Some random observations from about half-way through a looooong road trip.<\/p>\n
— <\/b>If you’re active, reserve, or retired military and you’re traveling through Louisiana, you may be able (if space is available) to stay overnight at a former leprosarium if you like. It\u2019s the Gillis W. Long Center at Carville, LA. It was formerly the National Leprosarium; the property was transferred to the Louisiana National Guard after that activity ceased to exist and the Federal government no longer needed it. The former infirmary has been converted to billeting. It\u2019s actually pretty nice and quite impressive, as well as historical. Hope to visit the National Hansen\u2019s Disease Museum (co-located there) one day in the future (schedule didn\u2019t allow that this trip).<\/p>\n
— <\/b>Driving there is a bit interesting, though. As you look to your left, you look uphill; the elevation change is 10 or 15 feet. And then you realize that what you’re looking at is the Mississippi River levee. The road you’re on could well be below the river’s level. That’s a bit . . . disconcerting at first.<\/p>\n
— <\/b>The old Stuckey\u2019s chain used to be a roadside standby across the southern tier of the USA (as well as a tourist trap of sorts). Sadly, its largely gone the way of the dodo. However, there is at least one left in operation; it\u2019s on I-10 east of Houston, TX. Might have to stop there on a future trip.<\/p>\n
— <\/b>A 75 mile-per-hour speed limit \u2013 common in parts of the USA west of the Mississippi \u2013 is damn easy to get used to.<\/p>\n
— <\/b>So is an 80 mile-per-hour speed limit. (Yes, they exist on at least two Interstate Highways in west Texas: I-10 and I-20 in all of the trans-Pecos counties except El Paso County.)<\/p>\n
— <\/b>Because of said speed limits, it\u2019s possible to make it extreme southern Texas to El Paso between sunrise and sunset during the summer \u2013 with a couple of hours to spare. Not particularly easy or fun, but possible.<\/p>\n
— <\/b>Desert thunderstorms can be damned impressive. Ditto desert sunrises and sunsets.<\/p>\n
— <\/b>Though you might not realize it from looking at the map, it\u2019s actually farther north-south through Texas than east-west. Per Google Maps, the walking distance \u2013 which is usually shorter than the driving distance \u2013 from the extreme southern coastal point in Texas (the eastern terminus of TX Highway 4 in the Las Palomas Wildlife Management Area just east of Brownsville, TX) to the far NW corner of Texas (an unnamed road that crosses into Texas roughly where TX, NM, and OK meet) is 915 miles. East-west, Google Maps gives what appears to be the maximum walking distance (from the Sabine River bridge on TX Highway 63 to 600 Washington Street, Anthony, TX) as a bit under 860 miles \u2013 858 miles, to be precise.<\/p>\n
— <\/b>Also in the weird geography department: it\u2019s also farther on foot between the extreme points in Florida (from Fort Zachary Taylor on Key West to roughly the far NW corner of the state) than it is across Texas east-west. Google maps gives that walking distance as just over 860 miles \u2013 861 miles, to be precise.<\/p>\n
OK, enough useless trivia from the road for now. Have a great Sunday, everyone.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"