Loozyanna

From Natchez, we moved into Louisiana even more confident that we weren't a minute from being stranded in the middle of nowhere.  We went ahead and took the way-off-the-beaten-path route we'd planned, and swung by the Old River Control Structure and Morganza Spillway on our way to Baton Rouge.

Chair and umbrella are critical job equipment when directing "traffic" in the middle of nowhere in Louisiana.  I think he was happy to have someone to talk to for a few minutes

We here at LBB provide a service in addition to entertainment; over the years some legitimate education has taken place.  Don't act like you didn't know you would learn something.  At least there's no quiz, right?

Take a a look at the state boundaries along the Mighty Mississip.  If you stretched out that squiggly mess into a straight line, it would probably stretch around the Earth.  Now look more closely:  the actual state boundaries often disagree with the actual course of the river today.

That's because the mighty river changes course constantly.  The millions of gallons of water that flow through this channel every minute relentlessly reveal the easiest path to the sea. Towns that were riverfront as recently as the Civil war are now along a lake or marsh. Levees and control structures wage a never-ending battle as the water keeps coming and coming.

The Old River Control Structure is the biggest of them.  "Old" in this case refers to the river, not the structure.  Before Henry Shreve cut a path to remove a large C out of the river's path, nature had long before abandoned that same course in favor of the longer one of less resistance (the "old" river.)  In between, the Red River flows in, and the Atchafalaya River flows *out* (yes, it's a distributary.)  A short time thereafter, it was realized outflow diverted via the Atchafalaya had reached 30%, and would before long be 100%.  Baton Rouge, and the hugely important port of New Orleans would be high and dry.  Just like the abandoned little town with the empty church with the cannonball lodged in it.

So here before us is the Army Corps of Engineers' Old River Control Structure, dutifully enforcing the 70/30 flow of water down both rivers, as had been the case when the need for it was realized.

Just when we thought we were home free, we got stuck in Baton Rouge in freeway traffic snarled for miles by a disabled truck blocking 2 lanes during rush hour, then hit rain on the busy 70-mile ride across I-10 to New Orleans.  So even further behind our plan for early afternoon, but still committed to checking in before dark.