Southwest 2003 Week 5

Day 29 - Monday, November 3, 2003, Santa Fe, NM to Taos, NM,  140 miles driven

We started the day by visiting the church that we could not get into yesterday - Cristo del Rey. It is a beautiful large interior and the difference here was that the altar screen is carved in stone rather than carved and painted wood. From here we headed to Taos. Along the way were many Indian Casinos which we didn't stop at. Shortly before Taos is the San Francisco de Asis Mission Church which was built around 1814. According to the travel literature it is one of the most photographed buildings in New Mexico. There are no photographs allowed inside the church and I abided by their wishes even though there was no-one inside to stop me. The church also advertises a video and a painting which shines in the dark and shows a shadow of a cross behind the likeness of Jesus in the darkened picture which is not visible when under normal lighting conditions.  For $3.00 we got to see the video and the painting. The video explains that the painting has been tested for radioactivity as an explanation for its luminescence but the tests had proven negative. No-one knows what causes it and the artist is supposed to have said that he did nothing special to gain that effect. Sure enough, when the lights are turned out, the background of the painting throws of light and the shadow of a cross is there.

From the church we headed to the visitors center to get some maps and get some information on the Kit Carson Museum which we wantted to visit. The AAA book had said that after October, the museum is on winter hours and that sometimes means closed Monday. Luckily here winter hours means closing at 4 PM instead of 5. Before heading to the museum we drove 15 miles out of town to see the Rio Grande Gorge Bridge. The Rio Grande has cut a deep chasm in this area and a bridge was built within the past 20 years to span the gap. for a while it was known as the bridge to nowhere as the road on the other side was not finished until well after the bridge. It was quite windy and mom did not want to take the walk across the bridge. Driving across was enough for her. The views of the chasm was awesome. When I stopped walking to take a picture it was so windy that it pushed me  against the railing. No place to wear a hat.

After the bridge we drove to the Kit Carson Home and Museum in downtown Taos. Kit Carson was one of those larger than life figures i grew up reading about when I was a kid. The most amazing thing about him at the museum was the chronology of his life. He left home at 14 to become a saddlers apprentice in Missouri and ran away at the age of 15. He joined a wagon train headed to Santa Fe and wintered over in Taos. Halfway back to the east he joined another westbound wagon train and wound up back in Taos. In his lifetime he trapped with Jim Bridger in Wyoming and participated at the famous Green River rendezvous, he was a buffalo hunter, scout, Civil War soldier and later a Indian Affairs agent. The chronology covered his 60 year life and at no point did the time span for any entry exceed two years. This man could not sit or stand still. If it was out west he did it. He died in 1868 shortly after returning from Washington on a mission to improve the conditions for the Indians. His wife of 25 years died at the age of 42 from complications of childbirth one month before he died. Quite a man Kit Carson.

After a forgetful lunch we then took in the Hacienda de los Martinez which is a fortress like house built by Severino Martinez in the 1800 to 1830 time frame. The write ups describe the life in New Mexico in this period. The hacienda had to be self sufficient in edibles while being on the Santa Fe trail provided opportunities to engage in trade with the outside. The hacienda is divided into two courtyards surrounded by the various rooms and storage spaces. The front courtyard dealt with human activities and tasks while the second courtyard was used to house and protect the animals. With its solid doors sealed to the outside, the hacienda was indeed a fortress. One interesting tablet described the Indian Slave trade which had been practiced by the Indians for centuries. This trade was not stopped until well after the Civil war and in fact some white men were also engaged in it. Women and children were the preferred objects as grown men were too difficult to control. One white trader engaged in the Paiute slave trade quoted that "a young boy aged 10 to 14 could fetch $50 to $100 which was not   exorbitant considering the monumental task it took to clean them up to be fit for the market". Nice commentary.

Another tablet dealt with the sheep industry in the Taos area. Kit Carson at one time had purchased 6500 sheep at 50 cents a piece in Taos and driven them across to Sacramento, California where he had collected $5.50 a head. Not a bad profit.

In the evening after a great Mexican meal we went to the Taos Indian Casino. Mom had fun loosing $3.00 to a nickel machine which took a half hour. Mom and I both decided that Taos was a disappointment to us. We had heard much about its artist colony and locale but perhaps we were expecting it to top Sedona. Everything just looks seedier here. We had set aside two full days for here but since we had decided that we had already seen a pueblo outside of Albuquerque at Accoma, there was no need repeat it here.

