During the final five weeks of my employment at the USDA Sugarcane Research Unit, following our move to Tennessee, I have been staying with Greg and Monica Stock who live in Thibodaux, LA. Since they live only 25 miles from the famed Oak Alley Plantation near Vacherie, LA along the Mississippi River, I decided to take a leisurely Sunday afternoon drive to see what the river looked like at flood stage. For southern Louisiana, the day couldn't have been more perfect, weather wise, with lots of sunshine, relatively low humidity, and pleasant temperatures.
There wasn't a large crowd of people trying to see the river at the front of Oak Alley as I had expected, yet while I was there for about 20 minutes, several people pulled over with the express purpose of ascending the 20-ft levee to see the river, as I had done. My strongest impression of the river was that it was flowing very fast, much like any large river would do going through a narrow strait. During the entire time I was on top of the levee, I saw no river traffic. I could see barges on the other side of the river that were tied down. Of course it is always a funny feeling to see how much higher the river is than the land it is passing by, including the Oak Alley Plantation itself.
The three photos I included show the Oak Alley Plantation; then looking in the opposite direction, the river, and finally, a photo of me taken by some onlookers. My only other significant observation on this trip was how the sugarcane is starting to really show stress effects from the severe drought we are going through in southern Louisiana. It is indeed ironic that we are going through a severe drought while simultaneously experiencing flooding from the Mississippi River.
During the final five weeks of my employment at the USDA Sugarcane Research Unit, following our move to Tennessee, I have been staying with Greg and Monica Stock who live in Thibodaux, LA. Since they live only 25 miles from the famed Oak Alley Plantation near Vacherie, LA along the Mississippi River, I decided to take a leisurely Sunday afternoon drive to see what the river looked like at flood stage. For southern Louisiana, the day couldn't have been more perfect, weather wise, with lots of sunshine, relatively low humidity, and pleasant temperatures. 
There wasn't a large crowd of people trying to see the river at the front of Oak Alley as I had expected, yet while I was there for about 20 minutes, several people pulled over with the express purpose of ascending the 20-ft levee to see the river, as I had done. My strongest impression of the river was that it was flowing very fast, much like any large river would do going through a narrow strait. During the entire time I was on top of the levee, I saw no river traffic. I could see barges on the other side of the river that were tied down. Of course it is always a funny feeling to see how much higher the river is than the land it is passing by, including the Oak Alley Plantation itself. 
The three photos I included show the Oak Alley Plantation; then looking in the opposite direction, the river, and finally, a photo of me taken by some onlookers. My only other significant observation on this trip was how the sugarcane is starting to really show stress effects from the severe drought we are going through in southern Louisiana. It is indeed ironic that we are going through a severe drought while simultaneously experiencing flooding from the Mississippi River.
1 comment:
The drought/flooding thing really is ironic! What an experience, even to your last couple of weeks in LA. Hope things turn out ok down there...
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