RICE IN LOUISIANA

When we first came to the Acadiana area of Louisiana we were surprised to see rice paddies.  But we learned that Louisiana is the third largest producer of rice in the U. S., behind Arkansas and California. 

Added to Nat'l Register of Historical Places

The Conrad Rice Mill is an independently owned and operated rice mill located in New Iberia, Louisiana. Established in 1912, it is the oldest independently owned rice mill in the United States still in operation. You don't really think about how rice makes it from the field to your table, but this facility does a nice job at showing the entire process.

Formerly Conrad Rice Company

The name is an acronym: “Kon” is the “Con” in Conrad, “Ri” stands for rice and “Ko” is company.  It produces the Konriko brand of rice varieties.


In the country store, we watched a 20-minute video on Cajun culture and the beginnings of rice and the rice industry. We walked next store to the actual mill where the basic objective of a rice milling system is to remove the husk and the bran layers, and produce an edible, white rice kernel.

Designated in 1981

The old mill has been in operation since 1912 and is still growing strong today. The guide told us all the equipment still worked. A historic place must have historic context, must be original and must not be updated. We found it interesting that if a part breaks, a new one must be made or the mill could lose its historical status. 

The "Cupboard" Illustrates Milling Process

The tour guide had a model of the mill which showed how the rice looked after each stage of the process; cleaning, hulling, milling, polishing, grading, sorting, packing and storing. 

Rice Conveyor

It feels as though the mill is frozen in time because of its vintage appearance. The 105 year old cypress floors are covered in what looks like fine sand. But the dust is actually dust from rice hulls, the bran taken off the rice.  

Antique Equipment

It's a real historic working rice mill, complete with historic equipment, historic wooden beams and historic rust. Gravity does much of the work.

Note the Lanterns

This rice mill was built by P.A Conrad, an astute business man.  The building design was ingenious and most of the equipment used to process rice is the same today that has been used for over 100 years. This is not a fancy factory, but it is very unique, over 100 years old, and still producing quality products. 

F

Bagger Accommodated Different Farm Crops 

I bought a two pound bag of wild pecan rice that tastes pecan-like when cooked. There are no pecans in the rice, they just call it that. It has to do with the milling process. LSU worked with growers to develop this hybrid rice, although it can't be classified as organic. I was cautioned to either freeze or refrigerate this rice.

VANDERHOOF, BC

August 11, 2011

Today is our last travel day with Adventure Caravans.  We had a farewell dinner celebration at the Country Inn Restaurant in Vanderhoof, BC.

After dinner were were each asked to tell what you got out of your trip. 
Many of the comments triggered recollections about destinations and personal experiences that would seal our memories of this trip of a lifetime.

The Wagon Masters and Tail Gunners offered their observations about this group of caravaners.  Everyone got along, no whiners, and all punctual.

A campfire finished out the day giving us one last chance to hang out together as tomorrow we all set out for different destinations.

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Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

MAKING LIFE SWEETER NATURALLY

Sugarcane Field

Jesuit priests first brought sugarcane to Louisiana in 1751 from New Guinea.  to Louisiana in 1751.  Sugarcane cultivation is successful on the alluvial spills in South-Central Louisiana, known as the "Sugar Bowl."  Louisiana's temperate climate allows this tropical crop to flourish.  It takes one full year to mature. The plant is six to 20 feet tall.

Burning Sugarcane Fields

Farmers burn sugarcane to reduce the any leafy material, including stalk tops, delivered with the cane to the factories for processing.

Harvesting Sugarcane

The sugarcane is harvested in early October around Acadamia. When cane is one year old, a chopper/harvester machine pulled by a combine tractor cuts the 8-foot tall cane and it spits it out into a side wagon as 6-8” pieces. When it’s filled, the wagon is brought to the sugar mill, within 12-24 hours, before it starts souring.

Trucks Haul Sugarcane to Mills

Once at the mill, the cane is cut into small pieces with a large cutter making it easier to squeeze the cane juice. The sliced cane pass through a series of 5 large roller mills, squeezing more and more juice out each time. This dirty juice is then boiled at high temperatures, crystallized through a spinning process using a large centrifuge and then left out to dry as a brown sugar. The sugar is stored in massive warehouses waiting distribution and refining.

JURASSIC PARK IN LOUISIANA

Dinosaurs Galore!

