Fifty Songs About States-- Part 2: 'Iowa Crazy'

*Means I had not heard it before.  I listened to these on Youn Tube.

HAWAII:  "Happy Hawaii"--  Abba*

IDAHO:  "Private Idaho"--  B-52s*

ILLINOIS:  "Casimir Pulaski Day"--  Sufjan Stevens*  He doesn't mention the name, but it comes from his "Illinoise" album.

INDIANA:  "Indiana"--  Jon McLaughlin

IOWA:  "Iowa Stubborn" from the musical "Music Man"

KANSAS:  "Hood Go Crazy"--  Tech N9ne    Not Dorothy's Kansas for sure.  A Rap state song?

KENTUCKY:  "Kentucky Woman"--  Neil Diamond  (Or also the Deep Purple version)

LOUISIANA:  "Down Louisiana Way"--  George Strait*

MAINE:  "Portland, Maine"--  Tim McGraw

MARYLAND:  "Good Morning Baltimore"--  Original Cast of "Hairspray"

Name That Tune (from the above songs):  "She Shines With Her Own Kind Of Light."  Answer below.  --RoadDog

"Kentucky Woman"

Gerald Ellis, Hero-- Part 4: The Funeral Procession

The procession finally arrived, heading west on Illinois Highway 173 and turning south on Deep lake Road.  By then I'd estimate about 200 people at our spot (along a 30-35 mile route).  And, it was silence as befitting the procession and man.

First, came a group of motorcyclists, then the hearse and family.  After that was around 300 police cars.  They went by at about 25-35 mph as all roads were blocked.  There were a lot of unmarked cars which was unfortunate because we'd sure like to know where they were from.

The farthest away police cars were Louisiana and Texas.  Pretty much every Lake County town was represented, including all four Round Lake villages.  Plus, Illinois towns were in the the procession, including Sangamon County where Springfield is located.

Some of the people in the cars were filming us and others waved as they went by.

This was a good thing, not only to honor a hero, but also to show the police that they still gave our backing, especially in these days where certain people have nothing but hatred for the police.  I should say that I never heard one BLM or other black group offer condolences to a true hero.

But to us, it is the Blue Lives Matter.

--Roaddog

Listening to That New Orleans / Louisiana Music

I spent a goodly amount of time these last several weeks listening to this kind of music on my CDs.

PICK UP ON THIS--  Beau Jocque and the Zydeco Hi-Rollers

ABSOLUTELY THE BEST OF CAJUN & ZYDECO VOL. 1 & 2

LA TOUSSAINT--  Steve Riley & the Mamou Playboys

COME ON JOE--  Jo-El Sonnier

SNAKE BITE LOVE--  Zachary Richard

BEST OF LOUISIANA MUSIC

RENDEZ-VOUS LOUISIANNAIS--   John DuBois

Primed and Now It's Gone For A Year.  --RoadDog

America's Top Ten Most Beautiful, Least-Traveled Roads-- Part 3: U.S. Route 2

You can go to the site to find out more.

6.  VIRGINIA

State Route 90003  "Colonial Parkway"

7.  LOUISIANA

U.S. Route  65  The Great River Road

8.  WYOMING

U.S. Route 212.  Usually closed by snow during the winter.  Leads to Yellowstone National Park.

9.  NEW HAMPSHIRE

U.S. Route 2

10.  PENNSYLVANIA

State Route 32   "River Road"

--RoadDog

A Boudin Link to Louisiana Cajun Past

From the April 3, 2016, Chicago Tribune "Fork in the Road: Boudin links to Cajun past" by Kevin Begos.

"Want a true taste of real Louisiana?  You'll want to head out of New Orleans and into the cypress swamps and rice paddies of Cajun country.  because that is where you'll find scores of mom and pop meat shops and convenience stores preserving a hundreds-of-years-old tradition of some very special sausages known as boudin.  And you'll be glad you did."

Louisiana has a Boudin Trail, roughly west of New Orleans on both sides of I-10.

Robert Carriker haseven written a book on it "Boudin: A Guide to Louisiana's Extraordinary Link."  Get it?