Santa Fe - interior of Cristo del Rey	Taos - San Francisco de Asis Mission church	Taos - Rio Grande Gorge from bridge	Taos - Rio Grande gorge
Taos - Rio Grande Gorge Bridge	Taos - Cradle at the Kit Carson museum	Taos - Kit Carson Museum	Taos - Hacienda de los Martinez family quarters

Day 30 - Tuesday, November 4, 2003, Taos, NM to Roswell NM,  298 miles driven

When we got up in the morning the car was covered with ice. It was our first frost of the trip. The car needed to be serviced today as we had driven over 3000 miles since our last service in Albuquerque. We left Taos early and drove to Santa Fe as I knew where the Jiffy Lube was there. We were in and out in about 15 minutes and were back on the road at 10 AM. The road map between Santa Fe and Roswell showed nothing but blank spaces with no real points of interest in between so the decision was to spend a few more hours in Santa Fe to visit the Palace of the Governors in the central Plaza of Santa Fe. We had wanted to see this on Sunday but we couldn't fit it into the schedule on that day.

The Palace was built in 1610 and this building served as the seat of government for New Mexico under Spanish, Pueblo, Mexican and US territorial rule until 1909. The building is a rectangular adobe structure with a large courtyard. The print shop with its original presses in working condition is still in use. We joined a tour that had just started and the woman that led it was full of interesting stories. Three rooms of the museum were devoted to the Jewish history in New Mexico. Under Spanish and Mexican rule, Jews had been for the most part kept out of New Mexico by decree although some did get there. Jewish immigration into the US increased in the early 1800's as anti-Semitic pressures were building in Prussia. After the US took over New Mexico and Arizona, many of these immigrants seeking adventure in the west wound up in Santa Fe. Many became prominent businessmen and civic leaders in the territory. The Archbishop of Santa Fe became friendly with the Jewish leaders and when he needed the funds for the new cathedral, a large part of the funding came from the Jewish community. Many of the Archbishops borrowings were covered by and later written off by these leaders.

We also learned about the second Taos Rebellion which took place in 1847 after the US took over. After the US took over New Mexico, the residents of the Taos Pueblo and some of the locals objected to the take-over. Territorial Governor Bent and a large number of anglo citizens were killed in the opening part of the revolt. Fearing retribution for this action the revolutionaries sought refuge in the Mission church in Taos. The US military blew the church away. I have to do some more reading about this chapter in US history. It was not taught anywhere in my days as a student.

The guide also explained the building of the Cathedral of St. Francis of Assissi.  The first church on this site had been destroyed in the revolt of 1680 and replaced in 1714. When Archbishop Lamy from France was assigned to Santa Fe he had strong dislike for the Spanish Adobe style of Architecture. He wanted a new church to replicate a French Cathedral. In the decade of 1880, he got his wish and had the old church razed. Only the chapel of LaConquistadora was incorporated into the new church.  We also learned that Lew Wallace - author of Ben Hur was a territorial governor of New Mexico.

By 1:00 PM we were ready for lunch and then the 3 hour drive to Roswell. The drive on Route 285 was through a very barren countryside. There were numerous cattle ranches but nothing much more. We did get to see many deer and antelope grazing in the same range with the cattle. They were the first large wild mammals we have seen on this trip. Pulling into Roswell I noticed the sign on the Arby's - "Aliens Welcome." We felt at home.

Fall along the Rio Grande below Taos	Rio Grande below Taos	Stagecoach in the Palace of the Governors - an illegal picture the guard didn't make me erase	Santa Fe - Courtyard of the Palace of the Governors	Santa Fe - statue in the Public Library

Day 31 - Wednesday, November 5, 2003, Roswell NM to Carlsbad Caverns to Pecos TX,  222 miles driven

Although Roswell was only scheduled as a sleep stop prior to getting to the Carlsbad Caverns National Park, what would a trip to Roswell be without at least taking in some of the UFO Museum. The Roswell area is famous as the UFO capital and also where a alien spacecraft allegedly crashed in 1947. The US Air Force has been accused of a cover-up in the incident which was explained by the government as a weather balloon. There has been much written about this subject and people believing in conspiracy theories have rallied around this site.

