Road Trip #1 Day 2 The Road to Natchitoches LA

July 15, 2018
Sunday
Texas/Louisiana

After a restful overnight stay and a small continental breakfast at our motel we rode out of Nacogdoches before 9 am.

We were in no hurry. Our objective for the day was to ride the east side of Toledo Bend Lake and ramble our way to Natchitoches (nack-a-dish) Louisiana. We calculated that to be an easy couple hundred miles give or take a few. We took a swing through downtown Nacogdoches before hitting the road.

Downtown Nacogdoches

Fredonia Hotel - Downtown Nacogdoches

Our route was Hwy 59 to Logansport, Louisiana which sits at the north end of Toledo Bend Lake. This was a nice ride through a couple small east Texas towns. When we arrived in Logansport we circled around looking for a mid-morning snack and we found a DQ aka Dairy Queen so this was our first stop of the day. This was a very clean DQ, the manager was friendly, the service quick and the music (1950s-1960s pop) fun. We heard songs we haven't heard in ages.

Mid-morning DQ snack (making Dad proud) or if we were Hobbits and sometimes we are - second breakfast.

Alright. Let's ride Toledo Bend. This was one of the objectives of riding east. Tim camped here with family as a child but does not remember much about the experience except that a couple of old Cajuns (a child's impression) approached the people in their campground by boat and asked them all to a huge fish fry and the only requirement was to bring a dish of something. He said it was the highlight of the trip.

Toledo Bend, conceived in the 1940s by Texas and Louisiana river authorities was completed in the 1960s. It is the largest man-made body of water in the South, and the fifth largest in surface acres in the United States. From the dam site, the reservoir extends 65 miles and covers an area up to 185,000 acres. We began our journey on what we will call scenic Hwy 191. This lake road was lined with trees with only a glimpse now and then of the lake itself. We went in North Toledo Bend State Park thinking we would see more but while the drive in and out was great it afforded little more view of the lake than the road.

Our first good glimpse of Toledo Bend from Hwy 191

The Ride - North Toledo Bend State Park

Just US - North Toledo Bend State Park

A view of the lake from a dock - North Toledo Bend State Park

As we traveled on we went through the community of Zwolle (Zoe-la or Zole). We happened upon a couple of other spots with a better view of the enormous lake and of cypress trees both in and out of the water.

We rode past a Veterans Memorial before we realized it so we turned around and went back. This Veterans Memorial was located right on the road in front of a DAV Post. Plaques bore the names of local Veterans. Situated side-by-side were a tank and a helicopter (Bell AH-1 Huey Cobra).

Tim checking out the Huey.

The plaque with the Huey - Service date 1965-1967

The road rambled on giving intermittent views of the lake, bayous and landscapes we haven't seen the like of before. We reached the dam and made a short jaunt into Texas on roads that looped back into Leesville, LA. By that time we were ready to make our home for the night so we hustled up scenic highway #171 to Many and carried Hwy 6 (part of the original El Camino Real or in this neck of the woods the Old San Antonio Road) into Natchitoches. Part of Hwy 171 near Leesville I believe is designated as Purple Heart Highway and was lined with American Fags for a good long ways. Salute!

Flags along Purple Heart Hwy 171 Louisiana

Bridge over the Sabine River

We saw several signs on this trip indicating a new Interstate I69 is coming.

Finally arriving in Natchitoches (pronounced nack-a-dish) we found our hotel. Once again, just as we parked the ride we had a rain shower. The restaurant touted as one of the town's best sitting on the edge of Sibley Lake and within walking distance of our motel closes at 3 pm on Sunday evenings. Oh well! We cleaned up and let the ride take us to lovely downtown Natchitoches where we found Maglieaux's River Front Restaurant. We had a table on the deck overlooking Cane Lake. Eggplant Parmesan was on the menu and it was delicious! We enjoyed the setting at our leisure and then moseyed back to our home for the night. Tomorrow we play tourist for a while I think and then find our way home in a day or two.

Maglieaux's River Front Restaurant

Sometimes we almost look normal - ha!

Today's Ride = 234.5 s'miles

Two slide shows with music follow. The first is the ride out of Nacogdoches TX and Hwy 191 travelling the length of Toledo Bend on the east side in Louisiana. The second is the road (scenic Hwy 171 and Hwy 6) to Natchitoches LA. Enjoy!