This prehistoric park is close to Cajun Palms RV Resort.  We could hear dinosaur noises coming from this walk-thru park. We expected a Disney like experience where the creatures were animated and bellered like in the movies but alas none of the dinosaurs along the walkway moved or made noise.  Nonetheless, it was a nice day to go for a walk along the shaded paved path in a dinosaur park.

Pterosaur - "Winged Lizard"

The Pterosaur was a flying reptile and a carnivore.  They ranged from a few inches up to 40 feet long. They walked on their elbows, by folding in their wings. They had a large brain and excellent eyesight.

Velociraptor - "Swift Plunderer"

 The Velociraptor was about the size of a really large turkey, and believed to have had feathers. They travelled in packs.  They ran with their sickle-shaped toes pointed back, ready to tear apart any prey they go hold of. Their tails were inflexible and not useful as weapons, but it kept them balanced as they ran, hunted and jumped.  They may have been able to run up to 40 mph on their skinny legs, but only in short bursts.

Camarasaurus - "Chambered Lizard"

The Camarasaurus was up to 85 feet in length, up to 15 tall and up to 20 tons. It had a larger, hollow-like head in comparison to other sauropods. It had a relatively short neck and tail. It was a herbivore with teeth strong and robust indicating it may have processed food in its mouth a while before swallowing.

Tyrannosaurus Rex - "Tyrant Lizard King"

The T-Rex, a carnivore,  was up to 42 feet in length, up to 13 feet tall and up to seven tons. It has massive jaws with 50 to 60 blade-like teeth, some up to nine inches long! It could bite its prey with the force of 2000-3000 pounds of pressure. When it ran, it could go 20 mph and cover 15 feet in one step. Its arms were only three feet long with two-fingered hands, not too helpful in fighting other dinosaurs.

Styracosaurus - "Spiked Lizard"

The Styracosaurus was a herbivore that ate ferns and plants.  It was up to 17 feet long, up to six feet tall and up to three tons. Their large frills had at least six horns on them. It also had a two foot horn extending from its snout and smaller horns poking out from its cheeks. The horns were likely used to defend them from predators.

Olorotitan - "Giant Swan"

The Olorotitan was an herbivore that ate twigs and leaves. It was up to 40 feet in length, up to 13 feet tall and weighed up to five tons.  It had a relatively long neck compared to other duck billed dinosaurs. They walked primarily on two legs though it may have grazed on all four legs. It was the fastest of the hadrosaurs when on its hind legs.

Gastonia 

The Gastonia was a herbivore that ate plants,  It was up to 15 feet long, up to five feet tall and weighed up to one ton.  It had poor eyesight but a great sense of smell and hearing.  It moved slow and probably behaved like most turtles, lying low and waiting for predators to pass.  The only way to take this creature down would have been by flipping it on its back as it had a soft belly. Its head contained a mobile brain case, perhaps for shock absorbency in case of head butting in a confrontation. The Gastonia was recently discovered and named in 1998 after Rob Gaston who found the first specimen. Research is still being done on how rapidly they grew and how much they needed to eat.

In the Mouth of a Dinosaur

The highlight was the roomful of animated dinosaurs a the end of the tour and before entering the gift shop.  The tail of the dinosaur looked like it could knock the head off a really tall person.

THE JUNGLE GARDENS OF AVERY ISLAND

Home of E.A. McIlhenny

Edward Avery McIlhenny was a self-taught naturalist who returned from an arctic expedition in 1898.  Shortly after he took over the family's Tabasco pepper sauce business.  He married Mary Matthews of New Orleans and built a house called Mayward Hill in what became Jungle Gardens. Together they raised three children on the island.  He applied his skills to running the family business, caring for his mother and extended family members, and learned to harness his boundless curiosity, abilities and vigor to serve this small isolated "island."
The original house burned in 1924 but was rebuilt.

Southern Live Oak Tree

It was on Avery Island that owner Ed McIlhenny helped save the snowy egret from extinction by building an aviary and then capturing and raising eight wild egrets. After they had raised their hatches and were ready to migrate, McIlhenny freed them. The egrets returned the next spring and every spring since then. Egrets and herons have returned by the thousands to the rookery now called "Bird City".

Four Foot Alligator Sunning by Lagoon

Jungle Gardens is home to a large collection of camellias. Thousands of plants represent 600 varieties, including imports from Japan and France, as well as varieties that McIlhenny developed on Avery Island.

