Another Route Change & Wrapping up LA

So, another route change. Nothing crazy. Ramped up out mileage, up to 3,988 if I remember correctly. A few things got shifted, a build day got moved as well as a day off...the good thing that comes out of all of this is we now have a day off in Yosemite National Park!!! :)

Now, time to crank out our exploration of the last 4 cities we'll hit in Louisiana.

Melville, LA

• The total area of the town is only 1.3 square miles with a population of around 1,300.
• Of this population it is estimated that 40.1% lives below the poverty line.
• The city's levees protect it from flooding of the Atachafalaya River, whose 1927 flood is pictured in the photo as it almost made it to the second floor of the Post Office.

Alexandria, LA

Red River Amphitheater on the Red River

• The city was settled with money from a land grant received by Alexander Fulton, from Washington County, PA
• Home to the Alexandria Zoological Park, a 33 acre zoo first opened to the public in 1926, & home to about 500 animals.
• Alexandria sits in the middle of Kisatchie National Forest.

Natchitoches, LA

Natchitoches Meat Pie served with rice & beans

• Seemingly pronounced Nak-eh-tesh. I'm sure I'll be corrected as I roll in though. :)
• Natchitoches is the oldest permanent settlement in the Louisiana Purchase.
• "Weather-wise, Natchitoches lies in a boundary region that separates the plains of Texas from the consistently humid Gulf Coast. This gives Natchitoches summers a heavy dose of both heat and humidity." Thank you Wikipedia for this delightful nugget of information.
• The Natchitoches Meat Pie is one of the official state foods of Louisiana and is known regionally to be a delicacy. (A list of other officially designated state foods can be found here. )

Elm Grove, LA

• You know a town is really small when it doesn't even have its own Wikipedia page.
• Elm Grove, as well as Natchitoches are located in an area sometimes referred to as Arklatex or Arklatexoma, referring to the area where AR, LA, TX & OK come together to meet, & it is based around the "metropolis" of Shreveport, LA.

Unfortunately the weather for the next few days/weekend seems to sort of suck for riding. It's supposed to rain/storm. Hopefully the forecast is totally wrong as it tends to be in Pittsburgh & I get to go for another nice "long" ride. :)