Texas spanned large, yet finally relented, so we were off to Louisiana! Sam Houston Jones State Park near Lake Charles was our destination. The day started out with clear blue skies as we began to pack up for our travels, and wouldn’t you know it, the same main slide issue on our 5th-wheel reared it’s ugly head again! What did we do? We decided to ignore it and get everything else packed up, including loading our trike. Sending positive thoughts into the ether, the whirring of the piston sounded, the room tilted and it retracted without any issues! Hmmm, just what is going on here? Oh well, it was time to hit the road!
The drive was mostly uneventful, with the horrendous pothole-filled, uneven, humped, damaged roads being our greatest worrisome complication. A close second is keeping calm, focused and aware, in order to steer our heaving, bucking, swerving, long, conjoined rig through these hurdles, all while other big rigs and cars fly by at much higher speeds. I tell ya, we’ve been tempted many times to stop at some of the drive-through daiquiri establishments (what?!?!). Unquestionably, new roads and bridges, that are constructed well, are desperately needed everywhere!! Happily, we made it safely to our site, and set up our rig without any issues. Revving up the trike engine for unloading stirred the campground hosts who came over to admire our toy and share their own stories of motorcycle adventures.
In spite of the good luck we’d had, we couldn’t let the temperamental hydraulic slide saga slip from our minds. So, waking up the following morning, Curtis thought what could be more fun than testing it again and playing with it for the rest of the day?! (It seems that he’s missing all of those home projects that we so love, doesn’t it?) He pushed the button…nothing happened, and déjà vu set in as he went through the same gyrations of pushing this button, and pulling that lever with no success. Resigned, it was time to contact another mobile RV mechanic, scheduling a time for the following day for the repair. In the meantime, Curtis spent about half a day on the internet reading up on our entire hydraulic system for our 5th-Wheel just to have a better understanding of this system, it’s buttons, levers, and all. Fun!
The next day, we witnessed another miracle! The RV mechanic arrived, just in time to witness that sucker sliding in, nice and smooth! And that’s it! We discovered the fix; call a mechanic and pay them just to show up! At least this one only cost us $50 for a reduced trip charge. After a short discussion, it was surmised that the most “probable” cause is a failing hydraulic cylinder for that section. With no local resources, Curtis jumped online and ordered a new hydraulic cylinder to be delivered to the campground, hopefully before we needed to leave.
“Good liquor is not cheap. Cheap liquor is not good.
-Dorothy Draper, first professional American Interior Designer
Whew! Well, that just illustrates how, even while adventuring, we still have to address mundane, every day, activities and issues before continuing our adventures. Eventually, we were freed up to explore the Lake Charles area. The morning sunshine gave way to afternoon clouds, so we opted for something indoors. Reviewers on RV life had mentioned touring a distillery yet didn’t mention a name and Laura found two in her search; one was further away and charged for a walk-through, while the other was closer and the tour was free. Free was definitely in order after our mechanic Xmas donation spree.
Approaching the address for Yellow Fin Distillery located in Sulphur, we asked each other ‘where is it?’. We were looking for a larger establishment; instead a small two-room metal building stood before us with only one other vehicle in the parking lot. Were they open? Was anyone working here? Yes, and we had Walter all to ourselves for the tour! We were astonished by what they accomplish in this small-scale operation. And the fact that they’re label is a “single estate” label, it means that they are more hands-on with every facet of their operation than those that are labeled “hand-crafted”. While sipping samples, Walter informed us that it all originated from the owner/creator’s desire to make an enjoyable sipping vodka, and just this year, they have added a sipping rum to their line as well. In all they now have four different variations of each. Curtis and I typically don’t drink spirits straight, but as the saying goes ‘when in Rome…’ and we found them to be tasty and smooth! A very interesting, engaging and educational experience. The liquor cabinet benefitted as well!
Awash in History
We had to stop at the Visitors Center to obtain maps and information in order to tour the Charpentier Historic District, which encompasses residences that date back to the late 1800’s and early 1900’s. During this span of building, it was carpenters (charpentiers), not architects, who were responsible for designing the homes with each one expressing their own artistry and craftsmanship. On the trike, we slowly perused several blocks until we reached the downtown civic center area, where we parked and continued on foot. Under a partly sunny sky, with a crisp breeze, we leisurely strolled along admiring the architecture, working up an appetite by the time we finished.
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We ended up at the Pujo Street Cafe for lunch where we enjoyed our meal in a nice fully enclosed “sidewalk” cafe area. We ordered Oysters Pujo for an appetizer and a single order of their version of sticky ribs as one of their specials. Both items were superb!! This meant only one thing; we just had to try their Bread Pudding with Rum Sauce for dessert. It was absolutely to die for!
