Back to Blogging: West Texas

After we left San Antonio and 'The Alamo" we headed west to Balmorhea State Park.

It's a little bit in the middle of nowhere, but even here there are interesting things to see.

I've passed many a little roadside chapel, but this was the first little roadside mission!

When we got into the hills there were all these fun rock formations. I thought they looked a lot like those drawings of crowds of people- a little square and stacked together.

While we were in Balmorhea, we took a little drive over to Fort Davis, an old Army fort from the mid to late 1800's.

My desert knowledge is definitely lacking, I didn't even know that these plants bloomed like this. They were huge. They looked like they had been there since the fort was active.

I know these oaks were around!

Now to the park-

The main reason we chose to come here was because the CCC took a spot that has 7 natural underground springs and build a big swimming pool around it back in the 1930's.

The pool is full of fish and people come from all around to swim and scuba dive.

It says that it is 25 feet deep, but Joel's dive computer said it was only 10 feet at the deepest.

He saw some catfish and this turtle...

but mostly he saw hundreds and hundreds of little fish that surrounded him everywhere he went. It was funny to watch; when he was swimming away they would trail him like a big fan, like he was the head duck in a formation flying south.

It wasn't much, but at least he got the chance to get his feet wet.

The Alamo

Remember The Alamo!

We stayed in San Antonio for a few days on our way through Texas, and on Sunday after church we made it in to see the Alamo. It seemed a little strange to head downtown amidst all the high-rises and hotels and see the little old Alamo sitting there.

You really felt like you were walking through a piece of history. In the main building they had a sign asking you to please talk quietly and turn your cell phones off so when you are in there you can feel it is a special place.

This Live Oak and several others on the property were so cool. Any kid would love to have one of these in their backyard.

Even the walls surrounding the compound looked to be full of history.

As a side note: Our Ellie finally learned to sit up!

Louisiana Swamps

After we left New Orleans we headed west further into Cajun Country. We stopped at a state park in Lake Charles near the Louisiana-Texas border. We were delighted to pull in and realize that there was a swamp running right through the campground.

We didn't spot any alligators, darn the luck, but there were plenty of turtles out sunning themselves.

This is a row of Cyprus Knees. They are part of the tree's root system; I don't entirely understand their purpose, but it has something to do with having some of their root above the water since Cyprus trees grow most often in the swampy areas.

I found the trees, often draped in moss, and the still waters of the swamps to be beautiful in a mysterious, haunting kind of way.

I think these must be where the expression "odd duck" came from. They have beautiful green iridescent feathers and the homeliest faces I have ever seen. And their swimming form and sounds they make, leave a lot to be desired!

I can't tell you how often, right along side the spanish moss, we would see a fishing bobber hanging all sad in the trees. A few of these trees looked like they were being decorated for an early Christmas :P

The campground wasn't all swamp, they were kind enough to provide swings for our favorite Mother-Son activity!

This tree next to the swings looked like it had been moonlighting as the local bulletin board.

The best part about traveling the country in our 5th wheel is that no matter how far we go or what state we're in, we are only a few steps from home.

New Orleans!

We've made it as far as New Orleans! What a fun/exciting/scary/and depressing place to be, lol. Typical of most big, older cities I suppose.

Joel was feeling a bit under the weather, so even though we were here for an entire week, we only made it into the city twice for less than 3 hours each time. At least it was enough to give us a little taste.

The French Quarter was full of fun and colorful architecture and the streets were crowded and narrow. Driving our one-ton crew cab truck down some of them was a bit of a challenge.

Down by the river was a city square where everyone seemed to gather and sell their wares.

Someone was trying to make a buck on every corner. This guy was one of our favorites. He earned our dollar and then some.

We grabbed some lunch here at the Rivers Edge. The food wasn't much to brag about, but it was great to sit down and watch the world go past our open french door style window.

The Saint Charles Line is the oldest continuously running Street Car line in the world. Its been running for over 150 years and its cars are definitely from another era.

Down town has street cars everywhere you turn and each time Seth would see or hear one, he would start talking excitedly about "the train" and want to get on it. So the second time we made it to town we made it a point to take a ride. Seth sat by the window and was really in his element.

Ellie couldn't have cared less, but like any woman worth her salt, she was excited to have her purse!

We ended the day touring through a fairly new WWII museum- now it was Joel's turn to be in his element!

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"WELCOME TO THE END OF THE WORLD"

Sunday after attending a good sized branch not too far from here, I talked Joel into going for a long Sunday Drive. We headed about 75 miles down into the southern most point of Louisiana (that you can drive to) where the Mississippi finally empties into the Gulf.

At the point when you think you have come to the end of the road, it just turns and keeps on going right through the water (well it seems that way at least).

If you look closely at that little strip of land just past the trees, you will see a couple of cars driving on it. This view was looking back after we turned around to head back to the main land. You couldn't believe there was enough dirt there to make a road.

It was a fun place to watch the sun go down.

Farmerville, LA- Fun with Friends

This week we have been in Farmerville, Louisiana where Joel graduated from high school.

A few months ago Joel was able to get in touch with his good friend, Cindy who still lives here in town. She took us under her wing when we hit town and kept us well entertained and well fed!

She invited us out to her family home and spoiled us rotten!

She called up another one of their good high school buddy's, Bill, who came and spent the day. There were old "remember when' stories flying left and right.

This is Cindy and her husband, Brian, and Bill standing by Joel.

Cindy cooked up a true southern feast and had ruined Joel for my cooking.

She baked a turkey and made cornbread stuffing

sweat potato casserole

green beans with bacon

warm rolls

pecan pie

sweet potato pie with pecans

and a rich yummy chocolate cake!

I think we were all about waddling by the time we were done eating.

Brian took Seth and I out in their 'gator' for a tour through the back 40, so to speak. He really tried to find an armadillo for me to see, but we didn't have any luck.

Seth and Ellie made a new friend in Cindy's nephew

Cindy's dad has a new hobby of raising mules

Cindy found a big box for Seth and Ellie to play in.

They had a blast!

And to top off our fun day, it was also Ellie's 6 month half birthday. She is getting so big and is such a delight! What a blessing she is in our already blessed life.