Texas at last!

Our final drive into Texas was exciting in and of itself!  First we spent over 18 miles driving on the Atchafalaya Basin Bridge across the Atchafalaya National Wildlife Refuge.  For whatever reason this was a surreal experience for me, and although 'ground' (very wet swampy ground) was always below us, it brought back strong memories of driving along the Overseas Highway to Key West.  It was somehow fascinating to spend such a long time driving with nothing to see but swamp and more bridge.  I tried to capture a photo.

No matter how hard I tried I just couldn't quite capture the
feeling, but hopefully you can get an impression of the
neverending bridges in both directions.

The other exciting thing was much less surreal and much more ha-ha...as we were driving along I-10, quickly approaching Texas, I noticed a slowdown on the map due to an 'object on the road' (according to Google).  As we approached, we saw several police cars and officers out of their cars...chasing a cow.  I couldn't stop laughing, and somehow it seemed a very appropriate welcome to Texas.

You may have to zoom the photo to see
that the police officer is chasing a black cow.

Once we finally reached Texas, we stopped just over the border in Lumberton, where we stayed at Village Creek State Park.  I went ahead and purchased a Texas State Parks Pass when I booked our first state park in Texas - at only $70 for the year, it is going to more than pay for itself as it waives the per-person daily fees required at every state park (even when you have a campsite reservation!) AND makes the second day of every campsite rental half price.  So now in addition to giving us lots of cheap (and hopefully beautiful!) state parks to camp at, it allows us to hop in and out of the gazillion other parks in Texas for quick hikes or bike rides without thinking about fees.  Hot tip for anyone else thinking of an extended stay in Texas 😎.

Our campsite at Village Creek State Park

Texas sticker on the map!

The campground at the state park was fairly small and all the campsites were close together, no privacy to speak of.  However, the sites were clean and well-equipped and the bathhouse seemed nice.  There was a nature center with an informative ranger and some interesting local wildlife (particularly a siren and an amphiuma - creepy creatures).  The small park had several hiking and biking trails and a canoe launch.  

I made the mistake of trying to bike down the main trail marked as a bike trail...OOPS.  Turns out these are true mountain biking trails.  We've been biking on shared hiking/biking trails all along the Gulf coast without difficulty as they were all flat, on firm un-rocky soil, surrounded by trees that don't have roots that poke up from beneath the ground.  So I started on this trail without a care...only to find we're out of the coastal plain and into deciduous trees with projecting roots and all sorts of slopes and gullies along the terrain.  Later I found out I was on a 'moderate' biking trail...no good for a mostly road-biker like me!  The next day Aaron and I took the trail marked 'leisurely'....this took out the gullies and slopes but kept the roots and added in sand traps.  We have a long way to go before we're really ready for mountain biking!

Attempting to pass through a sand trap

Difficulties aside, the trails had some nice views of the creek and the sloughs that fed it.

Village Creek

One of the sloughs

We spent another day driving down to nearby Beaumont and seeing the sites there.  Turns out the Beaumont area started thriving in the early 1900s due to the discovery of oil at Spindletop with the Lucas Gusher in 1901.  This oil discovery launched the American oil industry, several of the major oil companies we still know, and a boomtown in the area.  We went to a recreation of some buildings of the era at the Spindletop Gladys City Boomtown.  It was interesting to see all the old buildings and the businesses that were necessary for an oil boomtown to function the way it did - including various ways to barter and lease areas of as small as 1/64th of an acre for prospectors to put up their own oil derricks.  The photos in the museum of the area at its peak were incredible, with oil derricks crowded all up against each other.  It was said you could walk across the whole field of them without touching the ground, they were so close.

Spindletop Gladys City Boomtown

Afterward we headed to the park outside the fire museum, where you can find the world's largest working fire hydrant.  There are two larger ones in North America but they are not functional.  This hydrant was gifted to the fire museum in 1999 by Disney upon the re-release of 101 Dalmations.  It was a fun little park and picture.

World's largest working fire hydrant

Tickfaw State Park & Baton Rouge

We just enjoyed our first campsite in Louisiana at Tickfaw State Park.  This park is about 45 minutes east of Baton Rouge.  The park was awesome!  We had a very private campsite (as were many of the sites on the outside of the camping loop) with a wooden deck to keep us away from the swamp.  There was an awesome bathhouse with a clean and well equipped laundromat.  They had tons of bite-sized hiking/biking trails, many (all?) with boardwalks.  The whole park was just well maintained and beautiful.  

Our campsite at Tickfaw State Park

Louisiana sticker added!

Now, the downside is that the highest the temperature reached while we were there was around 55F.  We bundled up that day and biked the longest trail in the park, which was quite fun despite the cold.  We also went to the nature center to watch a video on the park and look at the exhibits inside the warm building - fortunately the only other soul in the center was the ranger, masked in one corner of the center.

