Friday, March 31, 2023

To Atchafalaya Welcome Center, Little Rock Tornado

The Atchafalaya Welcome Center is between Baton Rouge and Lafayette on Interstate 10...actually, below Interstate 10.  Located in the heart of the Atchafalaya Basin, the nation's largest river swamp, the Atchafalaya Welcome Center showcases a variety of exhibits showcasing the unique flora, fauna, and cultures found throughout the Atchafalaya National Heritage Area. (https://www.louisianatravel.com/welcome-center/atchafalaya-welcome-center)

Aerial shot via their website.

The trucks are on the north side of I-10, the autos and RVs on the south side.  We have stopped here just about every time we take I-10 since 2013.  Back in 2013, the south side was not completed yet.  

Our trip today was again uneventful.  Traffic was thick at times, not very much traffic at other times.  Two areas of construction, but nothing that took us under 40 mph.

If you can, start your morning by going by a Buc-ee's.  As I reported previously, this place is HUGE.  And look at these gas prices!  Sorry, did not get the diesel price.  What I did get is a full tank of 48.5 gallons at $160.  Of course, two years ago it was only $125, but beggars can't be choosers!  And the two large (very large) coffees for $3.50 (that is not each...that is for both) was wonderful.  It was only 60 miles down the road from Cracker Barrel, and a Diet Pepsi held me over for that hour...we left at 7:00 am or so.

My sweet daughter texted me at 4:18 central time with a message of "Did you see the tornado that went through Little Rock?"  For the next 2 1/2 hours I was looking things up, watching Little Rock news stations online, and texting back and forth with Stephanie.  Having lived in Arkansas for 22+ years, and being very familiar with the area that was hit the hardest, it captivated my attention.  Thank goodness my children's mother is fine...a bad storm was heading right for White Hall, it broke up just a few miles before reaching it, then became even stronger after it crossed over the Arkansas River.

Look at the size of that sucker!  You can find video of this through google, but my connection is not good enough to download and upload to the blog...it was difficult to get good streaming of the tv station.  Glad we decided NOT to go through Pine Bluff, because today would have been the day we would have come through Memphis, into Little Rock and down to Pine Bluff.  

Tomorrow we have reservations at a RV park in Texas about 200 miles down the road in Baytown.  It will be nice to have a short day, and to have full hookups.  It also gives us the chance to zoom through Houston Sunday morning before the "Final Four" crowds are up and about. 



3 comments:

  1. We have never been to a Buc-ee's. They look like they'd be worth the stop all by itself. I could do without that tornado though!

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    1. There are more and more Buc-ee's opening up each year...but so far only in the south. It is Texas based and there are 44 of them. The largest is in New Braunfels, Texas (near San Antonio), its store is the largest convenience store in the world at 66,335 square feet. It also has 120 gas pumps and 1,000 parking spots! The "Wall of Jerky" in that store must be HUGE!

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  2. They certainly know how to make rest stops back east. Here there's not even enough room for ten trucks. Glad you missed the tornado. It's why I don't think I will EVER go back east again! Too scary!!

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