Driskill Mountain
Louisiana
Elevation: 535'
Vertical Gain: 150'
Date: April 6, 2009
Time: 1:40 PM
Weather: Cool, breezy, clear
Party: Bob, Kevin, Pam
We all left Ruth and Tom's shortly after 8:00, swinging by Driskill Mountain midway through a
long drive on the way to New Orleans. It was still cool but very comfortable for the 1.6 mile
round trip hike to the nice little high point area. Pam picked up the driving from there, elected
to skip the nearby Bonnie and Clyde shooting site, and blindly followed the GPS which took
us East into Mississippi and then South. We ended the day in Amite, about an hour and a half
from New Orleans.

Most of the next day was spent in New Orleans where we had a nice day. It started with
Beignets (basically fried dough) at the Cafe Du Monde in the French quarter followed by a
walking tour including the raunchy Bourbon Street. Lunch was at Johnny's PoBoy's where we
were lucky to get a seat in the crowded main room. We continued to sample the local offerings
with Shrimp Gumbo and Muffaletta's (a hero with an olive sauce). Even after a trolley trip
through the Business District to the Garden District we were still too full to think about dinner.
Although there was little evidence of the Katrina flooding in the tourist areas, the photos in the
bookstores and the size of the area to Lake Pontchartrain which can be seen from the
highway overpasses left an impression. Our stay that night was in Mossy Point, MS.

The driving through Arkansas, Louisiana, and Mississippi was nicer than I expected with good
roads and services, and heavily forested scenery. On the trip yesterday to Magazine Mountain
in Northwestern Arkansas, we certainly saw many of the poorer areas of the Bible belt, but you
don't see as much of that from the main highways.
One other couple was there to take
our picture. They were retired and
stopping at some high points on a
trip across the country.
Pam likes this kind of wide,
gentle trail.
The little church at the trailhead.
Proof that we visited the low
altitudes of New Orleans.