New Orleans and Katrina

Katrina hit New Orleans in 2005. The devastation in many places is still evident. The site of our campground was covered by 12 feet of water. While parts of the city are recovering quite well, others are not. The mayor recently observed that there are 61,000 properties within the city that need to be demolished. His view is that current budget limitations, the city could manage 10,000 demolitions a year. Do the math, it will require another six years just to remove the rubble. Given the usual complica- tions to these kinds of efforts, six years seems optimistic.

The first picture is of the home and recording studio of Fats Domino in the lower ninth ward. He was rescued from the roof of this house. He has moved to another home in NO. The next house is one of many new homes being funded by Brad Pitt. These homes are "green." Most are said to be net energy producers. Brad Pitt has spent millions of his own money on this project. The homes are sold at little or no interest expense to residents.

Most of New Orleans is below sea level. The city is surrounded by a levee. Water is pumped more or less continuously into drainage canals and drained into Lake Pontchartrain. The levee breeches, which lead to the flooding have been repaired. The pumping stations are awesome. One gets a feeling for the volume of water management just driving by one the stations.

Mardi Gras Parade in Slidell, LA

Mardi Gras is not only a New Orleans pheno- menon. We learned from fellow campers about a Sunday parade in Slidell (pop. 27,000) about 25 miles northeast of NO. Mardi Gras is a season. It starts January 6 and culminates on Fat Tuesday. Sunday's parade was a typical, small town event. It was actually the second Mardi Gras parade in Slidell this year. There will be several more including three night parades.

Slidell has grown rapidly in recent years as a commuter residence for New Orleans. Locals will tell you that Slidell is family friendly. As you can see from the pictures, families were tailgating on the parade route. The parade started at three; tailgating started about 11:30.

The parade included the usual kind of entries--floats from which riders tossed beads and other Mardi Gras goodies, carriages for local dignitaries and royalty, local youth groups and school bands, and a Marine marching band.

New Orleans, Louisiana

This is our first visit to legendary New Orleans and its even more legendary French Quarter. It has to rank as one of the premier tourist attractions in the U.S. Every effort has been made to retain its historical authenticity. The French Quarter's premier event--Mardi Gras--is fast approaching.

The Cathedral-Basilica of St. Louis King of France is the oldest Catholic cathedral in America. It has been in continuous use since its building in 1721-1727. Its just off Jackson Square (named for Andrew Jackson) and is flanked by two museums.

We spent an enjoyable interlude at the New Orleans Jazz National Historic Park listening to a jam session. A quote from Louis Armstrong "What we play is life" hangs on the wall.

A New Orleans tradition is a visit to Cafe du Monde for beignetes. The lines were about two blocks long, but the beignetes were worth waiting for!

Carriages of various sizes line up around Jackson Square for a guided ride around the French Quarter. We walked for miles around the French Quarter--it's very pedestrian friendly.

Another unique sidewalk attraction is the human statue. This particular "statue" is one example. How would you like to be his make-up person?

Baton Rouge, Louisiana

Baton Rouge is the capitol city of Louisiana and has been for 120 years. However, since statehood in 1812, 13 distinct buildings in five different cities have served as the state's capitol.

During the Civil War, Louisiana was a confederate state. Union armies invaded Louisiana and the old Capitol building was burned out. The picture is a model of the old Capitol before the Civil War. The masonry walls remained after the fire, and the Capitol was rebuilt within its original walls.

The current

Capitol building was built in 1932 for a mere $5 million. It is the tallest Capitol building in the 50 states--450 feet high with 34 floors. The new Capitol is surrounded by 27 acres of gardens. Huey Long, longtime Louisiana politician, was assassinated in the building in 1935 and is buried on the grounds, facing the Capitol. Long is credited with spearheading the drive for the new building.

The U.S.S. Kidd, a naval destroyer, was retired to its current location on the Mississippi River in Baton Rouge. The long bridge in the background is one of a number of bridges crossing the river.

Houston Museum of Natural Science

A highlight of our visit to Houston was the Museum of Natural Science. Downtown Houston has a museum district with a wide variety of museums. The Natural Science Museum houses a variety of exhibits, including a live butterfly environment and an I-MAX theatre. Our favorite part of the museum was the display of prehistoric skeletons. Picture-taking was difficult because of interior lighting conditions.

The first picture shows two large dinosaurs, including a Tyrannosaurus Rex, with its very large head and jaws. This particular dinosaur remain was found in Montana. North Dakota and other midwestern states were mentioned in several exhibits because of our fossil dinosaur remains.

The second picture shows the very large head with two big horns, of a Triceratops discovered in South Dakota.

The larger of the two eggs in the third picture are those of the extinct elephant bird, the largest bird that ever lived and the largest egg of any animal. An ostrich egg is provided for comparison. We decided that you probably wouldn't have the kids pick up these eggs!

The final picture shows a giant clam, discovered in the Phillipine Islands in 1934. The pearl it contained, called weighs 14 pounds and is 9 inches long. Nice Valentine gift, eh?

Note: This museum has an enormous precious jewel collection. Because of muted lighting is was impossible to capture much of the collection.

Houston/Johnson Space Center

The primary training center for our astronauts is the Space Center. It houses full-scale mockups of all key space vehicles and facilities. The little space man (pictured with Anita) was part of the visitor center staff.

A Center staff member and a young boy volunteer from the audience demonstrate the challenges of living in a weightless environ- ment. The picture shows the living quarters of the Inter- national Space Station. There were lots of interesting details. Probably the most interesting was how the toilets work!

The shuttle model in the third picture shows the massive cargo door. The hydraulic arm, called the Canada arm (because of where it was made), can maneuver satellites and space hardware like the Hubble Telescope, which may actually weigh tons, in and out of the cargo bay in space because of weightlessness. In the Space Center, astronauts train to use the Canada arm on a massive, complex hydraulic arm which is also capable of lifting these same vehicles in a weightless environment.

The final picture shows a spider-like rover developed for exploration on the moon and possibly other locations in space.

Galveston, TX

We visited Galveston, TX, a barrier island 50 miles southeast of Houston. Galveston has an elevation just above sea level. The island is 3 miles wide at its widest point. It is bordered by the Gulf of Mexico on the east and south.

In 1900 a hurricane struck Galveston, causing the greatest natural disaster to ever strike the U.S. At least 6000 people were killed in this one storm. Beginning in 1902, Galveston built a sea wall which now extends 17 miles around the Gulf side of the island. The sea wall is 17 feet high and 16 feet thick. The sea wall is now a Gulf-side street called Seawall Boulevard. The elevation on the eastern side of the island has been raised by pumping sand from the mouth of the Houston shipping channel.

Islanders refer to themselves as BOI (born on island) and IBC (islander by choice).

In 2008 Galveston was hit by Hurricane Ike at 2:20 a.m. Although the city had ordered evacuation, an estimated 40 percent of the 57,000 residents chose to stay. At one time before the storm hit Texas, Ike had been rated as a Category 4 (145 mph) hurricane. When it hit Texas, it had downgraded to a Cat 2 (110 mph). Storm total rainfalls from Ike were as much as 19 inches in southeast Texas.

Judging from the mansions along Broadway, Galveston was once the home of some very well-to-do Texans. Today some of the mansions have been beautifully restored, others are waiting their turn. Hurricane damage is still visible in the residential areas of the island.

Galveston/Houston is obviously a busy seaport judging from the dozens of ships lined up in the Gulf waiting to dock.