The drive through Dallas was started around 0730, traffic was wonderfully light and we stayed in the same lane all the way around and through the highways. East of Dallas was lots of long green grass and trees, whole heaps even. We saw turtles trying to cross the road. That seems to be a very bad idea as Joey and I saw several along the side of the road, all ex-turtles who had joined the choir invisible. We saw our first Armadillo! That was super neat, I've always wanted to see one of those. The trip could be summed up as many trees and a whole bunch of grass. It's a little more nuanced than that though. We tend to see all kinds of things when we drive through places. When folks tell us "oh it's just flat wasteland" we see all the little dips and gentle rolling hills, even if slight. Here are a few pictures from the Dallas to Shreveport leg.
Lots of green and trees. Joey was still pretty tired and I don't blame him. He is eight years old and was cooped up in a car with a crazy old man. I did find out that my Hank Hill, Cleveland Brown and Randy Newman impressions are stop your breathing funny, at least to an eight year old. The drive from Shreveport to Natchitoches was mostly small talk and annoying drivers by not going too fast. Thankfully the left lane is for passing so they had somewhere to go. I'd never dream of driving below the speed limit on 95 in Nevada but here it was all good. We stopped in Natchitoches for lunch and some fuel. I managed to go from Dallas to there on 6 and 1/2 gallons. We had Popeyes, Joey had never eaten there before. Now Joey will be a regular or so he said to the lady at the counter. Here's a few pictures from the Natchitoches to Lafayette leg. By the way, Jurisdictional boundaries mean nothing to Joey, Junior Texas Ranger. He will find you, even in the swamps of Louisiana.
From Lafayette we took the I-10 over the Atchafalayla Basin. Joey and I drove with the windows down and the A/C off. The swamp was great. It was warm though. 82 F or so. Not too bad. Surprisingly for those who know me I wasn't sweating at all. I kinda like the humidity, Joey was ambivalent. The bridge across the Atchafalaya River and the swamp was fun, being so far above the swamp was weird. We got off the freeway at the Butte LaRose exit. Wandered around the rest area and took a little drive down LA 3177. We tried to avoid bothering the local folks out riding their ATVs and Rhinos (of the mechanical persuasion), mostly successful, a few annoyed looks many surprised to see Nevada Plates. We got back onto the I-10, which was not as bad as I thought it was going to be. and headed into Baton Rouge. We crossed over the Mississippi River and we arrived. We still had a bit of driving to do to get to the hotel. but compared to Dallas it was a breeze. Tomorrow morning will be far different, I'm sure.
Tomorrow Joey and I head out toward Atlanta. I think we will skip Florida, it adds nearly 3 hours onto our trip and 9 hours is a long time to be locked up with me in a vehicle. Among our many plans for the day is to go dip our feet in the Gulf of Mexico. There will be pics as well and dinner at The Varsity in Norcross, GA. Stay safe everybody -Mike and Joey. P.S.-We may hit this little town called New Orleans on the way.
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