Copy LaFourche Country The First Ride

Al and I have been planning to take this ride over to Bayou LaFourche Country. (say La-foosh) Yesterday, needing a productive outing, I decided to do a little of that proposed trip as a recon mission to determine if the miles required to get to the "good stuff" were doable, or, to put it bluntly, worth it. At 270 miles, 180 of it is flat out boring, monotonous, and tiring, I have squashed the plan as it stands now. To do that sort of ride, a detailed "points of interest" itinerary would have to be screwed together first. I was able to have a little fun with it because of my special interest and what I found in Nepoleonville that triggered that interest. That's much further down the road. Here goes the ride report. I told Al I'd present it to him. I don't think I'll have a problem detouring our ride. He was already having doubts concerning logistics and if there was anything left to claim for France in that area. The ride down to New Iberia seemed "familiar". I knew, having left the house shortly before 12 noon, that expediency, economy and flat out gettin' it would be in order. I'd put my blinders on until past Morgan City. I carefully filled the 5.8 gallon fuel tank to the brim in New Iberia. Highway speed dips the 50+ mpg advantage into the high 40's. I hit "new" US 90, headed east, tucked in and flying low. Have you ever noticed how covering miles on a featureless interstate takes forever? I was not soon in Morgan City. The approach to the bridges over the Atchafalaya is awing. The narrow old US 90 "Huey P.Long Bridge", sits beside the wide new version named for some less notable politician, no doubt. I once knew who. This will not be the last reference to H.P.Long in this ride report. I exited the 70 mph, interstate like US 90, soon to be I-49 in places. I like riding Old 90 (La.182) at Amelia. I remember traveling that stretch with my father in the mid-50's when he took me out to well locations. 90 has been in my blood for a long time. Immediately upon dropping down on now La.182, I saw it, the road of my youth. I'd missed it before. There it was, sitting off to the side of the new surface. This shot is looking back toward the Morgan City and the huge facilities that deal with the needs of the oil industry. I grinned. To the far right, you can see a car on the new road. It was time to cross the Bayou Boeuf bridge. I have to warm up to crossing these high bridges, so I decided to inspect it first. You, know, kick the supports, etc. There's a landing down there. It offered a shot at what I think is a large oil rig supply boat. It was time to go over the bayou. Later that day, I'd notice how many cranes there are in this area. It does let the imagination out of the coop. Seeing them all moving around at once would be a trip. Oops. Finally on flat, if not solid ground, I was off, headed to Gibson, but wouldn't make it that far. I'll be using my old software when possible. It refers to 182 as US 90. I like that. It doesn't even know about New 90. Only my tracks made on the return ride show New 90 at this point. I was in Wetworld. The blue horizontal lines depict swamp. Only man made engineering eliminates the need for a boat in this place. I decided to take another route into LaFourche Country. 662 would work. This east leg of 662 is quite a pretty ride. It delivers you to Bayou Lours where I took La.398 east. I crossed the Lours bridge slowly because there is always something of interest down the water. I u-turned when what I saw registered and demanded that maneuver. I know you know what I'm going to say, "It's an old trestle". Well, it is. Fooling around with the GPS, it seemed, by luck only, that I was on course to visit Atakapas Landing. I was starting to get a little excited. I'd turn off 398, onto 1010, a road I'd discover later, played a big part in the historic economy of the area. At "Georgia", which I will assume was Georgia Plantation, I shot my first houses of the day. There would be "several" others. You cannot travel Louisiana without being blown away by our historic architecture. They are monuments. Many were destroyed in the First War of Northern Aggression. Are we now enduring the second round led by the "Second Lincoln". I may be too mad to continue and after a few more shots, I'll shut it down for a while. Here's Georgia, there were two big houses on the property: I like the multiple porches. I forgot to figure which direction they were pointing? It makes a difference sun time. The road stretched out past Georgia. I began to see interesting names, "Little Texas", "Upper Texas" and "Lower Texas", "Himalaya", "Supreme Sugar Pond", "Oakley Canal" and "Himalaya Canal". But, I had missed an important map feature up to this point. CLICK HERE TO GO TO PAGE 2 Continuing on 1010 going almost due north, I came to a place that was once called Percle. I crossed La.400. and then proceeded down Oakley Rd. I stopped at the farm's shop. A friendly fella came out and told me the place had been used in the recent edition of the movie, "All the King's Men", loosely based on Huey P. Long. Mr.Martin's Grocery had also been used in that movie. Albania Plantation, near Jeanerette, was also in it. The scenes of those houses and others would be the only reason to watch it. Sean Penn nauseates me. To say Oakley has seen better days would be an understatement. The leaser said he's using it for "storage". He first said he'd been born there, but I failed to see his humor if he was kidding and I think he was. Some people, you never can tell. I admire that trait. It depicts an air of uncertainty regarding the status of one's reality. The house was supposed to be Huey's father's place in the movie. It's lines are not the grand Greek Revival you'd expect. It was a large working farm house. It looks like it could have been on the Great Plains. Here are the house and property shots. I have nothing to add. Maybe a little. "Snakes, I hate snakes!" This one was rather cute. PAGE 3