Sated, we hopped on the trike for the finale to our historic neighborhood tour, Shell Beach Drive. This prestigious area showcases the large “estate” historic homes that line the south shore of Lake Charles. As you head south along Shell Beach Drive, the houses are actually on the left side, while across the street, situated on the water are their corresponding docks and boathouses, many that mimic the main houses. Since your head is on a swivel, it is definitely a slower drive (not something that the locals are thrilled with, as they’ll dart around you every chance they get making it a little nerve-racking on the small busy drive. Walking would be a better way to experience this stretch). Moreover, for the Holidays, this stretch was festooned in decorations and lights. We even saw Santa being pulled by his…alligators…
Keeping with the historical theme, we tracked down the Imperial Calcasieu Museum which houses a permanent collection of artifacts and memorabilia from the Native Americans to the present, depicting life in the old Imperial Calcasieu region. This museum provides information regarding a number of the more influential individuals that helped to not only settle this region 200 years ago, but also those that impacted its overall cultural and economical development.
Perusing the exhibits was interesting and informative, yet the true delight was when the young docent, who greeted us at the door, would chime in to share her wealth of local historical knowledge with unique flair and vivacity! As it turned out, Camille Vizena is one of the artists in residency with the museum which also provides 2,500 square-feet of exhibition space known as the Gibson-Barham Gallery for self-curating, rotating art exhibits for the community. It was all very engaging and it’s clear that she’s very proud to share her heritage with the visitors.
“Lose Yourself in Nature and Find Peace”
-Ralph Waldo Emerson, American essayist, lecturer, philosopher, abolitionist and poet
Purportedly, right out our front door was some of the best hiking/walking and biking paths in the Lake Charles area! It was time for us to explore Sam Houston Jones State Park (SHJSP) a little more. We began our walk by following the road circling the lake bordering the campground. We were soon led to a boardwalk that traversed across the pond, and was built just atop the water’s surface. Of course, we were enticed to investigate, however it does have an interesting visitor warning sign “Alligators are in the area”! Would it register in normal people’s brains that maybe the boardwalk should’ve been built on taller piers? Do the alligators haul themselves out to sun on this very nice boardwalk? Probably! But I guess we’re not normal, so we just had to venture on to see if we could spot (or run into) these resident alligator(s)! Keep an eye out for them and you just might be rewarded with a quick sighting. Curtis thought he might’ve seen a stealth attack on a fish, but he wasn’t quite certain. Did we mention that a few small ponds can be fished? Could be interesting hauling in your catch with an alligator attached to it!! For sure, though, we saw a handful of cute turtles sunning themselves on logs…right before one would inevitably fall off (just like the ones we’d seen in Victoria, Canada in September!).
As we continued, we discovered that a portion of a historic wagon trail once traveled through the area and some of the paths follow in it’s tracks. There is also a 1.6 mile Riverwalk Trail, which we decided to enjoy. Due to the flat land and heavy forestation, we didn’t even realize how close the West Fork of the Calcasieu River was and that the RV campground was encircled in a horseshoe switchback of this wide, lazy river. Even walking along it’s banks, the view of the water was somewhat obscured by thickets of vegetation. Every so often though, we’d get a clear view across to the backyards of the residences lining the opposite side. It was peaceful, with clear skies and sunshine, and nice to be communing with nature.
Much of the Lake Charles and surrounding areas had toothpick forests that had the top portion of the trees violently snapped off; ghostly remnants of hurricane Laura, a category 4 tempest occurring in August of 2020, followed by a weakening yet large hurricane Delta, hitting only two months later. SHJSP was no different, having jumbles of dead branches scattered amongst the abundant rebounding foliage. On the positive side for us campers, scavenging for firewood was easy. And who doesn’t love a campfire for warming up the evenings while enjoying the setting sun?! Hot buttered Rum and Orange Cranberry Toddy’s helped too!
The Louisiana Outback…It’s a Gas??
It was time to set out on the Creole Nature Trail All American Road Adventure. As the name denotes, this is mostly a driving experience along 180 miles of road, encompassed within two parishes, the northern Calcasieu Parish and the southern Parish of Cameron bordering the Gulf Coast. Along the way there are a number of locations that offer short hikes and boardwalks to stretch one’s legs and view the local wildlife. Luckily it can be easily divided into different sections so we drove the main loop, starting at the small town of Sulphur, south to Holly Beach, then east to the community of Oak Grove, then back to Lake Charles, around 130 miles in total. Unfortunately, once again, we were met with clouds of large mosquitoes at the designated scenic / points of interest, making the “get out and explore” part less inviting. Sad, as maybe our impression would’ve been elevated a little more. Instead, the experience was gloomily compounded by the fact that this “nature” trail/drive has very little nature as it’s focus.
