The Gulf of Mexico Coast

As we travel west from Florida to Louisiana we stay in several beautiful coastal state parks. The weather remains cool but sunny. Not warm enough yet however, for local flowers.

     
State park camp                                                                            Hiding Tree

   Calm inland waters

               Resting pitcher plant                                                                               Yellow butterwort

Throughout this area there is constant evidence of numerous hurricanes from Katrina in 2005 to Ida in Sept 2021. Many new building have been constructed or are under construction, blue tarpaulins cover roofs, boarded up houses and small boats stranded among the trees.

Hurricane damage

We have also found excellent craft breweries in some unusual location.

   Sopchoppy, FL                                                          Perdido Key, FL

 

Battleship USS Alabama

A Floating City 

Near Mobile, AL, the Battleship USS Alabama is a memorial honoring Alabama veterans. Commissioned in 1942, with a crew of 2500 men she earned 9 Battle Stars during World War II actions in both the Atlantic and Pacific Oceanss. Under battle conditions she weighed over 45,000 tons and with very powerful engines could reach a maximum speed of 32 mph. 

On our 3 hours self-guided tour we ascended 8 levels climbing steep ladders to the Conning Station and then descended four decks below the main deck through crew quarters to the ammunition handling rooms.

     
16 inch guns                                                                        Inside 4 inch gun turret

   
16 inch gun shells and propellant powder

        

   
Steam powered engine controls                                                On board ice cream

Also at this site is the Submarine USS Drum. Starting in the forward torpedo room we walk the length of the boat through small interior hatches and exit from the after torpedo room. Hard to imagine the boat was manned by a crew of 72 men who shared living and sleeping space in shifts.

     
USS Drum                                                                 At the controls

 

Jean Lafitte National Historic Park and Preserve

Before the Battle of New Orleans, Jean Lafitte commanded a very large group of smugglers and privateers based within the bayou. Now a delta legend, he joined forces with General Jackson in the battle providing men, arms and valuable information about the area.

The six sections of this New Orleans park tell the story of the land and culture of the Mississippi River Delta. This delta area is continuously being formed by deposits of sediment carried from 40% of the continental United States. Partially tamed by levees and spillways, the river retains its power to unleash floods or build new land.

    
We ferry across the Mississippi River                                                      Mardi Gras time

One section of the park is the Chalmette Battlefield, the site of the 1815 Battle of New Orleans, where from the ramparts it is easy to imaging 5000 British soldiers charging into a barrage of shot and shell.

 
The Barataria Preserve, a marsh, swamp and hardwood forest is another section of this park. As a result of hurricane Ida many of the swamp trails are closed but the boardwalk was open through the marsh. The alligator is the top predator in this bayou ecosystem.

     
Jim gets his alligator picture

               Alligator turtle (Note: 175 pounds)                                                                 Hurricane damage

 

Creole Plantations

Before the Civil War, more than half of the millionaires in the country lived along the Mississippi river corridor in southeastern Louisiana, their fortunes linked to sugarcane and slavery. Now in addition to sugarcane, the local economy depends on the petrochemical industry.

Oak Alley Plantation is named for the two rows of live oaks planted in the early 1700s that form a quarter-mile alley from the Mississippi River to the house.

   
Oak Alley Plantation                                                          Grow your own tree

Under a live oak tree

        
"Retired" gulf oil rig

 For the next few days we continue our travels through Louisiana before going west to Texas.

P.S. Puzzlemania 

What did we do with family during our stay in Florida?

     

   

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