Saguaro National Park and Sonora Desert Museum

Today we toured the Sonora Desert Museum and Saguaro National Park near Tucson. Brian and Laura spent last night at our friends the Kayfes’ house (Randall, Angie, Alyssa and Hailee), while Teressa and I braved the cold (for Tucson) temperatures in the trailer at Catalina State Park, about fifteen minutes away. There was frost on the ground and windows of the truck when we awoke in the morning, as the temperature hovered around 32. After a quick breakfast and shower, we drove over to pick up the kids and head for the park.

With eight of us we took two vehicles across the valley to the museum. Temperatures started in the mid 40s, but warmed into the mid 60s as the day went on. The Sonora Desert Museum had been recommended by almost everyone we met on the trip, and we weren’t disappointed. Offering a unique blend of historical and animal exhibits, the museum does a great job of educating while entertaining. Our favorite experiences from the day were the big cats (cougar, ocelot and bobcat), hummingbirds, and hawks. The Harris Hawks, one of the only raptors to hunt cooperatively in family groups, were spectacular. A special program featured four birds swooping over the guests’ heads, landing on large saguaro cactus spires, and floating effortlessly on the afternoon thermals. We also enjoyed the diversity of cactus life in the desert – saguaro, organ pipe, jumping cholla, teddy bear, etc. One of the docents was describing the unusual phenomenon that saguaro cactus plants only seem to grow in Arizona, and that the minute you reach the California border, they disappear. Nobody knows why, she said. I thought for a moment, and then said “It’s obvious, Arizona is a red state!”. She laughed and said she would use that in her future talks. After thinking about it further, I’m pretty sure it is true. Saguaros are very rigid and a little prickly – just like George Bush! ;-)

After enjoying some of the best museum food on the trip at the on-site café, we drove a few miles down the road to the Saguaro National Park. Again we found the park rangers extremely helpful. Teressa was curious about the snakes in the park so one of the rangers, a retired military instructor from Spokane, educated us on all the wildlife in the park. She also gave us a great recommendation for a short hike in the hour we had before dark. We drove to the trail head and then hiked to Signal Hill to view Indian petroglyphs – drawings chiseled into the stone. With the sun setting over the desert illuminating the carved figures in the stone, it provided the perfect venue to reflect on the events of a perfect day!

PS – My brother Dirk and niece Cece made it safely home to Helena late yesterday afternoon – driving the 2700 miles from Durham, NC, in less than 72 hours! At that rate, we could have done our whole trip around the USA in less than three weeks!

Allen, Texas

The temperatures are moderating here in Texas, with the high today predicted to be near 60 and the low tonight down to 45. That’s much nicer than the 18 degrees we hit in Oklahoma City yesterday, and nothing like the -15 to -20 degrees the rest of our family is enjoying in Montana!

The kids studied in the morning while Teressa and I did four loads of laundry. The KOA here in Arlington is larger than we expected, with lots of people either living here or visiting for an extended period over the winter (we met several retired couples that are visiting their kids for a couple of months over the holidays).

After lunch Brian drove us the 50 miles from Arlington to Tim and Julie’s (my cousin) house in Allen. Essentially it is one big city the entire way, even though the names change every 10 miles or so (Arlington, Irving, Richardson, Plano, Allen, etc.). We all commented that it’s a fun place to visit, but we wouldn’t want to live here -- the drivers are insane. We drove the 60 mph speed limit most of the way, and everyone else was doing close to 80. Tim said the police won’t pull you over unless you are doing 15 mph or more over the limit, and they are really looking for people doing 30 over!

We had a great visit with the Woods/Marks clan. Julie and Lois (my aunt) had the house decorated for Christmas by the time we arrived just after 2. Julie took Brian and Laura to pick up Andy after school at 3:30, and Tim made it home from work around 4:30. We visited and munched on appetizers, and then had pizza delivered for dinner. They all seem to be doing well, and we got to tour Lois’ new RV. She didn’t have any trouble getting to Texas from Arizona, except for the high winds along the way. We finally left around 8:30, making it back to the trailer around 9:30.

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

Another day, another two new tires! These are the eleventh and twelfth tires to grace the Cougar since we purchased it a year ago. As we were leaving the campsite in Oklahoma City Teressa noticed a bulge in one of the tires that we had purchased in Ohio in August. I pulled back into our campsite, plugged back into power, and spent the next hour calling dealers all over Oklahoma City before finding one that carried the right trailer tire. They are the same brand, so technically I could have just replaced the bad tire, but decided to get two new perfectly matched ones on the front axle. That leaves me with two good spares, so the next blowout I won’t have to buy any more tires (no matter which tire blows).

