2021-08-17 Relaxing in Louisiana

Woohoo, headed out to join the Heart of Dixie chapter for a rally in Bogue Chitto State Park near Franklinton, Louisiana. First a trip to the storage building in the backyard. Not a good surprise, hubby got rid of my tub of summer RV things and the small lawn chair I saved for sitting in the river. So the water shoes and canvas floats are gone because they were in the tub. Someone is in big trouble. Of course, no one has water shoes now as they have moved on to fall and winter things.

Picked up the RV on Thursday and headed out Friday morning (5 August). No big rush as my plan was to drive only as far as Beaumont TX and stay at Gulf Coast RV Resort, a Passport America park. Saturday I headed east to Butte LaRose to my friend Carolyn's house. One night there and then off to Bogue Chitto State Park for a Heart of Dixie Rally (RVW). 

This is a nice state park. I have been to about 5 different Louisiana state parks and they have all been nice. And, what is even nicer, is that you can actually get reservations at them unlike Texas where you need to be on the computer 5 months in advance. The rally was Sunday through Thursday and the park was about 1/3 full. Seniors camp for half price and others can get the "Welcome Back" 15% off price. Sweet deal.  A little trip around the park. First my site. It was a pull-through along the creek across from a pond. Far from the best site in the park but it was close to the others attending the rally and I reserved last minute.

Lots of hiking trails in the park. It's a big park with two different camping areas each with several loops. We were in Bottomland area with Electric and Water. The Upland loops have full hookups.

They have horses for rent and equestrian trails.

Looks like they also have yurts for rent with nice outside patios.

It looks like the horses are only available Friday through Monday.

A trail just for kids.

Mountain bike trails too.

Frisbee Golf.

The Interpretive Center.

Sunday night we all got together for a Meet and Greet. Everyone brought nibbles. There were 9 RVW members and one guest in 7 RVs. Three of the RVW members joined Heart of Dixie chapter during the rally. Monday, 4 of us decided to go Tubing on the Bogue Chitto  River.

Here we are ready to go. The nice young man pulled us in a trailer down to the start of the run. He said he would look for us to arrive back at the tubing stand area in two hours.

Off we go.

The river was a little lower than normal so there were a lot of snags from the flood earlier this summer. Carolyn was headed into the limbs here but she made it out okay after getting off the tube and swimming it out. The current was pretty strong so we all got a good workout. 

We saw three tubes on the shore and found out after we got back that those tubers called for a boat ride out but we tuffed it out. The current was so strong when I got off my tube at the end, it pushed me forward onto my knees. Getting up was real fun. Some of the ladies thought they might try kayaking it the next day as it would be easier. That evening we heard that two tubers drowned the day before further down the river. They had small tubes and no life jackets but we passed on the kayaking.

We opted for sitting in the creek instead.

This was Carolyn's site.

Mary was right in front of Carolyn and that is where we all gathered.

Viola loves to fish. She tried several different kinds of fish but they just weren't biting so no fish for dinner.  She did catch and release a good sized turtle. The resident alligator also swam past her.

Viola and her little dog also put a few miles on her bicycle. 

We had a grill night and a potluck night. One night Carolyn and Mary, the hosts for the rally, made Shrimp Creole with Rice and the rest of us provided sides.

All in all, it was a great rally. Texas Ramblin' Roses rallies are usually at least three times this size but there is also something very special about small rallies.

I got up Thursday morning to find a flat on my toad. Fortunately, we didn't have to leave until 1:00PM so I called Roadside Assistance. Once they changed the tire, I took the toad into town and had the tire repaired and put back on the car and we were off back to Carolyn's.

I stayed at Carolyn's for several days. One morning I fixed breakfast for us in my RV. Another day we drove into Lafayette and met two friends for lunch. It was really great to see them.

If you ever see this RV going down the road, be sure you wave. It's Carolyn, my Cajun friend  and president of the Heart of Dixie chapter.