Shreveport, Luzzyanna

 247 miles southwest of Conway, Arkansas, we dragged ourselves into Shreveport, LA. The temp was 88, the feels like temp was 96, and the humidity hovered around 86 percent. Pull in, set up, plug in, sit down with iced tea! We have driven through Shreveport a bunch of times but never stopped to check it out. Now is our chance. It’s supposed to rain and storm off and on over the next week, but we’re going to do our best to get’r done.

We’re in site 101 of the Shreveport, Bossier City KOA. I believe it’s the nicest site in the park, although most of the other campers left within hours of our arrival…

This region is informally called ArkLaTex because the weather and the events are so intertwined from Shreveport to Texarkana and down to Marshall, Texas. In fact, several of the local tv stations are repeats of Texas stations, so we found out that there’s going to be a Mudbug Festival in Texarkana on Memorial Day. Sorry we’re going to miss it…..

We drove through downtown Shreveport on a Sunday afternoon, avoiding the busy business and government activities during the week. Some of the century old homes are still decorated with the billboards of the day.

One of the things we needed to do in the area is visit Monroe, LA, home of the Robertson family of Duck Commander television fame. Well, ok, that was the excuse. Monroe is one of those old southern towns, with old homes and bayous in the backyard.

After oh, 20 minutes or so in the Duck Commander building, we slipped out and explored more of the area. We did, however, learn that there’s a whole lot to a duck call than blowing through a piece of wood.

Leaving DC, we headed toward the Garden District to check out the fancy houses along the Ouachita River.

These homes once had riverfront access in the front and fields of cotton in the back, but the homes have been preserved and are beautiful.

A bit northeast of town, the Black Bayou Wilderness Preserve gave us a glimpse of the “real” Louisiana.

J

As we checked out the swamp,

a quiet movement in the water brought a visitor to our party.

The other bucket list item in the area was a visit to Nachitoches, pronounced “Nack-a-tish” after a local Indian tribe. This is a beautiful town, again on the banks of a navigable river, with many old homes dating back to Plantation days. 

One of the best preserved older homes is the Steel Magnolia, featured in the 1980’s movie of the same name. 

Known as “El Camino Real”, the town was a stop on major trade routes.

And downtown buildings and churches reflect the age of Nachitoches.

Old Town, along the banks of the Cane River, is a great walking area, with shops and restaurants.

We checked out several stores, including the oldest hardware store in Louisiana, the Kaffie-Frederick store. Reminds me of the old hardware store in our home town.

The street is a wonderful nod to New Orleans architecture.

One building was illuminated with genuine, original gas lamps!

After a Muffelleta lunch at the Mayeaux deli, we took one last look at the riverfront and headed home.

Well, ok, it’s a long way back, so we stopped for a mocha at the StoryBrew Coffee House. It’s almost a library unto itself, with hundreds of pocketbooks available, as well as some kid-type stuff for the smaller set.

Its a great place to visit, with many old plantation homes now converted to Bed and Breakfasts. We want to visit again!