Lamentably, a person mostly experiences the numerous oil and gas refineries that overwhelm the area and, the “trail” attempts to showcase it as a natural benefit. We think it naturally would’ve benefitted from, say, pure nature, not the man-made toxic citadels nor the mendacious narrative about how it’s “natural”. Silly notion, eh?
Does the picture at the beginning of the blog make more sense now?
“Just ask the local people for the best food. Don’t rely on a guidebook.”
-Masaharu Morimoto, Japanese Iron Chef
The one saving grace about our nature trail experience was beginning at the Creole Nature Trail Adventure Point, a center that is not only designed to introduce visitors to the natural wildlife and landscape of the area, it also acquaints them with the culture and way of life in Southwest Louisiana. Once again, manning the welcome center were two very enlivened and helpful locals, eager to help shape our stopover in the area. As you can imagine, tackling the long driving trail ahead of us would also mean that we’d have to stop and eat, but first we needed to learn a thing or two.
Here we thought that cajun food and creole food were the same; we were quickly schooled otherwise. In a simple generalization, Lake Charles, and the western half of Louisiana, is known as cajun, whereas creole is found more in the eastern half, concentrated around New Orleans. What is the difference you ask? While many characteristics exist, a basic rule of thumb is that cajun tends to be spicier and Creole will tend to incorporate tomatoes.
The “must try” list of cajun food that they had printed included boudin (pronounced boo-dan; a rice and meat “sausage”), crawfish pistolette (a fried pocket of dough filled with crawfish and cheese) and gumbo, and they excitedly expounded on the best places to try different variations of each. Brown’s Food Store in Hackberry served their boudin in a fried ball, and we got to sample the crawfish pistolette at The Last Stand Food Truck in Cameron, thoroughly stuffing ourselves to the gills. Yet we had one last dish to try, especially since we’d both only had a “creole” version made with a tomato base. So on our last day we headed back to the town of Sulphur, stopping at Hollier’s Cajun Kitchen where we not only ate to our heart’s content, but we went home with their own boudin sausage links that we could cook up ourselves and a jar of pickled hard boiled quail’s eggs. We’ve since tried both and they are delicious!!
“In the depth of winter, I finally learned that there was in me an invincible summer.”
-Albert Camus, French philosopher
We changed our plans of travel that night, deciding to really push to get closer to warmer weather, which meant the ability to head further south. Florida, here we come!
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Sounds like you took in every thing there was to do, especially EATING, lol. The distillery sounded great, hope you will still have some of what you bought left for sampeling. Continue to enjoy your adventure.
Eating has definitely been an adventure in and of itself. Can’t say we’ve always taken to it, yet trying out the local cuisine is part of the experience! With rain and cooler temperatures we tried a lot of new hot toddy recipes with the good stuff, so we’ve recently run out. But our bellies were warmed. We’ll just have to find another adventure!
I hope you get the slide issue resolved as I know it can be very frustrating! Your tour of southern estates and architecture brought back many memories of my time living in Georgia! It was a whole different world for me at the time and a culture I had never experienced before! The old cotton farm mansions were beautiful and since hardwood was readily available, the wood work inside was meticulously designed. You mentioned the refineries but keep in mind your modes of transportation and trip would be impossible without them! Thanks for all the historical facts and perspectives! Much appreciated, drive and be safe! You uncle and aunt Taylor.🙏🏼🇺🇸🤠
We haven’t yet needed to install the new hydraulic cylinder that we ordered because the slide seems to be working. We believe it’s just the threat of replacement that keeps the old one going, and we’re fine with that.
We’d hoped to adventure more through the Louisiana, Alabama, and Mississippi areas for the specific purpose of exploring more of the architecture. Maybe it’ll be warmer when we swing back; we’ll just need the time. However, we love Georgia and will be allocating a lot of time for adventuring more through the state, so we’ll definitely search out some of the mansions. Let us know if there’s any you think we should try to see.
While you’re correct in that our current modes of transportation rely on this antiquated means of energy, we believe that humans can and should do better, especially when they learn that a method (any method) is unhealthy for the environment and humans. We’re way past the point of understanding how toxic the oil and gas industry is and we should never be beholden to something just so the corporations can continue to make billions of dollars. Honestly, I’d prefer if we would convert our diesel into one that would make efficient use of biodiesel from used cooking oil. I’d feel much better about breathing and smelling something that cooked hamburgers and french fries.