Grand Isle State Park, LA » Natchez, MS

2009-08-14: State Highway 1, the road I used to travel to Grand Isle, was unremarkable until I reached the southern half of Lafourche Parish (they don't have counties in Louisiana). At first, the road began to wind back and forth over series of little bridges, involving many ninety degree turns and confusing right-of-way situations. Eventually the road was a narrow strip of dry land through a complex series of waterways and islands. Many interesting things were visible from the highway, even though night had fallen. Huge ships, whether fishing vessels or those that supported the massive oil and gas fields, as well as cranes and towers of many kinds, all did their respective jobs. Sometimes, only wild bayou lay adjacent to the road.

Toward Grand Isle, the land became rural again, or perhaps oil and gas activities were present, just difficult to see. Grand Isle itself seemed sparsely populated, though the hurricane may have had something to do with that. I arrived at the part just before 22:00 and was relieved to see the gate hadn't closed. But poor planning on my part had beaten me again. The park was full, and there was nothing else anywhere near it. I suppose I could have went in and maybe found a place to hide out, but I didn't feel like trying to be sneaky at the time.

So I turned around, and decided to make for Natchez, MS, to get as close as I could manage. I stopped near Lafourche and got this neat, but blurry, photo (due to being in a hurry). I drove and drove until I finally saw the stars and bars of the Mississippi flag and found a visitors' center, where I finally got my much needed sleep.