The day started innocently enough. I got up at 4:30 and got a lot of things accomplished before Teressa and the kids stirred. We left the trailer and drove down to the Federal building memorial in Oklahoma City, the site of the bombing back in 1995. The reflecting pool was frozen over due to the cold temperatures, but the site was beautiful. Across from the reflecting pool are rows of chairs, one for each person that died in the bombing. Two park employees greeted us and provided lots of history about the site and event – we were the only ones out on such a cold weekday morning. I think the kids are getting tired of seeing so much death and destruction (e.g. Revolutionary War battlefields, Civil War battlefields, the Holocaust Memorial, 9/11 memorials, etc.), but it gives them a much deeper understanding of our nation’s history. Life’s not just iPods and roller coasters!

The Goodyear dealer was located right in the middle of downtown Oklahoma City. They didn’t have a facility large enough for our trailer, so while they stopped traffic on the main street, I backed the trailer into their main driveway and as close to the building as possible. Luckily I was able to avoid hitting any cars or their building, as it was a rather tight squeeze. Our tire adventures did allow us to sample a great little Thai restaurant across from the Goodyear shop. When the owner found out we were from Portland and on a trip around the country, she sent us out the door with two additional “take home” containers of food from the buffet, so we had Thai food for lunch and dinner yesterday! With our late start in Oklahoma City, we violated my “no driving after dark” rule by an hour, arriving at the KOA in Arlington at 6:30.

Other than the propane running out in the middle of the night (I had to go out at midnight and switch to the backup tank) and the water line freezing (it was 5 degrees colder than forecast last night), it was a perfect day and evening! ;-)

Branson, Missouri

It is a cool 19 degrees here in Oklahoma City, with the wind chill factor hovering around 5 degrees. We arrived at the Twin Fountains RV Park shortly after 4:00 yesterday afternoon, and after fighting 30 mph winds and freezing rain most of the way down from Branson, abandoned our plan to outrun the storm into Texas. Apparently there were over 100 wrecks across the state of Oklahoma yesterday, and one tornado near Tulsa, but thankfully we just caught the edge of the storm. We’ll wait till things thaw out a bit this morning, and then wind our way down to Arlington this afternoon.

Our one night stand in Branson on Monday was highlighted by a trip to see the Grand Jubilee at the Grand Country Music Hall. Here is Laura’s account of the day:

Today we took a long drive down to Branson, Missouri. To get to our campground, we drove through the town to see what it was like. The whole way, I was glancing out the car window thinking... "Cheap version of Las Vegas". There were tacky stores and hokey displays all along the road. I told the family, "I don't think I'd want to live here. I'm more of a NYC girl." Later, we decided to go to a play called the Grand Jubilee. While we were getting our tickets, someone decided they didn’t want their front row seats, so we immediately took them! The usher escorted us to our seats, and was very interested in our trip across the country (see our picture together). In the performance, there was a quartet, a female singer, and a couple comedians. I got to go up at intermission and get their autographs, and we all had a great time. Plus, at the beginning of the show, I recognized one of the singers in the quartet as a man named Jason Pitchett, who was in last season's "America's got talent" that I love to watch. As my brother put it, I was pretty "star struck". :^) I got to talk to him a little and got a picture with him, where I suppose my smile went from ear to ear. Yup, I would have to say I'd give that show a 10! It was a fun night full of great music, and amazing talent! **And I am so thankful for such loving, caring, amazingly BEAUTIFUL and HANDSOME parents! ;) Thanks mom and dad! **

Laura now thinks that living in Branson might be a great thing to do, assuming she can get a job performing in one of the shows!

Throwed Rolls, Sikeston, Missouri

As Teressa mentioned in her journal entry, we arrived at our campground around 1:30 and then took a leisurely Sunday drive across the Mississippi and Ohio rivers into Western Kentucky to explore. We had fully intended to have dinner back at the trailer, but kept seeing signs for Lambert’s – the home of the “throwed rolls”. When we arrived back at the campground, Teressa went to the office in search of enlightenment on this new culinary mystery. The staff here said that Lambert’s is “the destination” in Sikeston, and that people come from all over the Midwest to experience their unique southern comfort food. Rationalizing the experience as part of the kids education, we jumped in the truck and headed to Lambert’s.

