(2026 Wild West Wander Ep 1)
As with many of our past road trips, our 2026 Wild West Wander started with an overnight visit with our daughter, Liz, and her family in Georgia. We had an early 6th birthday celebration for Emilia, our granddaughter.
As we prepared to leave, Liz and husband Josh, Emilia and Henry, our 8-year-old grandson, posed for a photo. You’ve heard and probably said it a million times about children and/or grandchildren: “They’re growing up too fast!”
An Air Show at an Old Fort
From Georgia we traveled southwest to Santa Rosa Island on the Gulf of America. We camped at Fort Pickens, part of Gulf Islands National Seashore. The campground and fort are located on barrier islands across the bay from Pensacola, FL.
Fort Pickens was one of several forts in the area constructed after the War of 1812 to protect Pensacola Bay, the location of a navy yard, depot, naval timber reserve and more. As warfare technology and strategies changed, the forts were abandoned decades later.
The campground is close to the western tip of Santa Rosa Island, more than seven miles from the heavily developed eastern end of island. We biked to the end of the island where we explored the partially reconstructed fort. We peeked into passageways and storerooms, and climbed to elevated areas where huge cannons once targeted ships attempting to enter Pensacola Bay.
The US Navy Blue Angels were scheduled to practice during our stay and we, along with hundreds of other spectators, enjoyed amazing (and noisy) aerial maneuvers for nearly an hour. The Blue Angels are based at Pensacola Naval Air Station across the bay.
Soaring over Ft Pickens in Parade Formation
The day ended with a sunset walk along the white sand beach a ten-minute walk from the campground.
Dragons and Swans at Bellingrath Gardens
From Fort Pickens and Pensacola, we continued west across Mobile Bay where we visited Bellingrath Gardens near Mobile, AL. Pat and her family visited the gardens to see the azaleas and other flowers when she was seven.
Although our timing wasn’t ideal – azaleas and camelias had recently finished blooming and hydrangeas, roses and other spring flowers had not yet started to bloom – we did enjoy colorful displays being setup for the Gulf Coast Chinese Lantern Festival later this spring.
A Louisiana Bike Ride
We continued across the narrow southern ‘handles’ of Alabama and Mississippi and camped at Fontainebleau State Park in Louisiana.
From the park, we rode a portion of the Tammany Trace, a former Illinois Central Railroad rail corridor converted to a paved hike and bike trail.
We rode to Mandeville, a quaint bedroom community north of New Orleans, where we ate lunch at Nan’s New Orleans Café. We shared a shrimp po-boy and sauteed Brussels sprouts. The crusty French bread sandwich was covered with fried shrimp and dressed with lettuce, sliced tomato, mayonnaise and dill pickles. The sprouts were tender, flavored with onion and bacon. As they say, anything tastes better with bacon, even Brussels sprouts!
Fontainebleau State Park is located on the north shore of Lake Pontchartrain. We spoke with a man and his wife fishing from a pier that extends into the lake. He told us that a variety of fresh and saltwater fish can be caught in the lake’s brackish waters. He was hoping to catch a shark, claiming it was some of the best fried ‘fish’ he ever had.
Crossing the World’s Longest Bridge
The lake above is bisected north-to-south by the Lake Pontchartrain Causeway, the longest continuous bridge over water in the world. Percy (sans Pap) carried us across the 23-mile-long bridge and back, a one-hour roundtrip. The New Orleans skyline was visible during part of the drive.
Halfway across, between mileposts 11 and 12, land is not visible ahead or behind. It was like being at sea!
Next Week
Hot sauce on the bayou, lunch with my brother and his wife, and Native American art at a remote canyon near the Rio Grande. And a special surprise from Richter Bakhaus in Boerne, TX reminiscent of our travels to Alaska in 2023.
Take the LONG Road... 