The UFO Museum and Research center is right on the main street running through the town. There is no charge for the museum other than a $1.00 fee for the use of an audio tour if you want one. We didn't take the audio as it would have taken too long to go thru. I believe that the no-fee policy re-enforces the point that this museum was not put up as a spectacle or entertainment. The museum documents all the signed affidavits by the witnesses to the site, the newspaper reports dealing with the incident and then the newspaper reports of the government version of the story. We only spent about a half hour in the museum and only went thru about a quarter of the exhibit. From what we saw it was a very interesting collection of data. Something did happen in Roswell in 1947 that has not been fully explained. Whether or not it was an alien craft or some secret government experiment will probably never be revealed.

From Roswell we drove to Carlsbad Caverns National Park to take in the caverns. When we walked in the visitors center a large group of grade school students were about to enter the building and I dreaded the thought of being in and echo chamber with about 50 urchins. We got tickets for the tour and audio guide and then went to have lunch at the restaurant. There are various tours available some of which are way too much fun for us. These involve crawling on your belly to get thru narrow openings and carrying flashlights etc. We opted for the self guiding tour of the Great Room. There are two ways to get into the Great Room. There is the natural entrance which requires you to walk down a steep incline with switchbacks. This method takes you about an hour to cover the one mile of trails to the Great Room from the surface. The other way is to take an elevator down the 800 foot drop to the Great Room. We opted for the elevator. There was a young woman running the elevator and I kidded her if she had gone to 4 years of college to run this elevator. She came right back with -"Yes, I studied hard and started out with small elevators but am now qualified to run an elevator like this with 20 buttons."  When I asked if her parents were proud of her skill she said that her parents bring all the aunts, uncles and cousins to marvel at her work. She was AOK. I should have gotten her name as I would like to write a complementary letter about her to the park superintendent.

There is no real good way to describe the caverns in words and photography is very difficult in this environment. I was using my digital camera and attempted to get the flavor of the cavern by using the time exposure. Some came out OK, a lot were blurry because of the difficulty to hold the camera still. Using the flash was sometimes successful but mostly the darkness just swallowed the light. The lighting in the caverns is spectacular. According to the brochures, a Broadway theatrical lighting consultant was brought in to design and place the lighting scheme. There is just enough lighting to give you a view of the most dramatic points yet the pathway itself is dark. The tour of the Great Room takes you on a 1.25 mile path through a maze of huge and smaller open spaces. The largest hall is big enough to hold 14 football fields. The person at the ticket counter said that it would take about 1.5 hours to do the trail. Mom and I took 3. Carlsbad Caverns are the most spectacular we have seen. We have been to Lurray in Virginia and Mammoth in Kentucky and find Carlsbad to be more spectacular. One of the biggest differences here is that at the other two you have to go on a guided tour while here you can wander at your own pace and take it all in.

We had wanted to witness the bats that exit the cave at dusk but found out that the bats of Carlsbad are a migratory species and had started to leave for Mexico since about the middle of October. There had been a small number of bats visible a few days ago but the huge flights were over for the year. We decided to continue our journey and wound up in Pecos, TX for the evening.

Roswell UFO Museum	Carlsbad Caverns NP in the Great Room	Carlsbad Caverns NP in the Great Room	Carlsbad Caverns NP in the Great Room
Carlsbad - Garfield the Cat	Carlsbad Caverns NP in the Great Room	Carlsbad Caverns NP in the Great Room	Carlsbad Caverns NP in the Great Room
Carlsbad Caverns NP in the Great Room	Carlsbad Caverns NP in the Great Room	Carlsbad Caverns NP in the Great Room	Carlsbad Caverns - The Bat Viewing Amphitheater

Day 32 - Thursday, November 6, 2003, Pecos TX to San Antonio TX,  402 miles driven 

Today was a very rare one for us on this trip. We got up to a drizzly, rainy day which followed us for most of the day while on the road. It is only the second time that we have had substantial rain on this trip. We weren't concerned about the rain making us change plans as the day was primarily going to be a driving day to San Antonio. At the end of the day I calculated my cumulative mileage for this trip which is 6971 miles from the time we left High Bridge.

We started the day with visiting the Pecos Historical Museum. The museum is in the former Johnson & Heard Saloon and Hotel which was built around 1886. The collection is primarily a testament to the people and events that had an impact on the development of the town. the economy of Pecos in the late 1800's was primarily driven by the cattle business. In the 1920's and 1930's it changed to oil and with the decline of the oil drilling, the fortunes of the town have also turned. Pecos is also known as the town that held the first Rodeo in the US. The town has had its share of characters. The "Gentleman Gunfighter" Robert Clay Allison  is buried on the museum property. It has two gravestones, one inscription reading "Gentleman Gunfighter" the other reading "He never killed a man that didn't need killing". 20 or more men needed killing. Strangely he did not die a violent death. In his later years he became a respectable rancher in the area and died accidentally by slipping or falling off a wagon and being run over.