Boudin is pronounced BOO-dan and dates back to the 1700s when French Canadians came to Louisiana.  These Cajuns began using local ingredients and spices to make sausages  Locals have loved pork and rice sausages ever since.

Most boudin is boiled and served hot, but you can also buy smoked, fried in balls and made with alligator, crawfish or deer meat.  There are boudin egg rolls, bouding grilled cheese sandwiches, pizza and even king cakes.

I Loves My Sausage.  --BoudinDog

Nine Most-Endangered New Orleans Sites

This being the time of the Endangered lists, the May 27th New Orleans Times Picayune reports that the Louisiana Landmark Society has released its annual New Orleans Nine. That would be nine sites that are in danger of being no more for one reason or another.

They base it on the annual list of the National Trust for Historic Preservation.

THE LIST

Professor Longhair's dwelling, 1880s-- A New Orleans musical legend.
Abandoned churches throughout the city
Bracketed house, 1889-- an example of a New Orleans distinct shotgun house

Former police station 2552 St. Philip Street, 1902-- Queen Anne architecture
Lafayette Cemetery #1 in the Garden District-- featured in many movies
General Laundry, Cleaners and Dyers Building, 1939, art deco

Mid City Historic District-- 1850s to 1950s homes
Dew Drop Inn, 1939-- legendary black night club
Audubon Park Tennis Courts
You can see pictures and read more at www.pilothouse.org.

And, Then There are the Levees. --RoadDog

Louisiana's "Great River Road" Designated a National Scenic Byway

It is always great to see a new road getting this designation. It is good for tourism, good for getting folks off the interstates, and brings attention to the joys of driving the "other" roads.

The April 9th NOLA.com reported that the Great River Road along the Mississippi River in the state of Louisiana has been designated a National Scenic Byway by the United States Department of Transportation federal Highway Administration.

This covers 717 miles along the Mississippi River Corridor.

In order to become a Scenic Byway, a road must meet the following criteria points: archaeological, enriching, historical, natural, entertaining, historical significant structures, cities and scenery qualities.

Congratulations Louisiana. --RoadDog

Folks Pushing US-80

Glad to see that the East Texas Tourism Association is aware of the great road they have going through their part of the country.

Last month, they had what they billed as the "world's largest yard sale" stretching from Mesquite to Monroe, Louisiana. They are trying "to draw attention to the historic route and its roadside architecture like the classic old mom and pop motels and service stations reminiscent of days gone by."

In several places, Old US-80 parallels the present US-80 including stretches around Big Sandy, Gladewater, White Oak, and Longview. Plus, many main streets in towns were also part of the original US-80.

They have a website with more information http://www.us80.com/ which features a 250 mile travel guide.

Always Good to See Folks Pushing the Old Roads. --RoadDog

Archaeology News

Three recent articles of interest:

1. Pittsburgh, Pa.- Workers at Point State Park, where the Allegeheny and Monongahela rivers join to form the Ohio River, have found what they believe to be part of the drainage system of the old French Fort Duquesne.

There is a $35 million renovation being done to the park as Pittsburgh continues its efforts of beautification. Unfortunately, the drainage system will be covered over with earth.

This fort played a role during the French and Indian War when it was destroyed and later, British Fort Pitt built on top of it. Both forts were wooden stockade ones.

In a couple weeks, renovation will continue elsewhere in the park and they think they might find remnants of the wooden stockade. I would hope they leave this open or even reconstruct it.

2. Starhill, Louisiana- US-61 is going to be widened and archaeologists are excavating along the path of it. They have uncovered the ruins of a sugar mill at a former plantation. They estimate it was constructed sometime between 1849 and 1851. A full documented report was made as the site will be destroyed. Sorry to lose a bit of history here, but that's the cost of progress. At least the report was made.

3. Vicksburg, Mississippi- The Vicksburg National Military Park was vandalized this past week at a cost of over $10,000. About one hundred large holes were dug by persons searching for Civil War relics. These were evidently considerably bigger than what you'd normally find with someone using just a shovel. The worst thing they vandals did was dig out the back of the Texas Monument.

I hate to hear this. These people were probably just looking to get rich on E-Bay.

--RoadDog