When we arrived, the place was hopping. License plates from every state and neon signs grace the walls. The main restaurant is a large open room with booths around the edges and open booths with big wooden tables in the middle. Everyone in the place seemed happy – the staff, the customers, the cooks. Their strategy is simple – great comfort food in large portions – and throwed rolls! What’s a throwed roll you ask? Well, just stick your hand in the air, and from across the room comes flying a hot freshly baked roll. The only tricky part is catching it, although I’m happy to report our family was three for three (maybe we should get the kids back in baseball!). When you catch your roll, the place erupts in loud cheers. If you miss, there are groans and another server comes by and tosses you a short “gimmee” from the aisle! And this is all in an establishment that doesn’t serve alcohol (probably a good idea or things might quickly degrade into a full blown “Animal House” food fight!).

The most amazing thing was that the food was outstanding – meatloaf, chicken and dumplings, hamburgers, black eyed peas, mashed potatoes and gravy, fried okra, etc. I don’t think we have ever enjoyed such good “comfort” food at a restaurant, and with the portion sizes, we will be having it again tonight. If you ever come to Sikeston, don’t miss Lambert’s – but make sure to practice “catching” beforehand.

Graceland, Memphis, Tennessee

Teressa provided the write-up for our visit to Memphis:

Saturday morning Brian drove us from our campground in Mississippi to Graceland in Tennessee. Graceland exceeded our expectations in that it had all the warmth and charm of a real home--not a show home like the Antebellum houses of the south. Throughout the self-guided audio tour, we heard Elvis crooning or watched him on videos placed throughout the house and grounds. He truly was gifted--especially in his younger days, in my opinion. During one of his concerts he sang a medley of Dixie and the Battle Hymn of the Republic that brought me to tears. As much as we appreciated Elvis' amazing voice and talent, we were disappointed to hear that more people watched Elvis's Aloha concert in Hawaii than watched Neil Armstrong walk on the moon!

After Graceland, Brian drove us into downtown Memphis to Beale Street. We were all hungry and on these kinds of excursions we just can't go back to the RV to eat. Too many miles. Within a block of parking the car we were conned out of some money by a recovering drug addict who claims to have been clean for 11 months. His gig is to approach the tourists and give them all kinds of information like best places to eat on Beale Street and history about the statue we were looking at (at first I thought it was Louis Armstrong, but was corrected as it was WC Handy, the Father of the Blues). The guy wanted money to help pay the costs to sleep at the Baptist church/rescue mission. Whether he conned us or not, we were impressed that he was offering a service. We saw him hit up a bunch of other tourists and wondered if we might have to borrow some money from him when we return from our trip...

Beale Street was...unique. It's a pretty run down part of downtown Memphis. We did get to hear good music coming from many of the clubs (all taped as it was afternoon). The whole of Beale Street is about 4 blocks of clubs and restaurants. The kids wanted to eat at the Hard Rock Cafe but we talked them into trying one of the local joints – Alfred’s. It was reasonable and had the ambiance of a not-quite-seedy blues club, and it had good food. Brian thought the Cajun fettuccine was one of the best things he has ever eaten.

Saturday evening Gary and I had errands to run. We left the kids home and went to get gas and buy some things at the local Walmart. Upon checkout, I happened to do a 360 degree scope of the place. Of over 100 people, Gary's was the only white face I saw. Quite a contrast from our demographics in the West. To me, it was fascinating to be seeing the reverse of what so many African Americans in the West see every day.

Today, Sunday, we left Mississippi and drove north through a piece of Arkansas into Missouri. You won't believe us, but we probably saw 300 hawks today. They were perched in the trees or on telephone posts along the freeway. Pretty cool. We are staying at Hinton RV park in Sikeston, MO. In order to get our Kentucky post cards, we had to drive 30 miles, across the Mississippi (again) and the Ohio rivers. We found a little shop in Wickliffe, Kentucky. I kid you not---1/3 of the store was cigarettes. The rest was staples and tourist stuff. We found our post cards showing Kentucky horses and stables, none of which we saw, and hurried back to Missouri before dark. Oh---most of the Arkansas post cards had hillbillies on them! I chose not to buy those and perpetuate the stereotype, but I thought that was interesting.

Vicksburg, Mississippi

Here is Teressa's account of our visit to the Vicksburg battlefield:

Brrrrr... it is cold here in the south. The temperature dropped into the low 30's last night. Fortunately our propane heater keeps the trailer toasty warm, but the dog walking chore is not the most popular these days.

