May 23, 2006

We are currently in Willis, Tx.  We are about 50 mile of so west of Livingston, Tx.  We are currently staying at a Thousand Trails Preserve at Lake Conroe, Tx.  We left Orange, Tx. this morning and went south to Port Arthur, Tx.  I was curious because I had heard that last year Hurricane Rita had come through there and caused some damage.  It was not as nearly as powerful a storm as Hurricane Katrina, and since we were only about 20 miles away, I thought we would check it out.  There was some damage evident, but nothing like the GulfPort area in Miss.  After leaving Port Arthur we headed north and drove through Beaumont, Tx.  Actually, around noon, traffic wasn't bad at all.  We traveled northwest and finally arrived in Willis, which is slightly north or Conroe, and found the preserve.  It reminds me a lot of the Hershey Thousand Trails.  The sites are large, some have shade from trees, others are out in the open.  At the one end is a boat launch for those who want to go boating on Lake Conroe.  This is a really nice park.  There is even an extended stay area, just for people who participate in the extended stay program.  Overall, it gets 2 thumbs up. Below are some pictures that were taken yesterday and today.  Since I didn't post any yesterday, I will post them tonight.

A Chevelle of about 66 or 67 vintage.

Looks like a '65 or '66 Cheby convertible.

Somewhere around a 1958 Chevy pickup.

How about a 1955 Chevrolet.

Notice, no basement, and built on concrete piers.

Yes, this one is also in use.

A house in western La, and yes, this was in use.  We saw a woman outside hanging up wash on a washline.

Scenery in western La.

Some scenery in western La.

This McDonalds sign didn't do well, but it is at least still standing.  Started seeing stuff like this, the closer we got to Texas.  This is the results of Hurricane Rita, which was a little later than Katrina.

A mobile home with roof damage.  Southwest La.

A FEMA trailer in western La., very close to the Texas state line.

Another roof covered with a tarp.

Welcome to Texas.

This was taken at the visitors center.  It is the Lone Star State.

Some guys just have to show off.  This is about a 42 or 45 foot monster.

They say everything's bigger in Texas.  I guess that includes boats.  This thing must be about 35 feet long.

3, yes, 3, 225 hp motors on this monster.

This was carved into the concrete along the side of the road.

How about a nice large bridge to drive over?

Part of the Port Arthur Refinery.

And more of the Refinery.

And another shot of the refinery.

Somehow, this struck me as funny.  Speed limit 55 - Stop.

A barge heading north near Port Arthur.

A ship already in Port.

Here is a lot of what we saw in Texas.  There isn't a lot of traffic on the smaller 2 lane roads.

This is a way to control traffic speed in a contruction zone.  Just have a vehicle that drives ahead of traffic.  End of speeding problem.  We saw this in other states as well.

And, more 2 lane stuff in Texas.

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