Creole Nature Trail National Scenic Byway

We had hoped to travel the Creole Nature Trail National Scenic Byway, an 105-mile trail that runs along the Gulf Coast in southern Louisiana.  However, the hurricanes of the past decade have destroyed most of the towns, beaches, wetlands, parklands– at least once–and the rebuilding process is slow.

If you travel to Louisiana in the future, remember the scenic byway (SR 27 and SR 82), which travels through Cameron, Vermilion and Saint Martin Parishes.  The byway visits four state and national wildlife refuges and a bird sanctuary. It will offer many opportunities for boating, fishing, birding, eating and camping.  Palmetto Island State Park is being built, Cypremort Point State Park, which was flooded from rainfall, is being refurbished, and many small beach towns will bounce back given half a chance.

Backroads

Rather than travel IH-10, we zipped down US-171 through Lake Charles, turned east on SR 14 and cruised across southern Louisiana.  We traveled through prairies, lush farmland, a labyrinth of bayous and small towns. We traveled through New Iberia and St. Martinsville via the Catahoula Highway to the outer edge of the Atchafalaya basin.

History

This area is ripe with history.  By the mid-1700s, the Chitimacha natives had been replaced by French and Acadian farmers and trappers, who were ruled by the Spanish from 1763-1802.  During this time, Spanish and Canary Islanders settled around New Iberia.  What this means is you have a rich mix of races, cultures and foods that are out of this world.

The Longfellow-Evangeline State Historical Site on Bayou Teche interprets the history of the French-speaking people of the area and displays a Maison (mansion) and an Acadian farmstead.  New Iberia is home to many plantation homes along the Bayou Teche.  St. Martinville is the third oldest town in Louisiana and home to the Evangeline Oak made famous by the poet Longfellow.

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow-Evangeline

THIS is the forest primeval. The murmuring pines and the hemlocks,
Bearded with moss, and in garments green, indistinct in the twilight,
Stand like Druids of eld, with voices sad and prophetic,
Stand like harpers hoar, with beards that rest on their bosoms.
Loud from its rocky caverns, the deep-voiced neighboring ocean
Speaks, and in accents disconsolate answers the wail of the forest.
This is the forest primeval; but where are the hearts that beneath it
Leaped like the roe, when he hears in the woodland the voice of the huntsman?
Where is the thatch-roofed village, the home of Acadian farmers –

Read the entire text here:  http://etext.virginia.edu/toc/modeng/public/LonEvan.html

Thoughts on Lousiana

Louisiana is a haunted, beautiful land of extremes that is a treat to transverse.  While there are many areas that have been destroyed by man, cleared by tidal surges, deforested by hurricanes, there are also many areas of magnificence grandeur and proud heritage.  Look for these areas.  Meet the true “Survivors,” who never gave up and continue traditions over 200 years old.