Lake Charles Trip, Day 6, Saturday, June 27, 2026 – Around Lake Charles
This morning was outdoors reminiscing day. I head north on US-171 over the nice modern bridges that replaced those rickety old two lane ones across the remains of a cypress swamp. I turn left at Moss Bluff and follow the now-4+ lane hiway past businesses that didn’t exit when I’d travel in the past. There’s a bridge over Indian Bayou where once there was none – back then, it was a 3-car ferry over the West Fork of the Calcasieu. I pay a visit to the old ferry landing, now a boat launching site.
Cousin Harold (Pulliam)’s land, once open range grazing, is now filled with upscale small-acreage estates. I bet each of them is valued at more than what he got for most of a 640 acre section. I turn off onto a paved side road that once was mostly sand, cross a modern bridge where the single-lane one once stood and where I used to park for moccasin hunts down the west side of the bayou.
East of the bayou the land is filled with subdivisions. That white crushed shell (in place of gravel) road is now blacktopped. I turn off on the narrow lane that leads to my Louisiana BFF’s family primitive camp/getaway, “Cox’s Wilderness,” where I spent many fun & happy hours. On my earlier visits the area was mostly working folks, now it’s gentrified as well.
I cross a drawbridge that replaced another ferry and take less traveled roads to Westlake and that I-10 bridge; I don’t find it at all scary any more. At the motel I update my Ancestry tree with pictures taken on Wednesday. Now it’s time to attend the LCHS reunion.
The reunion is on the 3rd floor of the civic center, in a large banquet room styled the Buccaneer Room. This area was once known as a haven for smugglers, including some notorious for obtaining their wares rather forcefully in violation of maritime law. Contraband Bayou supposedly earned its name.
I met a number of older grads, but none whom I knew – until I saw Cookie, who makes sure that members of our Class of ‘61 know important-to-us info. We had two speaker/graduates. One served as an Army nurse in Hawaii during the Vietnam era. The other was the son of Lake Charles’ only Governor of Louisiana; his stories related to Louisiana’s role in WWII.
LCHS was known for our girls’ marching group, the Kilties. They had an unusual marching style to a fast, driving cadence. The youngest of their drummers must be close to 60, but they can still drive that cadence! Someone had turned down the lights so I couldn’t get a picture with my camera.
Then ... we sang our LCHS 'fight song,' to the tune of Notre Dame Victory March:
The room overlooked the lake; our I-10 bridge is in the background.
Supper was at a Mexican place in Moss Bluff – first time I’ve had cubed chicken meat in an enchilada.
For the day: 49.5 mile, for the trip: 929.4
Tomorrow: A run down the west side of Big Lake (Calcasieu Lake on your map) to a nature trail teeming with birds, gators, and, most likely, skeeters.
No comments:
Post a Comment