LaFourche Ride Recon 3

I came up on La.400. The GPS winch said to turn, obediently, I did. The road narrowed. I was in deep swamp and a pickup was behind me. I figured I'd ride it in and picture it out. That would give me a preview and plan. I entered Camp World, I think. All the "camps were tin buildings along the canal. They may have been boat houses/camps. There were other "camps" I could live in all the time. This is the ride out: I liked the shutters. I left the swamp. Little Texas,up 1010, was ahead. Little Texas didn't look like much. There were private homes along the road and these few front buildings. Read this first: CLICK HEREIt covers the life and times of one of the Little Texas Plantation owners. Putting a face on the land makes old house and tin shacks live. I tried condensing it into a generic account, but that failed. If someone tried genericing me, I'd haunt them. Yes it had its own railroad,the "Little Texas Plantation Railroad". This is from a planter's newspaper, 1908: CLICK HERE TO GO TO PAGE 4

LaFourche Ride Recon 4

I was starting to suspect the missed map feature, the old railroad right of way I was riding next to, but didn't know it. Words like "junction" and "spur" should get my attention. I'll leave it at that. La.1010 would turn east up ahead. I tentatively did, then said to heck with it, still not realizing I was on the ROW. I proceeded up Hardtime Road. What was the story with that name? Duh, I was riding on the rail bed. I probably stopped on the trestle to take these pictures. I am so oblivious. "Elmhall Junction" finally slapped me in the face. There had been a railroad that came from Donaldsonville down the west side of Bayou LaFourche. Mike sent this information when he saw that I'd missed an "important map feature": I hope the "important" feature you missed was the Texas & Pacific's Thibodeau Branch, running from Donaldsonville to Thibodaux, where there was an interchange with the Southern Pacific coming up from Schriver. The T&P abandoned most of the northern part in the late '70's, and the SP came on up to handle things as far north as the Supreme sugar refinery. There's about 2 miles left on the northern end, used for car storage for the industries located around Donaldsonville. The Hotel Francis was where the train crews spent the night. The Thibodaux local ran from Alexandria to Bunkie, then over the Avoyelles branch to Lobdell, thence to Addis. From Addis, it went to Donaldsonville, and then to Thibodaux. It was a two day job, down one day, back to Alexandria the next. Dad worked it for a long time as a fireman, and then occasionally as an engineer, later. Mike Back to me: This is the T&P's route to Napoleonville. The red double line marks the Highways 1 and 308 on either side of the bayou. The railroad did not follow the population centers next to the water, but serviced the plantations. Westfield was mentioned in the link I gave you back at Little Texas. Check out "Church Spur", it is on the east side of the bayou. Don't get suckered off. There's plenty more confusion ahead. Evidently, to me, Napoleonville was a rail center. The map is a little incomplete. Assume the rails met where you see 401 and Glenwood. One of those is the only way the T&P could continue south on the west side of the bayou. Where you see "1", signifying La.1, is where the rails crossed the bayou. Now my question, did the rails really connect, or were the rails from the south not connected to the rails from the north as I had asked you to assume? Did the T&P cross the bayou and continue down the east bank and recross the bayou at Thibodaux? More assumptions later. By the way, if you want to assume, you are in the right place, Assumption Parish, LA. Below is my map's interpretation of the situation at Thibodaux. Did the SP come up the west side and the T&P come down the east side? So may mysteries. Click the map to enlarge it. Back to Napoleonville. This really lit me up. I then set about to find all the bumps and humps on this east side run. I know this is the part so many of you yearn for. I will be brief and just show the really spectacular shots. Here's heading down La.308 to Labadieville. Again, the rails did not follow the bayou, but the plantations. I ventured down these dirt roads where I could. Mike, in his note, said that the SP had come up to service the Supreme Refinery. It is on this east side. So, was the trestle SP? That would mean that those rails on the west side did hook up at Napoleonville, pardon my ramble. The yellow lines, below, are my tracks. It seems I visited Supreme Plantation. CLICK HERE FOR THE FINAL PAGE

LaFourche Ride Recon 5