Cleveland Oak is Over 300 Years Old

The Cleveland Oak was named for U.S. President Grover Cleveland. Cleveland was a close friend of Joe Jefferson, the actor Rip Van Winkle fame who owned nearby Jefferson Island. In 1891, Cleveland came to south Louisiana to stay with Jefferson and at that time visited Avery Island.  Cleveland had two oaks named after him during that trip, one on Jefferson Island and this one on Avery Island.  McIlhenny family tradition states that Cleveland hugged these trees, explaining why they were named in his honor.  The Cleveland Oak on Avery Island is about 23 feet in circumference and over 300 years old.

Holly Arch Planted in the 1920s

Wildlife includes white tailed deer, rabbits, alligators, coyote, turtles, possums, squirrels, nutria, raccoons, and bobcats. Jungle Gardens is a birder's paradise, home to hundreds of species of resident and migratory birds.

Buddha Created 900 Years Ago

A Buddha was a gift to E. A. McIlhenny in 1936. It was created for the Shonfa Temple during the reign of Emperor Hui-Tsung some 900 years ago. The statue overlooks a picturesque lagoon.

Palm Garden

The Palm Garden was once an old mining sand pit that has evolved into a pleasant and shady walk. The Pindo Jelly is centered in the garden sitting on a hill surrounded by Sago Palms and stones E.A.'s collection of palms include unusual specimens from around the world.  He planted palms and cacti here because they love sandy soil.

Avery Island is a salt dome that extends eight miles beneath the earth's surface. The protruding "island" part of this formation rising above the surface is home to the world's most beautiful sanctuaries for the preservation and study of flora and fauna.

FROGMORE PLANTATION & GINS

1800's Plantation Store

The Frogmore Plantation was built near Native American mounds in the fertile Mississippi Delta, across the Mississippi River from Natchez. There is no grand antebellum house to walk through.  This is a working plantation established in the early 1800's. This site is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It 
includes preserved original buildings as well as some that were donated from other plantations to save and protect them from destruction and help set the scene for a working plantation.

 The slave quarters were authentically furnished with the implements they used for daily living, the food that they ate and how they prepared it, and clothes they wore. 

There is a preserved slave quarter cabin (1840) that is furnished with period artifacts. One cabin was divided half, first to show it as if occupied by a slave family and the second half to show it as occupied by sharecroppers. 

There is an open barn with old farm equipment including hand tools and mule-driven implements.

Owner and Guide Lynettte Tanner

It was interesting learning about the the cultivation, harvesting and ginning of cotton.

Steam Cotton Gin Separates Seeds Out of Cotton

In 1884 Robert S. Munger was the first person to invent suction in the gins. On the Frogmore Plantation is a Smithsonian-quality 1884 Munger steam gin for ginning the cotton.  

Baling Cotton Lint

Robert Munger was the man who revolutionized the cotton ginning industry, and this gin is patented 1884. It is in perfect condition and has all the elements, start to finish, for processing cotton into bales. A modern gin can do 900 bales per day.

Preserved Overseer Cabin (1811)

The overseer's cabin was authentically furnished and included an 1810 hand-pegged cypress dogtrot.

It Took 30# of Cotton to Fill Sack

I especially liked the demonstration of how cotton was hand picked by going to the cotton field and pick our own cotton. A slave would have worn a long bag which they filled with the cotton. 

I'm Sure He Will be Growing Cotton in Spring

We had a "hands on" experience of touching, picking, feeling the sharp edges of the pods, and deseeding the cotton.  In a small piece of cotton, about the size of a cotton ball, you could feel about ten seeds trapped in the cotton. It illustrated how labor intensive it must have been to pick cotton by hand.  

America's Original Vegetable Oil

Cotton producers do not waste anything, even the seeds are processed for oil and used in soap, cosmetics, baked goods, mayo, margarine and more. Cottonseed oil is said to be low in trans fat, similar to canola, corn, safflower, soybean and sunflower oil.

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Depiction of Plantation Life

Some slave songs were codes for slaves escaping to be free. 

Native American Mound 

At Frogmore, there is a Native American mound that measures 14 feet high and 200 feet long, one of 39 mounds along Louisiana's Ancient Mounds Heritage Area and Trails.