This morning (Thursday), our first stop was the Vicksburg Park and Museum. The museum has one of those boards that light up with red for the Confederate troops and blue for the Union troops and shows their movements throughout the days of the battle. We studied that for a few minutes and proceeded to the auditorium for a short film about the battle followed by a drive through the battlefield with an informational CD.

Everyone, it seems, wanted to control the Mississippi River, and for a long time the Confederates had it. But, Federal naval and military forces fought southward from Illinois and northward from the Gulf, capturing post after post. By the summer of 1862 Vicksburg was one of the last areas on the river still controlled by the south, and it was--according to Lincoln--the "key." General Grant marched his troops down the Louisiana side of the river and circled back to trap General Pemberton at Vicksburg. After trying to take Pemberton's army the honorable way, through hand to hand fighting, Grant finally resorted to a siege and basically cut off all supplies to the Confederate troops as well as the civilians of Vicksburg until, nearly starved, the Confederates called a truce.

Again we were amazed and horrified by the number of dead. The cemetery at Vicksburg contains the remains of 17,000 Federal soldiers. Only 4,000 are identified (and have full-sized grave markers). The other 13,000 graves are marked only by a 4" square white marker. Although the Union won this battle, only 5000 Confederates are interred in Vicksburg making it a monumental win but at an incredible price.

Our children are sick of Civil War battlefields, so I believe this will be the last. ;-) The rest of our day was spent driving. We were underwhelmed with Mississippi. The small towns between Vicksburg and Memphis are depressed. The countryside is heavily treed and views were few until we got to the northern part of the state. Tonight we are at the Audubon Point RV Park in Horn Lake, Mississippi. Upon arrival, they filled our propane tank and sent someone out with a compressor to top off our tires. This is a pretty area and is just 10 miles from Memphis.

Natchez, Mississippi

Good morning from a chilly Vicksburg, Mississippi. We have ice covering the mud puddles this morning, and the high this afternoon when we arrive in Memphis is only predicted to be 40. I know that’s not cold for you Montana folks, but it sure feels cold in a trailer!

We got a slightly later start than planned yesterday leaving New Orleans. Teressa and I had to make a quick trip back to the French Quarter to pick up a few extra items, and since it was pouring down rain at the time, we took the truck. Driving isn’t a problem in the Quarter, as most streets are one way and it is laid out in an easy grid. Parking is the challenge. I had to drop Teressa off and then circle for a while before picking her up. We finally hit the road around 10:30. The first 50 miles of interstate was all causeway, concrete pillars rising 30 feet above the swamps of southern Louisiana. Even though we stuck to the Interstate, it was slow going – the concrete slabs had ridges between them that shook the truck and trailer pretty good. We stopped for gas and a late lunch at a Cracker Barrel just before entering Mississippi.

When we finally arrived in Natchez at 3:30 in the afternoon, we were faced with a dilemma – keep driving north to Vicksburg for another 90 minutes, or violate my nighttime driving rule and stop for a couple of hours in Natchez to see the Melrose Mansion operated by the National Park Service. We stopped, and were very glad we did. A Greek Revival style home, the Melrose mansion was completed in 1849 and is an excellent example from the Antebellum period (the period between the Revolutionary and Civil Wars). Four massive columns grace the front of the house, and a two-story colonnaded porch spans the entire rear elevation. The home was owned by John McMurran, a northerner who married into a rich southern family. His father-in-law gave him the 133 acres of land to build the home.

Melrose and the other large mansions around Natchez are not plantation homes, as we had assumed. The large plantations were located in southern Mississippi where the soil was better. The Natchez mansions were trophy homes for the rich plantation owners and their families to showcase their wealth. Guests were only allowed on the lower floor of the home, and nobody other than family ever stayed the night. The tour guide indicated that all the movies you see about southern hospitality were made up in Hollywood. These were very private people who only interacted with others in their same social circles. The mansions around Natchez were saved from Sherman’s plundering during the Civil War, largely because the townspeople were friendly to the Union, letting Grant use many of the homes for his campaign against Vicksburg. And it appears that many of those here in the south still haven’t forgiven the people of Natchez!

