Day 19-Into Arkansas

This campsite at Valentine Lake was so beautiful I have to share a few more pix with you.

After breakfast with a view we continued our trek into northern Louisiana.  Our first stop was the Oakland plantation, which began in 1785 when Jean Pierre Emanuel Prud'homme first received the land through a Spanish land grant.  Generations of  Prud'hommes lived here until 1970.  Prior to the Civil War, 150 enslaved people labored on this plantation for which the prime crop was cotton.  Plantations of this scale include buildings for carpenters, blacksmiths, masons in addition to barns, and kitchens.

After the Civil War the plantation continued to function with the descendants of many of the slaves working as tennant farmers and share croppers.  Like most plantations, post Civil War labor were paid in chits that were only redeemable at the plantation store, so many never were able to save money to leave.  

The National Park Service maintains this plantation because the majority of the buildings are still in their original locations.  

The main house, a raised Creole cottage built in 1821 by slaves.  Cypress was the wood of choice since it was not attractive to termites.

As I walked up the steps to the main house I was greeted by this resident.

The main entrance

The original hand blown glass is still in place.

Deep porches on three sides of the main house provided daily protection from the heat of the sun.

Empty bottles were used to line the flower garden.  The Prud'hommes practiced re-purposing.

The plantation store which remained open through the 1960's.

The blacksmith's shop.  Notice the cistern on the left side.

The doctor's house, which was used by young couples of every generation of Prud'hommes.

Original slave quarters this eventually became the home of the overseer.

A pigeonnier.  Owning pigeons was considered a luxury and a status symbol and was only allowed to French families.

Our next historical stop was in Hope, Arkansas, birthplace of President William Clinton.  Along the way we stopped in Shreveport for lunch at a Greek/Lebanese restaurant.  Joni and I both ordered a gyro/shawarma combination plate.  Yummy, but I don't think Gary Gardner would like it.

Shawarma is a popular Middle Eastern dish that originated in the Ottoman Empire, consisting of meat cut into thin slices, stacked in an inverted cone, and roasted on a slowly turning vertical rotisserie or spit. 

Leaving Shreveport we continued north to Hope to visit Bill Clinton's birthplace.  The last guided tour started at 3:45, so we had no time to explore Shreveport, but I don't think we missed much.

We arrived at the Clinton Home but to our disappointment, it was closed...even though its website said it was open...Darn, but we will be going to Clinton Library later on.

The number cards are still tacked by the window.

Leaving Hope we continued our northbound journey to the White Oak Lake State Park.  

Another beautiful campsite and another mostly empty campground. It's been raining off and on for the last several days, so we have had to cook some of our meals inside the van.  It's a little bit cramped for cooking hot dogs and beans, but I managed.

Many campers have fancy light displays around their campers.  Flamingos or chili peppers are very common, but our patriotic neighbor's display was one of the best.