Our next stop on our way to New Orleans is Lake Charles, near the Texas border in southern Louisiana. We're staying in the nearby town of Westlake for a few days while we explore the area.
We would have like to have stayed in Sam Houston Jones State Park but this is the time of year when making reservations becomes more and more necessary, and they had nothing available. We did make a day trip there to hike several trails, for a total of 6 miles.The scenery was impressive- trees, with the spanish moss hanging from them and the tree trunks sitting in several feet of muddy swamp water. We didn't see any alligators that day, but we did see our first live armadillo. I was surprised that there weren't more bugs along the trails because it sure was warm enough, and the humidity here is about 60-70%, quite a difference from the 8% humidity in western Texas.
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| 911 Memorial |
The next day we checked out downtown Lake Charles which has a nice, newly rebuilt Promendade along the waterfront. There are several beautiful memorials, one of which is dedicated to the local residents lost in the Trade Center buildings on 9/11.
As we drive through the towns and countryside, what really hits us is all the property damage in the area. There are still boats and parts of buildings strewn across fields and bayous. A lot has been done to clean up, but there are many skeletal remains of buildings that may never be rebuilt. When we talk to the locals, they tell stories of the hurricane. But the one they talk about here is Rita. A month after Katrina, Rita ripped through Lake Charles causing over 11 Billion dollars in damage. Street after street we see the empty spots where houses used to stand, with only the concrete slab left behind.
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| remains of a business destroyed by Rita |
Some houses have been replaced already, some are still in the process, and have RVs parked in the driveway as construction continues on the home. We saw one newly constructed home, with a 5th wheel parked in the driveway, sporting a For Sale sign on it. Apparently the house is done, and the RV is no longer needed.
There's a "scenic drive" named Creole Nature Trail that I wanted to check out. Usually when I hear nature trail, I think hiking, but this is a nature trail on steroids- its 180 mile long and passes through at least 3 national wildlife refuges. We packed up the truck with food and fuel, and headed out early in the morning. We didn't drive the whole 180 miles, but we did pass through several of the wildlife refuges, where we could get out and walk some trails. A lot of them were on boardwalks above the bayou, and looking into the water we could see fish, turtles and alligators. On one of our stops, we did a small 3 mile driving loop, which has a requirement that you stay in your vehicle. We started counting alligators and when we got to about 25 or so, we started to understand why we had to stay in the truck! Great photo opportunities though, and really neat to see them in their own "home".