The tour ended at 5:00, and we traveled in the dark on good roads another two hours into Vicksburg. It took a little longer than planned, as I couldn’t cross three lanes of traffic in .3 miles to make our exit when we arrived in town, so we ventured across the Mississippi into Louisiana and back just for fun! Our RV park is run by the Ameristar Casino here in Vicksburg, and cost a whopping $22 per night plus two free breakfast buffet coupons. As long as you stay out of the casino, it is a great deal!

New Orleans, Louisiana

Just like hurricane Katrina, we first touched New Orleans from the eastern side of the city. Traffic on the bridge across Lake Pontchatrain was restricted down to one lane, so we were stuck in a traffic jam for 20 minutes on the way into town. Waves from the 25 mph winds stirred the sediment in the large shallow brackish lake, turning it the color of coffee (with cream) for our morning ride. Entering town it was immediately obvious that the city has a long way to go to recover from Katrina. Many homes are vacant – some boarded up, others in shambles.

Our RV park is located just a few blocks from the French Quarter, near a couple of the old cemeteries and one of the city’s housing projects. The facility is first rate, with brick parking pads, an exercise room, and a salt water hot tub and pool. It is completely surrounded by a concrete block fence with razor wire on the top. The owners recommended we not walk outside the walls (they have a golf cart to shuttle guests the four blocks to the visitor center in the French Quarter).

On Tuesday morning the kids did a couple of hours of homework before we ventured into the French Quarter. Our hosts at the RV park provided a ride on their golf cart to the visitor center on the edge of the Quarter. There we watched a short film on the history of the Crescent City, including the destruction caused by hurricane Katrina. Armed with recommendations and maps, we ventured south into the Quarter.

Brian and Laura had fun trying on Mardi Gras masks and shopping for shirts in the shops along Bourbon street. We stopped for lunch at the Gumbo Shop restaurant on St. Peter street, a recommendation from the staff at the RV park. The food was outstanding – Teressa and Laura had gumbo with chicken sausage, Brian ordered jambalaya, and I enjoyed the best red beans and rice of my life! Our waiter was a real southern character, and kept us chuckling the entire meal. After Teressa had ordered a spiced sausage appetizer on ihs recommendation, he said “Did I mention we also have alligator sausage?” Without hesitation Teressa replied “I figure if I don’t eat them, they won’t eat me!”. Our waiter considered her response for a moment, then retorted with a wry smile “You feel free to test that theory out in the swamps Ma’am!” ;-)

From the restaurant we headed south to Jackson Square, and enjoyed several street musicians playing jazz on the sidewalk. We toured the Cabildo, the Louisiana State Museum where the Louisiana Purchase was signed. The museum provided an excellent opportunity to learn about the rich history of the city, from the early native tribes, to the Spanish and French explorers, and on through the Revolutionary and Civil wars. This diverse history gives the city an incredible character and has helped it withstand more than its fair share of disasters (fires, wars, and hurricanes).

Our next stop was the National Park Service site commemorating New Orleans Jazz on the banks of the Mississippi river. We were able to sneak next door to Café Du Monde for beignets and hot drinks before watching the park service movie on jazz parades. Our bellies full of sugar and our heads swimming with music, we retreated via taxi to our trailer at the RV park around 4 PM to rest for a couple of hours and walk Rocky.

At 7:45 we took the golf cart shuttle to the visitor center and made our way back down to Bourbon street. The kids couldn’t believe the transformation which happens after dark, and this was a very “tame” evening in the Quarter. Music filled the street from numerous venues as we navigated our way to Preservation Hall to listen to some live Jazz. Preservation Hall is one of the oldest buildings in the city, surviving two massive fires in the early days of New Orleans. Every night from 8 to 11 they showcase local Jazz talent. They don’t offer food or drink, which is great when you have kids that want to hear jazz but can’t get into most of the nightclubs. We paid our $10 entry fee and took a seat on one of the wooden benches in the small hall. You can almost feel the history radiating from the walls, and I couldn’t help but think of my parents sitting in the same small room over 40 years ago when our family visited my dad’s aunt Lura for Christmas in New Orleans. Last night’s group, the Preservation Hall Stars, entertained the faithful with a variety of traditional Dixie Land Jazz numbers. You can’t help but stomp your feet and clap your hands. We stayed through the first set, then grabbed a piece of pizza next door before catching a cab back home. It was a great day for both young and old jazz lovers in the Big Easy!

On Wednesday morning the kids worked on their homework in the morning while Teressa and I did the laundry for the week. The RV facility here has nice new washers and dryers, and a unique “debit card” style of payment that is more convenient than searching for quarters. We finished up by 11, and after a quick lunch in the trailer, set off again for the French Quarter via foot.