Biking on the River Trail

If you look closely you can see me on the far side of the river

The other days we did some birdwatching from inside the RV - saw several cute fluffy songbirds and this handsome fellow.

Woodpecker at our campsite

We drove into nearby Ponchatoula for groceries.  It was a beautiful town!  We saw some true mansions on expansive grounds, complete with fountains.  As we drove around, I noticed a pattern we had seen a little of in Biloxi - houses, even nice expensive ones, that had uncovered cinderblock pillar foundations.  We learned at our last stop at Beauvoir that historically homes were constructed on stilts even in dry areas to help with cooling in the hot summers; or since the whole area is swampy, perhaps it is that or just to keep the foundations out of the moisture, or maybe both!  It was amazing how prevalent it was.  I got a representative picture of the cabins at the state park.

Cabins on cinderblocks

On our last day we drove into Baton Rouge - it was too cold to enjoy the way we hoped to, but we drove down to the Mississippi River, took a picture with a sculpture that occasionally sings (not while we were there) and drove by the old state capitol, which looks like a castle!

Sculpture on the river walk in downtown Baton Rouge -
the Mississippi River is in the background

Old State Capitol Building

This area was pretty nice, and we were sorely disappointed that it was too cold for us to stand being outdoors to enjoy it more.  Perhaps we'll return some day.

Watch out for the Plants in Mississippi!

Next stop on our way to Texas: Biloxi, Mississippi.  We stayed at Parkers Landing, just off of I-10, while we were there for 4 days.  Parkers Landing was very convenient to the interstate and we had a site at the end of the park with a view of Parker Creek, which was nice.  In a sign of the times, my initial impression of this park was a little negative as I was stressed that the park host wasn't wearing a mask when I went inside the office to check in.  However, after I got over my stress and looked around, the owners really have made an effort to beautify their park, with plants and decorations all around.  The sites did have cracking concrete pads and drainage issues, but overall the park was decent looking and we had full hookups, free cable, and free wi-fi.  The picnic tables at each site were brand new and they had fire extinguishers mounted at every other site - not sure if this was a local regulation or their own ingenuity.  We did note that the 'back' campground (there were two sections to the park) consisted of all waterfront properties and had a much nicer overall feel - but those sites were more expensive.

Campsite at Parkers Landing

This being our first ever stay in Mississippi, I got to add another sticker to our map!

Look at that Mississippi sticker!

Our first outing in the Biloxi area was the Mississippi Sandhill Crane National Wildlife Refuge.  The refuge itself is a decent size but it only has two short hikes available.  I was interested in the C.L. Dees Trail, which is known for its carnivorous plants.  It seems that we didn't go at the right time of year to see the plants in all their glory, but we saw several different species leftover from last season or in their early stages of growth this season.  The coolest thing was to look out on the fields filled with pitcher plants - I've never seen so many together, and I didn't know they grew as big as they do!

Dwarf Sundew

Pitcher Plants

Yellow Butterwort

I'm not sure how well it comes through, but all
the dark looking vertical lines in the field are
pitcher plants

Later on the Fontainebleau Trail

Driving around Biloxi, I realized that its main claim to fame must be its numerous casinos, many of which were right on the Gulf.  We wandered around the former site of the Palace Casino, the building for which was torn away in its entirety during Katrina and 'floated' about a half mile down the coast.  The destruction was remarkable - metal water and sewer pipes and electrical cables completely sheared off and concrete destroyed as the casino was ripped from its foundations.  Now the site is used by the locals for fishing, but we hear an outdoor music venue is slated for the area soon.

What remains of the old Palace Casino site

Our next major outing was to visit Beauvoir, the post-war home of Jefferson Davis.  There was a small museum and library on the site, but the most interesting part of our visit was an hour long private tour of the house itself (private because we were the only ones there in the middle of the day on a work day).  Hearing about the long history of the house, owners, and grounds (Davis was only there for a short bit of it) was fascinating - we had a great tour guide who was an amazing storyteller.  My favorite part of the house architecture was the way it was composed of 3 separate buildings joined at the corners by expansive porches - this way, every room of the house had two outside walls to generate a cross-breeze in the hot Mississippi heat.  Aside from the main entry hall, the house has no interior hallways.

Waiting on the front porch of Beauvoir for the tour to start

An old grandfather clock owned by 
Davis's father, who fought in 
the Revolutionary War, then by Davis
himself.  It still runs perfectly!

After Davis's death, the home and grounds became a rest 
home and hospital for Confederate veterans and their 
spouses.  There is a cemetery on site associated with the
soldiers' home.

And last but not least...well, maybe least...we stopped by the world's largest rocking chair!  This chair is 35' tall, constructed by the Dedeaux furniture company to mimic one of they make in their factory.  I suppose if you read the fine print it was the largest when constructed and now is only the third largest...but it was impressive nonetheless!

Huge Rocking Chair!

