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| All kidding aside, the best way to get here from the southeast is to take La 182 to Opelousas, take US190 to the west. Just out of town take La.104 to Mamou and stay on it until you get to La.26. Take 26 to DeRidder. If I gave you my route's directions, you'd still be reading them. Tomorrow, you'd be reading them. I came into DeRidder from the south, crossed the tracks and saw downtown. I love these old towns. Downtown seemed to still have some life in her. |
| On the back side of the main drag there were closed businesses. But, they were not trashed. There was NO LITER. Civic pride seemed to prevail. |
| And, the First National Bank is still THE FIRST NATIONAL BANK. Amazing! |
| I think the parish courthouse tends toward Texas traditional. |
| The mural on the community theater displayed the history of the area. Many old towns are going with murals to dress them up. It really works. Notice the English spelling of "theatre". We'll get into local history later. |
| Ok, I'm a train nut. If a town has an old depot. I'm stopping. If I'd go inside, I might not leave. I'm not much of an insider. |
| I kept thinking, "I have to get to Texas". |
| Then I looked down the tracks that were headed south. |
| Chicking the GPS I saw Niblett's Bluff. The trip to Texas was immediately suspended. I had to find this place. I suspected that there was nothing there. I had been to Burr's Ferry and had been very disappointed with the condition of things. There were some flags but most everything was covered in very high grass. Niblett's had never seen a real battle, though it was extremely important as a staging and supply depot. I would "check this one off" never the less. I'd sworn off the Civil War. Addictions are hard to shed, it seems. |
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