Our first stop was St. Louis cemetery #1, the oldest in the city and reputed burial place of Marie Laveau, the notorious “Vodoo Queen”. Due to flooding, all the tombs are placed above ground, giving it a haunting feel. From the cemetery we walked down to St. Charles street to catch the Streetcar to the Garden District. Most of the grand old mansions along St. Charles Avenue are in good shape, as apparently this part of the city didn’t get hit as hard by Katrina. Teressa struck up a conversation with a black gentleman on the trolley car who believes “THEY” dynamited some of the levies around the 9th Ward, thus minimizing flooding in the richer parts of the city. So begins the conspiracy theory.

After our trolley ride we walked back to Café Du Monde in the Quarter for another round of beignets and hot drinks. It is a good thing we are heading north this morning, as we can’t find a single diet book that mentions beignets as a part of the plan! We walked next door to the National Park Service Jazz site so the kids could stamp their passport books (they forgot them the day before). Teressa confirmed the levee conspiracy theory with the park ranger, but still couldn’t find out exactly who “THEY” were. She did find out that the Park Service lets people bring their instruments in on Saturday to play Jazz together, but unfortunately we will be gone. Teressa told the ranger “our son isn’t saying anything, but he is a very good tenor sax player.” The ranger looked at Brian and with a big grin replied, “You don’t need to do that, you got your mama to do that for you!” We all laughed.

We did some Christmas shopping in the French Quarter as we worked our way back towards Bourbon Street. As fate would have it, Pat Obrien’s, the famous New Orleans drinking establishment was having its 75th anniversary last night. Teressa and I got half priced Hurricane’s in plastic go cups (just for old times sake), and continued our shopping down Bourbon Street. It was just after dark as we made our way back to the RV Park. Teressa heated a casserole for dinner and we watched Monty Python and the Holy Grail with the kids before turning in for the evening (we liked the Spamalot play in New York much better than the movie).

Pass Christian, Mississippi

Good morning from Mississippi. If you remember, this wasn’t our planned destination for yesterday’s travels, but more tire problems landed us here. We left the Emerald Beach RV park in Navarre, Florida just after 9 yesterday morning, joining the steady stream of post Thanksgiving holiday travelers heading west on Interstate 10. We stopped for lunch and to search for Alabama postcards for the kids’ albums just west of Mobile. It took a couple of stops, but we were ultimately successful and continued on our journey towards New Orleans.

Just past Biloxi a car slowed beside us and motioned that we were having tire problems on the trailer. I pulled onto the shoulder of the interstate and got out to take a look. The right rear tire tread had separated from the casing, and a piece had flown off and dented the fender and under side of the trailer. Since the tire wasn’t flat and the traffic was wicked on the Interstate, we limped along the shoulder to an exit ramp a half mile up the road and called AAA. I removed the damaged fender and took the spare out of the back so everything was ready for them when they arrived.

Within an hour the tire was changed and we were ready to hit the road again. We only had an hour of light left, and since the spare is a different brand of tire than the others I didn’t want to push the extra 60 miles into New Orleans. While waiting for AAA on the exit ramp we had noticed a sign to an RV park nearby, so Teressa called and booked a site (and pushed out our reservation in New Orleans). As a result, last night was spent at the “Flea Market and RV Park” near Pass Christian, Mississippi (and yes, we did check out the flea market before it closed at 5)! For $26 a night it is a reasonable campground with full hookups. There are only a handful of travelers here like us, and about a dozen FEMA trailers (old camping trailers) with residents leftover from the Katrina hurricane back in 2005! Apparently FEMA has been trying to evict them, but many have nowhere to go. Our neighbor next door is from upstate Minnesota, and was quite eager to have new people to talk with. His daughter and her family live in Biloxi, so he and his wife come down every winter to visit. He said that since the hurricane, it has been quite an experience. Apparently this RV park was almost completely full with FEMA trailers the first year after Katrina.

This morning we headed back down the freeway to a tire store I called first thing in the morning and had two new trailer tires put on the Cougar. The tire shop was a slice of life (see the picture of their Christmas display out front), but the staff was helpful and the facility clean. I did notice the night before while I was researching tire stores that the only reference on Yahoo for their facility was posted by a user with the same name as the tire store – of course it was a good review! ;-) They had us back on the road headed for New Orleans shortly after 10.
Stay tuned….