Heading east out of Texas we spent one lovely last night at Lake Tawakoni S. P. It was then on to our favorite State – Louisiana. We have been partial to LA ever since we visited New Orleans in 2005 just before Katrina. We love the food, the music, the gaiety and the people who are either really really happy or really really down and out. There is no middle ground in LA.
It was an easy 3 hour drive to Shreveport, a city of 200,000. The third largest city of LA, it has a history of oil and gas development and production. Today it is the educational, cultural and commercial centre of the Ark – LA – TX tri-state area. It is on the navigable Red River where it meets the historic Texas Trail. The Mississippi River is still another 3 hours east at Vicksburg.
We drove straight through town to camp at Lake Bistineau S. P. And what an experience it was. About 200 years ago a huge log jam on the Red River flooded the land here. Later a dam was built that created the 27 sq. mi. permanent reservoir. the S.P. is dotted with cypress and tupelo trees whose bases are under water. Annual flooding can be a problem for the alligators who thrive here! We had a good chat with the park attendant who was most friendly as southeners are. She told us all about the area. It was early in the season an we basically had the park to ourselves. Take a look.
The next day we drove into Shreveport looking for some crawfish. Crawfish have a distinctive flavour – you either love them or you don’t. We looked around town a bit a found what we were looking for at the local casino.
After a great feast we spent another night at Lake Bistineau before nipping off into the SE corner of Oklahoma. Fond memories of our visit to the Shreveport area persist.
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