place called Constance Beach for a quick walk and lunch.  The beaches here are fairly shallow and compacted.  We came across a few very large jelly fish - probably close to 12 inches across -  and a woman who was using a board to put them back into the water – guess she thought she was rescuing them.

We continued on till we hit the Creole Nature Trail and headed north.  Stopped at a visitor center with a 1 ½ mile walk through the marshland.  We saw a couple of gators, a dead snake and lots of birds, particularly noisy red-winged black birds and a few herons. 

We had been seeing smoke in the distance for some time and found out here it is a marsh grass fire that was started by a lightning strike 5 or 6 days ago!  It is fairly windy today and we spoke with some rangers/fire fighters who were on the loop, observing and making plans.  They said they have tried a few things to contain it, but because of the high winds it continues to jump.  They aren’t terribly concerned with the fire itself as it is a natural occurance and actually good, but this fire is headed towards the visitor’s center and some other structures that they want to protect.

Continued north and soon reached our next destination, the Mardi Gras Museum in Lake Charles.  It was in an old school which has been re-purposed as a Community Center.  Learned a lot about Mardi Gras celebrations and saw some amazing costumes and decorations.  We suspect we were the only visitors this day, but a friendly lady gave us some beads and turned on the lights and several animated characters who gave the “tour”.

 There were 67 Krewes this year and each one has a king, queen and court.  The museum traced the growth of Krewes in Lake Charles and had hundreds of costumes and memorabilia .  And this is just little old Lake Charles!  Mardi Gras must be what is keeping sequin companies in business!!

We decided to stay in Lake Charles since we have a crawfish farm tour tomorrow morning not too far down the road (in Roanoke!). Found a nice Lowe’s where we spent a quiet night after getting permission, and enjoyed their wi-fi.  Pulled pork sandwiches and salad for dinner.

April 13, 2014 EAST TEXAS SPRING

Sunday April 13

We decided to do a short trip around East Texas and try our hand at fishing - which we've been threatening to do for some time.  Greg saw some great pictures of Caddo Lake in one of the Texas Highways magazines, so this was our first destination.

Left Sunday morning about 9:00, heading to Conroe then over to I59 and North.  Nice wildflowers along the roads, including these near Moscow, TX (north of Livingston).

Stopped in Marshall for gas and tried to go the Pottery there, but it was closed so we continued on to Caddo Lake.  Arrived around 2:30, registered for campsite 64 which was on the water.

 

We decided to break out the fishing gear and give it a whirl.  Lots of trees and aquatic vegetation.  Beth managed to catch a tree, along with assorted plants, sticks, other lines, etc.  Several of the cypress trees might just as well be called "bobber" trees!  The reflections in the water are beautiful and amazing.  They won't rent canoes because of the wind.

   

The water is high here on Big Cypress Bayou, which feeds into Caddo Lake.  This is the only natural lake in Texas, though there are many man-made ones now.  There were some wild, wide rivers back in the day that carried everything from steamboats to schooners to indian dugouts and carried cotton and other goods for trade.  Most of the rivers are smaller now and tamed, except for occasional flooding when mother nature reminds us who is boss.   Bald cypress trees draped in moss wade the streams and bayous while pines and hardwoods are abundant as well away from the water.  The dogwood trees are in bloom and new foliage on trees and on the ground sprouts a hundred shades of green.

Made some dinner and then wondered some more and took pictures. Nice sunset.   Suprisingly few mosquitos though temperatures haven't warmed here as much as they have in Houston.

 Greg started a fire which felt good.  When the moon topped the trees we tried some more shots and then called it a night.  The moon was hazy and cast an eerie light amongst the cypress.  Made one wonder what was in those waters!   Tried painting with light on a few trees.

Monday, April 14

Had a good night's sleep.  The campsites are large and we have no close neighbors.

 

No sun this morning and they are calling for rain later in the day.  The temperatures have been falling.  We tried doing a little fishing this morning, but it was too cold and windy.  We decided to do some exploring in the small towns of Marshall and Jefferson today.

Wound around backroads to Marshall and found the pottery, which was open today.  Well known for their small pottery, they have added all sorts of this and that to their shop - flags, yard decor, ornaments, kitsch.  Nothing we couldn't live without!   On to Jefferson.

Home of Lady Bird Johnson, Jefferson was once quite a metropolis with railroad and steamship stops.  They bank on their history with several small museums  (a few of which were closed on Mondays - including one dedicated to Gone with the Wind), the Jay Gould rail car, old hotels, etc.  We opted for the Jefferson Historical Museum which was in an 1880's built courthouse.  Four floors of old stuff of varying degrees of interest.  We spent about two hours here during which time thunderstorms rumbled outside.

The rain had become only drips when we left and went to the Oakwood Cemetery, called the Cemetary of Angels by some.  Lots of old tombstones and statuary, some civil war soldiers and more from the late 1700's to modern times.  Had lunch while waiting for the rain to abate and did brief tour - would be nice on a good day.

We headed back towards camp and the small towns of Karnack and Uncertain.  Wound around small roads by Caddo Lake.  Hundreds of homes surround the lake, ranging from trailor homes to mansions, with marinas, fish camps and others intermixed.

 The rain stopped around 3:00 and we went back to camp.   Greg cooked hamburgers on the grill and we ate by the blazing fire.  Temps in the 40's are supposed to dip to 30's tonight!  Throw an extra blanket on the bed! Tried a few more night pictures.

Tuesday, April 15

Up at 8 AM with 41 degree temp but beautiful sunshine and clear skies!  Did some more fishing for an hour or so - nothing.  Hot coffee, tea, oatmeal and scones.

Decided to head south a bit around Toledo Bend, another larger lake which straddles the Texas/Louisiana border, as does Caddo.  Taking small country roads, we saw little traffic.  Lots of ranches and woodlands.  Two ranches with exotics, deer, horses, donkeys etc.  Many chicken farms, too, mostly owned by Tyson.  And lots of logging and obvious areas of re-forestation.  There have also been scores of small country Baptist churches and cemeteries.

Lots of red wildflowers with sprinkling of yellows, purple, etc.  including these huge thistles which stand about 3 feet tall.

Stopped at Ragtown Recreation Area on Toledo Bend for a picnic lunch.  Nice park with boat ramp in the middle of nowhere.  Deserted.  We are in Sabine National Forest.

Decided to head for Martin Dies State Park on Steinhagen Lake and arrived there around 4:30.  The sun continued to shine and temps got to about 60.  We got a great campsite with electric, by the water.

Wonderful clean restrooms and hot showers!  Plenty of cypress trees here but not much moss. Walked the campgrounds, saw woodpeckers, cardinals, red-winged black birds, herons and more.

Did a little fishing from the campsite with a few strikes and tugs but no fish.  At least we know they are out there!! Lots of pollen in the air bothering Beth.  Greg made a good fire.

April 16, 2014

Another Beautiful sunny morning 50 ish.  Made ham and eggs for breakfast and did a little fishing - hooked one but it got away.  Campgrounds not very busy though there were folks from Ontario, Florida and a few Texans.  Drove to other areas of the park and hiked a trail on a small island.  Saw lots of dragon flies, turtles, birds, and a nutria.  The trees here are towering magnolias, cypress,  and pine - some are probably 6' around.

 Had fun taking pictures of this blue heron that was hunting and making a meal of a 6" crawfish -it fought back, but lost in the end.

trying to swallow the crawfish

Bade farewell to Martin Dies and headed for Houston via some small roads until we reached I-45.  Back to Houston traffic and the temperature was about 8 degrees warmer (68) at home.  Found all well here.