The saloon also has markers that indicate that on October 3, 1886 two men were killed by one man in the saloon. To sum it up the deceased had planned to kill one Barney Riggs on the order of their hoodlum boss Jim Miller. Someone tipped Barney off and he showed up in town wearing a bullet-proof vest. When the trouble broke out in the saloon, Barney was ready and he dispatched the two would be killers. Barney was acquitted and Mr. Miller who was also a gun for hire was lynched in 1909 in Oklahoma for killing a prominent citizen there. Barney was killed in 1902 during an argument with his ex-wife's son in law.

The museum also has displays honoring its rodeo heroes, doctors, bankers and ministers. We enjoyed this museum very much as it dealt with real lives and real events. Like the banker that gave moral lectures to the people that borrowed money from his bank.

From Pecos we headed off to San Antonio through Fort Stockton. At fort Stockton there is a large roadrunner statue which is known as "Paisano Pete. For lunch we stopped in Ozona at a Mexican Cafe. Mom had developed a bad cold and when mom ordered a hot cup of tea, the waitress seemed very upset. She was out of tea. I said that if she brought hot water, we would supply the tea bags. I went to the car and she brought the hot water. Since it was rainy and foggy for most of the ride we didn't see too much today. We noted that after Fort Stockton the scenery shifted from a flat desert to a hilly and tree covered landscape. We have left the beauty of Colorado, Utah, Arizona and New Mexico way behind.

In selecting motels we looked at the coupons for a motel that had a laundry and did find a Econo-Lodge that advertised a laundry. I knew that there was a problem when the registration sign led you to the Quality Inn which shared the parking lot. we had a coupon for the Quality also. When I asked about the Econo, the counter girl said that it was not open yet. She could not explain how a discount coupon was published for a non-operating motel. I then asked her for a map of San Antonio she said that they hadn't come in yet. I then asked if there were beds in the room.  So ends the day.

Pecos Museum - Barney Riggs killed two here	Pecos Museum - Real Hats from real people	Pecos Museum - about Judge Roy Bean	Outside of Pecos Museum - the trains kept rolling
Pecos Museum - mom remembers these curling machines	Pecos Museum - the inscription says it all	Pecos Museum - Judge Roy Beans Jersey Lilly	The Roadrunner at Fort Stockton

Day 33 - Friday, November 7, 2003, San Antonio TX to Galveston TX, 297 miles driven 
 

We didn't remain in San Antonio as we had been to the Alamo, the five Spanish Missions and the Riverwalk about 5  years ago. We instead started the drive to the Houston/Galveston  Area. The roads I had picked for this drive took us thru Goliad, TX which is one of the oldest towns in Texas and is full of Spanish, Mexican, Texas and US history.

Up thru the early 1700's the Spanish had pretty much ignored the area now known as Texas in favor of Mexico and California, Arizona and New Mexico regions. In the early 1700's to counter French and English designs on this territory, Spain started to establish missions and military posts in Texas. The first settlements were in 1722 in the Matagorda Bay area (now known for good fishing - I have been there) but proved to be untenable because of the unfriendly Indian populace. After two other moves, in 1749 the Spanish established Mission Nuestra Senora del Espiritu Santo de Zuniga and the military equivalent - Presidio de Bahia. The Presidio and the Mission were placed on opposite sides of the San Antonio River  to protect the trade routes in the area. The mission tended to the needs of the local Indians for about 90 years but declining Indian population finally forced the mission to close. As in the San Antonio missions, the stones and walls of the mission were destroyed for use in other building projects. The CCC rebuilt the mission church in the 1930's. Where would the cultural sites of this country be without the depression and CCC.

