June 17, 2017 Day 9
A second decent night’s sleep behind me I stepped out of my
camper to the sight of another teardrop camper!
It was one of those fancy ones you buy with the big off road tires and
awning and the whole nine yards. Though
I would never be able to afford one of those I prefer my own home-built camper
for it has character and there is not another like it out there.
While waiting for the center to open I planned my day and
then remembered that the other day someone had told me my vehicle brake lights
were not working. I called up my dad
(Roger) and talked with him about it but before I could begin tackling the
situation it was 08:30 and the center was open so I wanted to get in there real
quick. Come to find out the lady I spoke
to the day before who told me they had all the information I was looking for
was not correct. For they only had one
map which had information I had already found on the internet. In either case I was not upset for I met some
great people yesterday in the parking lot and the welcome center itself was
very unique. The inside was filled with
old time photos of men fishing and hunting alligators in the bayou. Then to top it all off there was one of those
displays you see everywhere with taxidermy animals in a “real” environment. What
made it amazing was they had it so the alligator snapping turtle, raccoon, and
alligators mouths moved to how one would think people in Louisiana spoke. If you ever say the kids movie “The Goofy
Movie” where Goofy takes his son from college and they stop at a roadside
attraction with the possums talking it was just like that!
Back at my vehicle I spent the next two hours deciphering
what could be wrong with my lights. I
became one with all the fuses under the hood and under the steering wheel and
checked the bulbs on the drivers’ side.
Throughout this process I guy stopped by to see if I was okay and I
explained what was going on he said it sounds like a fuse issue. After wishing me good luck he took off for a
bicycle ride. About a half hour after
that another gentleman pulled over to ask if I needed assistance and got out
and started helping me go thru the fuses.
We spoke about my trip and his children and a few other topics; however,
in the end we found no fuses that were bad and decided I should just take my
vehicle in to be looked at. I showed
him my camper and then we parted ways.
As I was calling Toyota dealerships the guy who went on a
bicycle ride was shocked to find me still here and told me to go to Ross Tires
and Service in Lafayette. He says he
takes his vehicles there all the time and they are fantastic. Since the dealerships were being jerks and
told me that it is my fault the brake lights don’t work, because I shouldn’t be
pulling anything with my vehicle and it’s not made for that, I hung up on them
and called Ross. Ross had me in an out
in 15 minutes for both my bulbs happened to burn out at the exact same
time. Oddly this whole entire ordeal did
not make me mad or upset like it used to.
Instead I was oddly calm and went on my merry way to Boyce, LA.
The rest of the day was spent on a scenic byway that drove
by Magnolia Plantation and Oakwood plantation both of which I stopped at. I drove thru Natchitoches, LA and camped at
Gum Springs in the Kisatchie National Forest for only $1.50/night. It was
interesting driving from the flat lowlands of Louisiana to the hilly north of
the state. At camp I spoke with my
mother while setting up my shower tent and then relaxed the night away.
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