Wrong turn? Wrong place....

When we started out from California on our road-trip we had decided to stay off the Interstates as much as possible. Zipping by at 75 mph is no way to see the country. So there we were, Mom and I, riding along the northeast corner of Louisiana on a "scenic" road. The road was in good shape, just narrow and crowded by fields of growing stuff. Don't ask me what kind of stuff....it was green and leafy stuff. OK? All of a sudden there was this tall, white, leggy water tower sticking above the trees. And on the tower was painted a huge bat! We might have been driving a little fast as we were in and out of the town in a blink, but then it was a tiny town so I'm not admitting to anything.

Did we really see a BAT? I slowed down and looked for a place to turn around. No road shoulders, no wide spots, just muddy fields full of vegetation. Finally, two miles past town was a muddy driveway....a really narrow, tiny driveway with potholes full of water.....and deep enough to harbor life. I had to play back and turn, back and turn for a bit. Meanwhile in the house at the end of the drive, curtains were tweaked to the side and eyes were following us, wondering who these strangers were with the wrong color on their license plate. Finally we were turned around and headed back to check out this strange sight. And here is my proof that I was not spacing that day.

Transylvania, Louisiana We didn't get a chance to buy a souvenir as it was Sunday and everything was locked up tight. But we did get photos...and thus proof of once having been in Transylvania.

Nothing seemed to be open in Louisiana on that Sunday...nothing! We did not even see an open grocery, mini-mart or gasoline station and very few people. We were getting to the point where a gas station could be needed. My GPS was even lost...or maybe it was taking the day off. Yes, it was Sunday and not the time to travel in unknown territory without a map. We had been stopping at the State welcome centers as we entered each new state, picking up maps and facts about the areas. Our plans were to have been in Louisiana on Tuesday but since we had totally blown through Arkansas, we were ahead of schedule.

As we entered the outer edges of Tallulah, Louisiana, the GPS said turn left. So we did, oh yes we did, trusting ignorant souls that we were. That left turn took us along a road that got narrower and rougher, with no shoulders or driveways to turn around on. The road side was bordered by wide, green-scum covered, water-filled ditches....that had bubbles and moving things in them. On the other side of the ditches were ten foot tall corn or cane.....or swamp bamboo for all I knew. It was tall enough that I could not see what, if anything, was on the other side. It was a tunnel of green bordering a broken road. No houses, nothing living in sight. Nervous? Was I getting nervous you ask? Honey, I was past nervous, and there wasn't even any cell phone reception if we needed help. We were both trying to make light of the situation for each other. We were making sick jokes about two old women disappearing in the swamps, never to be heard of again, and some gator hunter driving a nice white van with a roof vent and built in bed.

In our nervousness, it seemed like it took us hours until we came upon a cross road. In the distance, we could see semi trucks racing along an interstate. I don't know if my van could do a wheelie but it sure felt that good to find that highway. Later when I did have a map I discovered that we if we had turned to the right at Tallulah we would have been on that interstate highway within a few blocks. But if we had, we wouldn't have had our tale to tell. Funny what tension can do to your time sense. It seemed like we were driving for a really long time. But later when I had a map I discovered that we had only traveled about 10 miles.