The Presidio had a major role in the fight for Texas Independence. Even before Texas became an independent nation in 1836, the presidio had been witness to revolts against the Spanish and Mexico in the 1810 - 1825 time period. The initial declaration of independence from Mexico was signed within the chapel of the Presidio. The Presidio would have a more somber involvement in the revolution. General James Fannin and 400 Texan troops had occupied the Presidio and renamed it Fort Defiance in the beginning of the revolution. After the fall of the Alamo, Sam Houston had ordered Fannin to retreat. Fannin was slow in his retreat and on March 19 and 20 of 1836 Fanin lost the Battle of Coleto Creek. He was forced to surrender and Fannin and approximately 350 of his men were taken back to the Presidio as prisoners. Fannin was led to believe that he and his men would be allowed to return to their homes. They were held as prisoners in the chapel of the presidio for a week and then on Palm Sunday the uninjured were marched out in three separate groups and massacred. The injured had been taken to the courtyard and executed there. Fannin had been the last to be executed. He had asked that he be shot in the heart, his belongings sent to his family and that he be given a Christian burial. The executioner shot him in the face, his belongings were confiscated and his body was burned along with the most of the other dead troops. His watch was later recovered at the battle of San Jocinto. The Mexican General Urrea had been given signed orders from Santa Ana that the rebels be made an example. Some members of Fannins troops such as doctors had been spared the execution and some others survived the wounds. "Remember Goliad" was the rallying cry at San Jocinto when Houston captured Santa Ana and Texas gained independence. Twice as many Texans died at Goliad as at the Alamo.

Goliad was also the birthplace of Ignacio Seguin Zaragoza who led Mexican troops against the French at the Battle of Puebla on May 5, 1862. From this victory came the Cinco de Mayo celebration.

While we were at these two sites I believe every elementary school in South Texas was having a field trip here. We were overrun with urchins. The Texas Park service had organized many displays dealing with life in the early 1800's. There were woodworkers, gunsmiths, spinning, weaving etc around the park. We felt like we were in Millbrook. One of the demonstrators was leading a Mediterranean donkey. She said that she raises them for the market and that they make good watch animals. They sense predators and have kept coyote's from her goats and also stomped rattlesnakes. We also had an interesting conversation with a Rudi R. Rodriguez President of the Texas Tejano organization. He has authored a book dealing with the Tejano history and I promised to buy his book.

After the tour we had lunch in Goliad at an unassuming in appearance but wonderful food restaurant. From here we drove the remaining 197 miles to Galveston and had dinner at one of my favorite restaurants - Gaido's. I have been here before on business trips and as usual the food was great. The Red Snapper covered with lump crabmeat is to die for. The bill was also to faint for. Once in a while you have to live it up. Cup 'O Soup dinners on other nights made up for this extravaganza.

 

 

Mission at Goliad	Firearm Demonstrator at Mission	Miniature Donkey and owner.	Presidio del Bahia
Altar Painting circa 1947, Chapel circa 1749	Where Fannin and 350 more spent their last days	Burial Site of Fannin and the rest of his men	Downtown Goliad

Day 34 - Saturday, November 8, 2003, Galveston TX to Houston TX, 62 miles driven 

Today we visited the NASA Johnson Space Center in the Houston/Clear Lake area. Out front there was a huge Pokemon celebration going on with dressed up characters and all kinds of kids games. We skipped this part. After paying the $35.00 tariff for two, net of the $10.00 discount coupon, we received our audio guides and took in the exhibits.

For the first part we decided to take the tram tour of the Space Center which is away from the visitors center. The visitors center is according to the AAA guide, a separate entity run by a private organization for profit. To take the tram you get in line, have your picture taken (which they try to sell you later for $20.00) and also pass thru a metal detector. The guy running the metal detector was packing so I guess he was serious. The tram takes you past some of the buildings and explains their function in NASA. The first stop was the historical Control Room of all the missions up through Apollo. When we entered the building the guide said that there were 87 steps to climb but they had an elevator but it wasn't working. So I guess they didn't have and elevator. The guide explained that the viewing room was really the VIP room which had been visited by every president since Johnson and that Queen Elizabeth and other world leaders had been in there. She also said that many movie stars had also been in the VIP room. After her spiel I asked her why she considered movie stars as important people. I told her they were perhaps famous but not any more important than anyone else. She didn't like my question.

The next building was the simulation and testing building where they have real size mock-ups of the International Space Station and also the space shuttle. They use this room to test configurations and layouts for all missions. This building had 20 stairs to climb but the elevator here was working. Mom was really huffing and puffing on the 87 in the previous building. From here the tour paused at a  field where there was an oak tree planted for every astronaut that had died in space. They played an excerpt from the speech President Bush made earlier this year after the Columbia disaster. Back at the "Amusement Park" area we saw two films about the shuttle and space station programs. One showed a blast off and then there was a talk regarding the operation of the shuttle and space station.

