I'm off at 0715, ready to head south n I-49 – after a slight misadventure across the line into Texas. This is a very new section of highway, much of opened after I drove north thru here last June. Pine forests line the wide rights-of-way. I cross the Louisiana line at 42.8 miles and look for familiar place names: there's a nice for Plain Dealing, Louisiana's counterpart to Missouri's Fair Play. The first oil wells start appearing, some in the middle of a soybean field. This area is also cattle country, much like Missouri except most of the cattle have "ear" (that means they're Brahma crosses).
I take the west bypass around Shreveport and start looking for gas; my monitor says I had 80 miles left on the tank. Something's funny - gas stations have pumps closed, and there are long lines at those that are open. Then, I notice the traffic lights aren't working. Was there a storm? Boy, indeed, they had one! Trees down across power lines, poles snapped off, few stations open. I back off the gas to conserve, hoping to make it south far enough to reach normality. Finally, I pull the 4-lane at Mansfield and find a station with a good price and no lines, pay inside only. $20 will get me to Lake Charles.
Anacoco, a town just north of Leesville, has lined the highway & filled the median with American flags – I wonder if the take the flags down at night or have hidden lights. Leesville has multiple exits to Fort Johnson. Fort Johnson? Ah, yes – recently renamed from Fort Polk. I always wondered if there was a bit of insult untended in the original post names, as Gen's Hood, Bragg and Polk were not among the South's more successful officers.
Near Rosepine I pass a lumber yard with huge stacks of pine logs being sprayed with water; no smoke, just a preventive measure, I suppose. One front yard in Rosepine has what appears to be a mountain howitzer on its carriage with a soldier nearby – I'm past too quickly to get more than a glimpse.
1100 and I'm looking for a Cajun cafe, Don't see any, so end up after an hour of looking at a Wendy's that actually has good iced tea. I drive past my hotel at 1240, 261 miles in vs the 330 I'd estimated. I drive past each of the houses I lived in from 3rd grade through high school, as well as the 3 remaining of the four schools attended here.
LCHS - "Beneath these wide spread oak trees..." - trees a bit worse for the wear after many years and too many hurricanes.
I spend the rest of the day with my old high school buddy (also named Bill) and his wife. Back to the hotel about 2030, 273.7 miles for the day, 745.7 for the trip. Sunday will be local travel and a visit to a shooting range that doesn't have skeet fields.
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