From Grand Isle to Kansas

 

We left Grand Isle. and headed up the bayou. The road is pretty good, (after last year’s hurricane damage near Port Fouchon), but after turning on US 90 we started to run into some pretty bad stretches. Now I have often wondered why Louisiana has roads that resemble the Alaskan Highway and I suddenly had an epiphany.

See the bad stretches of road in Alaska are all were the drunken forests exist, and these are where the road crosses thawed out permafrost, (i.e. swamp land).  The bad stretches of road in Louisiana are where the road crosses the swamp land, and both are easily seen by the tilted forests, where the trees are literally sinking.

So we headed north, racing the approaching front, and we drove all the way to Livingston, Texas and the Escape Park. There we waited out the front, did laundry and picked up our mail. After two nights the winds died down a little and so took off for Oklahoma.

Strong winds made driving difficult and our mileage dropped as low as seven miles per gallon as we drove into 20-30 mph winds. Occasionally the road wound and we had strong crosswinds that threatened to rip the canoe off the roof. Luckily the straps held, but it was unnerving to say the least.

We made Ardmore, Oklahoma and stayed at a park that actually had a tornado shelter. It looked like it would hold quite a few folks and it was nice to see that the safety of the guests was actually considered.

The next morning the winds had died down so we stopped at Wal-Mart, and then headed back north for Salinas, Kansas. Again the wind picked up and again we fought strong headwinds and the occasional gust of a scary crosswind.

The temperatures dropped into the forties and we both wished we were back down south. There isn’t a lot in the way of campgrounds and so we spent the night in a pretty good KOA in Salinas. Tomorrow it’s supposed to finally warm up, as the low pressure is moving east, and the winds are supposed to abate so our target is somewhere in Nebraska and then Rapid City for a few days rest.

Hopefully the snows are finally done and we can enjoy the sights a bit as its forecast to be in the seventies. So maybe we can actually get out doctors visits done and then enjoy the summer. Clear skies