In the Bijou

---

When I think about Louisiana, I always find a way to incorporate alligators into the story and envision being chased across the golf course with snapping jowls close on my heels. Of course, the imagination is a strong tool and very fun when used for good. I am absolutely positive that Scout did not understand the humor when she heard, “Open Wide”! I chuckled as we posed with the unlucky gator at the fuel stop. She gave me the stink eye and the message to never pull that stunt again. I will tell ya, I hummed the song, “In 1814 we took a little trip..” more times than once!

If anybody has ever driven on Interstate 10 from Texas to Lousianna heading east, you also may have noticed that Louisiana is visually a very different state. In a matter of days, we have driven across the dryness, through some foliage and some very beautiful habitable areas in Texas. The dichotomy of the two states couldn’t be more different from the view of my driver’s seat.

I was very intrigued while driving over the 18-mile elevated highway on cement pillars that serves as a long long bridge over the Atchafalaya Basin. I had to learn a few new words; delta, bijou, wetlands, cypress swamps and marshes. It is quite the ecosystem of swamp trees which I believe the locals call a floodplain forest. Just a drive through the state and probably my favorite look was the big trees with the moss hanging from the branches.

Those spooky trees scared me and Scout after dark on our final walk of the night. It was very dark at our campground and while she was busy sniffing, I was touched on the arm by one of the mossy limbs. I might have screamed like a spooked little girl and Scout was oblivious. Until her little nose came face to face with a mud mound protruding from the lawn. Then it was game on. Mud hole versus curious pup. She would poke her nose inside and then freak out when her imagination would get the best of her as if something was trying to get her. One of the strangest things I have ever seen in a lawn.

Chimneys of mud all over the grass and Scout was curious and mortified simultaneously. We searched for the answer for two days and the few answers we found just didn’t make sense. Apparently, these little tasty unwanted visitors are known as burrowing crawfish and can dig holes 5 feet deep down to access the water table. Then the locals explain how their yards can get ripped up after racoons and other critters hunt them and dig the entire yard up. This explains the Louisiana fascination with ground water and tides.

One of the few states to be home to every branch of the military, Louisiana is also known for fighting the British, French, and Spanish and have been proven by history to be a determined force. If you want a little bit of colonial history, give the Louisiana Purchase a read to see how the start of something special began. The only state to currently have Parishes instead of Counties or Burrows, the state follows some of the old rules of the colonial time period and is absolutely fascinating how local government currently works.

Louisiana state veterans are nearing 300,000 strong and are from conflicts dating back to before Vietnam. After spending time with both the military and state veteran affairs teams, I am so impressed with the caring of the current members and remembrance of the fallen. More than websites, more than statues, it was simply the people. The neighbors who support their neighbors.

Gators, Good Deeds and Gumption! Louisiana has the recipe to slowly build into one of the most supportive states for the Families of our Fallen Heroes.

---