Pensacola

Continuing our trek west, we made our last stop in the Florida panhandle at Pensacola RV Park.  Florida is such a long state!  Crazy how long it took us to get out of it.  The Pensacola RV Park was absolutely lovely.  The sites were well maintained and easy to get in and out of, the staff was friendly and quick to address all issues and questions, and the location was awesome for I-10 access.  We enjoyed having a sewer connection, cable, and free WiFi!

Our campsite at Pensacola RV Park

Unfortunately most of the things I had hoped to see in Pensacola were on the naval air station, which was closed to non-military due to COVID.  Normally you can go to the Naval Aviation Museum on the base and watch the Blue Angels practice...not only could we not get to the museum, but even if we could, the Blue Angels weren't practicing.  Very disappointing!  I can't help but wonder what other unique things we'll miss traveling during COVID times...meaning we'll probably need to come back along this route again in the future!

Fortunately Fort Pickens was still open!  This national park is the site of an old Civil War fort (used by the Union in the war), later equipped with significant artillery batteries during World War I.  The fort saw action during the Civil War but not World War I.  The visitor center was closed (so no national park passport stamp for us), but all of the batteries and the main fort were open.  The drive out to the fort was incredible - we drove through a long stretch of road with dunes and water on both sides - and most of the numerous structures were well preserved and open for you to climb on (which Aaron, of course, loved).

That's sand, not snow!

Standing atop one of the batteries looking
out on the Gulf

He HAD to see what was inside...

A cannon atop Fort Pickens itself

Atop Fort Pickens

Our stay in Pensacola was pretty chilly, so we opted not to go out on the couple of bike trails I'd found.  Instead, Aaron changed our transmission fluid (we just discovered it needed changing) and fixed a suddenly broken awning bracket.

Changing the transmission fluid

The transmission fluid dipstick is REALLY long and surprisingly
flexible

Fixing the awning bracket with 
some sort of not-riveter that attaches
to a drill

Our time in Pensacola closed on a sad note.  My Uncle John, who was an integral part of my childhood, who attended all of the major (and most non-major) events in my life, and who was generally just a wonderful, generous, fun, and fun-loving person, passed away on January 3.  I will miss him terribly.

Hiking with Aunt Jane & Uncle John in high school

College graduation

Wedding (my 'uncle' photo - Uncle Walker and my other
Uncle John on the left)

Thanksgiving 2019

The last time we were together in person - a socially 
distanced outdoor gathering in October before we got
back on the road 

Manatees & a Hunt Camp

We enjoyed a few days south of Tallahassee at Newport Campground.  This was a county park unlike any we've been to so far - usually county parks have large day use areas and a campground in the back somewhere.  This park seemed to be more of a hunt camp provided by the county.  They even had a place to hang and gut your kill!  There was no day use area to speak of, and the size, arrangement, and privacy of the campsites felt much more like some of the lower-end private RV parks we've been to than a public park.  The campground was full but I only saw one child the whole time we were there - another oddity for county parks, which are usually filled with weekending families.  This is the only park we've been to that appeared to have long term tent campers.  So odd in so many ways.  However, it was convenient to our route, had a nice little river observation area (from which the long term residents said you could occasionally view manatees...no such luck for us though), and the campground host was very friendly.

Our campsite.  Aaron was quite strategic in managing to not 
really capture the campers very close on both sides in the photo.  They 
placed an orange cone at the front of the RV because they 
worried it was too close to the road and might be hit.

River Observation Deck

This is the first time I've been in a tidal area long enough to really notice the change in tides.  I've been on the coast plenty of times, but always just for that one point in time, somewhere mid-tide, where the extreme changes really weren't obvious.  I knew we were close to the coast, but thought we were far enough inland that any tidal action would be unnoticeable.  Not so!  It was really neat to observe the change in tides every day - we looked the tide schedule up so we could regularly go out to the campground's river observation area at precise high and low tides.

High Tide

Low Tide

There were two highlights to our visit in this area.  First, we went up to the Wakulla Springs state park, where we saw manatees right away!  There was one super close to the swimming area and then a mother and babies far off that we could only see a vague shape of through binoculars.  Apparently the high-volume spring is popular for manatee births as it is a relatively safe area for their babies.  The water was unbelievably clear, the first place we've seen manatees where you could see them beneath the water and didn't have to wait for them to surface.

First time ever we've snagged a picture
WITH a manatee!

Close up of the manatee in case you didn't 
believe the gray blob in the other photo :-)

Second, we drove down to the St. Mark's Wildlife Refuge and Lighthouse - conveniently our campground was at the other end of "Lighthouse Road" so we were as close as you could be to it!  Unfortunately the lighthouse itself was closed due to COVID restrictions, but the area around it was quite picturesque and we enjoyed walking along the beach.

Picture perfect day!

Walking along the beach next to St. Mark's Lighthouse

And our trek west continues!  We have one more stop in Florida before we leave this VERY LONG state and get to put another state sticker on our map.