V6E15 - Four States and a Monstrous Burger

Written By: Chris Shontz / @venture4WD

At first, I sped past the rural, inviting-looking food stand, as I drove east toward the Louisiana state line, only 45 miles away. “That looked good,” I thought, as I very abruptly performed a u-turn. Redneck Snack Shack, located in Woodville, Texas, offered all sorts of wonderful menu items, including several boudain (sic) offerings, which is a Cajun pork sausage if I’m reading my Google results correctly. I ordered a boudain breakfast burrito, which was delicious, and a wonderful way to kick off my travels into the southeastern states.   Louisiana Firsts It was my intention to hop from one parcel of National Forest to another as I traveled east through Louisiana. My first stop, was Kisatchie National Forest near Alexandria, which consisted of rolling woodlands surrounding Kincaid Reservoir. There were numerous forest roads and hiking trails here, that wound their way through the forest. While the roads were mostly dry due to their varied elevations, I did encounter sections with pooled water, and the subsequent mud felt very soft and sticky as I drove through it. Without the proper recovery gear, I had to exercise extreme caution, and sometimes even reverse course, when I approached wet terrain. I spent the night at a primitive campground in Kincaid Recreation Area. This campground featured picnic tables and a vault toilet in a lovely deciduous setting, only a short distance from the reservoir.   Pronouncing Natchitoches The next morning, I pushed north to visit the town of Natchitoches, pronounced nack-a-tish. It is the oldest permanent settlement following the Louisiana Purchase, thus downtown features abundant historic charm. I walked along the main street, lined with old brick buildings - upper and lower balconies adorned with ornate metal railings, just as one might expect from a Louisiana city. The riverfront park contains an extremely well-maintained landscape with an amphitheater, gardens, and historic structures. There is no shortage of shops and restaurants here, as I enjoyed a delectable meat pie platter at Merci Beaucoup.   Into the Bayou After a wonderful visit to Natchitoches, I set up camp in another northeastern parcel of Kisatchie National Forest, at Cloud Crossing Campground - a free campground that I discovered using freecampsites.net. This is a well-equipped camping area with flat tent pads, picnic tables, fire rings, a vault toilet, trash cans, and water spigots. Unlike the dry, wooded experience at my campsite near Alexandria, this campground was surrounded by a picture-perfect bayou. Aside from abundant wildlife, including mosquitoes, I had the campground all to myself during my visit. That night, I studied my basemap on GAIA GPS and tried to establish a rough travel itinerary for the coming month. May was nearly here, and with the intention of pushing into New England come June, I decided that I needed to pick up the pace!   History in Vicksburg Now traveling with a bit more urgency, I returned to the highway and crossed the Mississippi River at Vicksburg. Vicksburg, Mississippi is well-known for its role in the Civil War, as it was held by the south, and Lincoln considered it essential to victory. Today, it is home for Vicksburg National Military Park, which consists of sprawling fields, memorials, and historic features, much like those of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. Not wanting to pass through the area without missing this piece of history, I turned the Jeep into the park to go on the auto tour, which was free with my National Park Annual Pass. While there, I visited the stately Illinois Memorial, commemorating those Union soldiers from Illinois who partook in the Vicksburg Campaign. I also walked around the outdoor display at the USS Cairo Museum, which features a partial reconstruction of the USS Cairo, an ironclad steamship that was torpedoed up-river while on a mine clearing mission.   Sweet Home Alabama Mere hours after entering Mississippi, I now found myself in Alabama! Once again, I utilized freecampsites.net to find a place to pop the camper. While I normally like to discover campsites on my own, freecampsites.net is my go-to for finding locations near towns or cities, or if I’m simply running out of daylight and don’t have time to explore. I spent the night at Belmont Park, near Demopolis - a popular spot for boaters and fishermen. There are numerous tent pads along the Tombigbee River, and very nice facilities with electricity and running water.   Leaving Pavement I didn’t want to spend my entire time on-pavement while driving through Alabama, so utilizing GAIA GPS, I plotted a course north through Talladega National Forest, between Sylacauga and Talladega. This was a scenic, fifteen mile primitive road that traversed a mountain ridge. I didn’t quite know what to expect when I left pavement, so I took some air out of my tires for good measure. It wasn’t too technical and was passable by a stock truck or SUV, but there was some mud that could’ve been troublesome in wet weather. Along this route, I also discovered some extremely scenic vistas overlooking the beautiful Alabama landscape to the west!   The Foot of the Appalachians After spending the night at another free campground north of Rome, Georgia, I continued north to the town of Blue Ridge, which was located at the southernmost foot of the Appalachian Mountains. Blue Ridge is the definitive, North Georgia, mountain-town. It is home to the Blue Ridge Scenic Railway, and its main street consists of numerous outdoorsy shops and restaurants, many with a natural, log-cabin theme. I spent some time wandering around town and enjoyed lunch at Hansen’s Grill. There, I ordered a bacon cheeseburger, which was an ordinary enough request. However, the resulting burger was a heaping mound of deliciousness. I was taken aback by its size at first, as I didn’t expect anything remarkable, but it was exquisite, and I devoured it in short order - much to my server’s surprise. While the week commenced at a very relaxed pace, it ended up being much more of a frantic cross-country sprint across America’s southeast in preparation for some lingering adventures through Appalachia... 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