The visitors center had a lot of hands on for kids and there were tons of them here. The flight simulators were neat. I crashed the shuttle twice in attempting to land it. There was other simulation equipment for use but these cost about $5.00 each to try.  I guess it is a mini Space Disney in Houston. This is the major difference with the Kennedy Space Center in Florida and also that the technical and visual displays were more dramatic in Florida.

Shuttle Engine in Visitors Area	Actural Lunar Escape Module - the walls are thinner than a can of soda	Saturn Rocket on Dispaly	In the simulation and set up building	Shuttle banners - only three are left
Actual Mercury Capsule	Test Lunar Rover - the real ones are still on the moon	Actual Apollo capsule	Lego astronaut	Simulation Ride - some kids said it was too short.

Day 35 - Sunday, November 9, 2003, Houston TX to Lafayette LA, 328 miles driven 

After church and after sampling the Stuffed Crepes DeLuxe at the IHOP across the street from our motel, we backtracked to Galveston to take the free ferry over to Port Bolivar.  The car automatically selects ferry crossings just like it selects all National Monuments it passes. The ferry runs on a 15 minute schedule and it wasn't long before we were on the ferry for the short 15 minute ride. On the way to the ferry we noted that there were two huge cruise ships loading up with passengers. We saw one in port yesterday and today there were two new ones. Never realized that Galveston was a busy cruise port.

From Port Bolivar the road follows the coast of Bolivar Penninsula and eventually joins up with I-10 before Beaumont, TX. Bolivar Penninsula reminded us of the Jersey shore as well as the Outer Banks with the stilt houses and shops geared to the beach. We didn't see any swimmers today but there was plenty of surf fishing activity. Our destination for the day was Avery Island, LA which is near Lafayette and New Iberia in the center of Cajun Country. Avery Island is the home of McIlhenny Co. which produces the worlds #1  pepper sauce - Tobasco. The tour of the Tobasco factory is free after paying a .50c toll to cross the bridge on to the island. The tour itself is very short with a short introduction of the island and company by a guide and then a short video detailing the company's history and product line. Then you walk past the production line (it wasn't running on a Sunday) and then the requisite gift shop.

Avery Island was originally a sugar plantation owned by the Avery Family. The sugar cane operation was interrupted by the Civil War but McIlhenny and his wife (an Avery) returned after the war to recoup the sugar operation. McIlhenny started to experiment with the pepper plants and developed the pepper which was later patented as the Tobasco Pepper. He started to make the sauce and in his first year of operation produced 360 bottles of the pepper sauce and sold them for $1.00 each. Today the plant turns out 500k bottles a day and they sell for a $1.00 or more per bottle. In the early days all the peppers for the Tobasco were grown and processed at Avery Island. Now Avery Island only grows a small portion of the peppers for the sauce while most of its pepper growing is restricted to providing all the seeds for the growing of peppers in Mexico and South America. The peppers grown outside of the US are ground and shipped in barrels to Avery Island where the final processing takes place. The ground peppers (pepper mash) are allowed to ferment in wooden barrels for three years after which time the mash is mixed with vinegar and some salt and bottled in the plant at Avery Island. During the fermentation process, holes are drilled into the top of the barrel and the top is covered with a thick layer of rock salt which comes from the salt dome which is under Avery Island. The salt permits air and gasses created during fermentation to escape yet stops foreign matter to enter the mash. The barrels are used for about 20 years after which they are cut up and sold as a fuel for Cajun Barbecue.

The McIlhenny family still runs the operations on Avery Island. The video emphatically pointed out that a descendant of the original McIlhenny  still selects the peppers to be harvested for all the seed stock. In addition, the island produces natural gas and oil and has a huge rock salt deposit which is mined on a lease by Cargill Corp. It is a pretty island which must generate a pretty income for the family.      

After the requisite stop in the gift shop where we somehow lost $25.00 and walked out with a bag of stuff, we returned to Lafayette and decided to have dinner at Mulates - a Cajun restaurant. Mulates is unique in that it has Cajun music 7 days a week. We arrived just as the group (I didn't get their name - but they were excellent) was starting their first set and after a leisurely dinner they were still playing when we left. Cajun music is especially great to listen to live and they didn't disappoint. People were always on the dance floor.

So ended an excellent week - Santa Fe to Lafayette, LA

Our Cruise Ship in sight	Outbound from Houston Ship Channel	Spectators	Another Ferry on the Low Seas
Inbound for the Houston Ship Channel	Bayou in Louisiana	All the Tobasco in the world is processed here	Even fish like Tobasco Peppers

 

2003 Southwest Adventure

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