4/8 Silsbee to DeRidder

Again I rode in the a.m. We rode from Silsbee to Buna, Kirbyville and Bleakwood (just about what the name implies). Denise and I traded there and she rode from there thru Bon Wier, Merryville to DeRidder (Pleasant Hill RV Park) Morning head winds on Hwy 96 made for a long, long morning. After I started driving Mike called me to say he saw a large sign he wanted me to get a picture of. I never saw the sign, but it read "Trespassers will be shot!" in large red letters. As this was our last day in Texas (21 total, I think), it was disappointing to see an entering Texas sign, but no entering Louisiana sign whatsoever. Only by our map showing the Sabine River crossing as the state line and the Texas sign going the other way did we know we were in Louisiana. There was a sign stating that we were entering Beauregard Parish. In Texas, as in Washington, they were counties. We did take a picture at the Texas sign and one on the bridge over the river to commemorate leaving Texas. we saw staging areas for the mobile homes and trailers left from Katrina. I had to stop 3 times to get directions to the RV park and I finally arrived down a one lane road, having to figure out how to get the motor home past a dump truck, etc. When I got there I wasn't even sure we could get in the driveway, but after unhooking the car I was able to back into our site for the night. The locals at the park informed us that they had spotted a few copper head snakes and water moccasins. We were told to be careful where we stepped. For the record, we didn't see any snakes. When I was riding, I saw funny little mounds ranging from a couple of inches high to over a foot and about 4" in diameter. When we stopped at a convenience store, I asked what they were and was told they were Crayfish or as the locals were calling them mud bugs. They told us DeRidder hadd a good place to sample them, so we asked at the campground and ended up having a crayfish dinner complete w/lessons from the kids working in the place as to how to properly eat them. This included how to break the heads off and suck the fat out of them being careful not to get the eyeballs and then how to pinch the end of the tail and pull the meat out clean. They were cooked in a cajun boil w/potatoes and corn. They were very spicy and a lot of work to eat- like our shrimp.