25 January ‘09 Sunday
Our drive out of Port Arthur took us up to Hwy 10, into Louisiana traveling over the Atchafalaya Basin.
Our drive out of Port Arthur took us up to Hwy 10, into Louisiana traveling over the Atchafalaya Basin.
Long after the Indians had settled this area, some very tough and early Europeans also settled here. These peoples were called “Acadiens” and they were those that were forced into the deep swamplands of the Mississippi River Delta. They lived a life of solitude and once a week a boat would come by and hold a Catholic service for them. School boats were also used for many years to take the children to the one room school houses. Living was tough and got even tougher when the “Flood of 1927” hit. Then the need for a bridge to cross the 18 miles of the swamp was needed. This changed the lives of those in the swamp, and also changed the lives of those that lived outside of the basin. It took 10 years to build the “Swamp Expressway”. It was finally completed in 1972 when the pile drivers would pound the poles 148 feet into the 95 feet of muck and 6 feet of hard sand to make it work. As you cross the expressway today, you see the “camps” that now host the hunters and fishermen. 18 miles through a swamp, that is an amazing accomplishment. Prior to hitting Lafayette, we turned south at Crowley and headed down to New Iberia. Just south of there is a small island of Avery. Avery Island is the home of the McIlhenny Company which is the company that found the taste that has made its self around the world…TABASCO.
Unfortunately we arrived on a Sunday and the factory is shut down, but on the positive side, we were able to make “a” tour. It was definitely a good tour, and we did learn a lot from it. Next time we would love to see the factory in action. After a turn in the Tabasco store, we were back on the road. We found another Wal-Mart in Breaux Bridge before continuing the next morning to Abita Springs and our new home for 10 days.