Camping at Magnolia Park, Pleasant Hill, Louisiana & visiting Natchitoches, Louisiana
Pleasant Hill, Louisiana - October 18, 19, 20 leaving on the 21st
Before leaving Natchez behind, Jim saw a small plane and wanted to grab a photo - so we stopped for a few minutes.
So we left behind Natchez, crossing the bridge over the Mississippi River and entering the state of Louisiana.
No, we aren’t headed to New Orleans which is probably what most people think of when they hear “Louisiana” (or maybe you think of hurricanes or LSU?). Anyway, my maternal grandmother grew up in a small community called Pelican, Louisiana (the middle of nowhere, trust me!). I have a cousin who lives in another very small community called Pleasant Hill near Pelican. This cousin, "Cousin Jim”, (yes another Jim), and his wife were instrumental in making this trip happen. So, to my cousin Jim, thank you! We enjoyed this trip and look forward to doing more in the coming year(s).
Cousin Jim told us about a small RV park that is owned by his friend, Ray – called Magnolia Hill RV Park. This little RV park has about 6 hookups for RVs. There is electric (50amp service), water and sewer – all the basic things that one needs for an RV.
The normal fee for this RV park is $10 a night, but Ray said that he and cousin Jim were such good friends that we could stay for the 3 nights free. Thank you Ray!!!
The RV Park is on the northeast corner of Highway 174 (Oak Street) and Main Street in Pleasant Hill, Louisiana.
The dogs were happy because there was a large open field to explore right behind where we parked the RV – just doesn’t take that much to make them happy!
This little community does not have much left except for:
- People – a small community of people living here
- Churches – every small community has churches
- Cemetery – every small community has at least one cemetery, often associated with the church
- Family Dollar – yeah! Finally, a store that is 1 block from my cousin’s house
- Small grocery store
- Post office that is open till noon
And maybe a few other things that I don’t actually recall. Our view from this RV park wasn’t great, but hey it was all about spending time with Cousin Jim and his wife. If you like to look at old brick buildings that look like they came out of the early 1900s, then it’s perfect!
I also got to meet his dogs – very friendly to us, but we kept our dogs separated.
I can always find his house because it’s right next to the water tower for the community. And while I don’t often think about taking photographs of that water tower, Jim did. Cousin Jim says “He will take a photograph of anything won’t he?” (probably). I did take a couple of photos of that same water tower when I noticed the sunlight reflecting off the bottom of it (kinda cool).
We met up with Cousin Jim and his wife for dinner as Melinda was kind enough to cook up some spaghetti for all of us – enjoyed seeing each other because it’s been a LONG time (we had Dolly when we last visited).
Our first full day in Louisiana, we headed down to Natchitoches, Louisiana and spent a good portion of the day. For all of you that recall, this is where:
- Steel Magnolias (the movie was filmed)
Filming took place from July 12, 1988, to early September 1988 in Natchitoches, Louisiana,[1] with historian Robert DeBlieux, a former Natchitoches mayor, as the local advisor.[6] The house where much of the film was shot is now a six-suite bed and breakfast, available for rent.[
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steel_Magnolias#:~:text=Filming%20took%20place%20from%20July,and%20breakfast%2C%20available%20for%20rent.
- Jim Croce (a musician) died from an airplane accident
On the night of Thursday, September 20, 1973, during Croce's Life and Times tour, which had been scheduled for 45 dates, and the day before his ABC single "I Got a Name" was released, Croce and five others were killed when their chartered Beechcraft E18S crashed into a tree shortly after takeoff from the Natchitoches Regional Airport in Natchitoches, Louisiana.[25] Croce was 30 years old.
I am sure that a lot of movies have been filmed in this town. It is a very nice historic area with lots of old homes, buildings, and scenery.
We took the dogs for a short walk on the east side of the “Cane river lake” since they had been in the truck for a bit driving down to Natchitoches. After that, we headed back to the west side and did some walking around and finally found a nice place with a nice outdoor patio to eat lunch.
The food was extremely good - Jim loved his meal! He got salmon. I got a burger, but it wasn't just a plain ole burger - it was really good! This was our first stop where we were staying several nights - so Jim got a break in driving so much - what better way to celebrate than to have a glass of wine (and the wine was so good, he bought the entire bottle!).
After lunch, we were walking back towards where the car was and decided to take an electric carriage ride through downtown Natchitoches. She said the dogs were free, question was did the dogs want to do it? With every bunch there has to be some that are more comfortable than others.
- Abby – I got Abby in the front row with me. She wasn’t very comfortable with this whole idea. It took a good while before we got off the bumpy roads and onto smoother roads and finally she laid down and didn’t appear ready to back off and fall down a good 4 feet (which would have been a disaster!)
- Rue – This girl is just all for adventure – she laid down on the seat and was enjoying the breeze going thru her ears and fur
- Ollie – She was somewhere between Abby and Rue on the comfort scale but was in the back with Jim and did lay down on the floor and appeared to enjoy the ride.
We all managed to get loaded onto the electric carriage!
Abby laying between my feet on the carriage.
Rue sitting next to me on the seat of the carriage. Ollie was behind me with Jim, so I couldn't manage to get a photograph of her.
This is now a bed and breakfast (above). Below from the east side of the waterway where we initially took the dogs for a little walk to potty.
After we got back from Natchitoches, we got together with Cousin Jim and did some family things. We are both researching our family history and since it is in this area, we headed off to see where they moved the historical marker for our oldest ancestor in the Lafitte family. It is now over at the Carmel Cemetery located in Carmel, Louisiana.
After taking a few minutes to read the sign again, we wondered into the cemetery where Cousin Jim told me Alice had been buried. I meet Alice back when we had family reunions out in Louisiana. She was a wealth of information for the Lafitte surname.
Our next stop was to the historic Rock Chapel which is maybe ½ mile (probably less) from where we currently were. It was nice to visit again – I have visited it before, but don’t recall whether Jim had before or not. The road to the Rock Chapel was very pretty in the late afternoon.
If you want more information, I found this link: https://64parishes.org/chapel-in-the-woods - apparently people come from all over the world to visit this Rock Chapel per cousin Jim.
Linda, cousin Jim and Ollie relaxing at Rock Chapel, Carmel, Louisiana
After visiting these places, we decided to stop in Mansfield, Louisiana and grab some Pop eye’s fried chicken for dinner. I think the dogs smelled it and decided they were really hungry!!!
Enjoyed visiting with my cousins and we headed back to the RV to crash for the night.
The next day, our last full day in Pleasant Hill, we decided to take an easier day. I did a load of laundry at their house. We went out and visited a couple more cemeteries where family is buried. My great-grandparents are buried in a small community cemetery called “Wallace Cemetery”. Several other relatives are also there. One more cemetery visit and then we called in lunch at the local grocery store – fried catfish, a local food for sure.
The girls (Ollie, Rue and Abby) are happy as long as they are with us - doesn't seem to matter to them where we are.
After a big lunch, we headed back to the RV to take a nap – it’s been a long 6 days and we haven’t done much just chillin. With the big lunch, there wasn’t any desire for dinner, so we went over and visited again – watching football for a while before saying our goodbyes.
Ever wonder what the dogs do when we get back to the RV?
Yep, pass out! I think on this particular evening the dogs were passed out on the queen size bed and Jim and I were sharing the twin bed while watching some tv.
We will be headed to Arkansas for our next stop – neither Jim or I (and of course the girls) have ever been to this state.
For more photographs from Natchitoches, Louisiana - click Natchitoches, Louisiana
For photographs from Louisiana (general and cemetery) - click Louisiana photographs