The End of the Road

Near Venice, Louisiana
March 15, 2010

The road south of Venice

I always found the mouth of the Mississippi River an interesting blob on the map. If you extend your arm out and wiggle your fingers, you would get something that looks like the river from south of New Orleans to its delta. I was in the mood for a drive with lots of unknowns and a defined end that would signal me to return back.

The Great River Road runs along the course of the Mississippi River from its source at Lake Itasca in Minnesota to the nether regions of Louisiana. That was my drive for the day. I drove the road along the west bank of the river, but in many places I was on a sliver of raised land with water on both sides of the road. However, this was not a road of solitude but one bustling with activity. Venice is the last town on the road, and the oil business was evident all around. I could see the oil business even miles further down the road.

The legislature of Louisiana stopped the Great River Road at Venice, but there were still a few miles of road left before the Gulf of Mexico put an end to it. I drove south past Venice and down the road as far as I could. Then I came to a dead-end where the paved road abruptly stopped. Although there was a dirt driveway that served a few oil industrial sites further south and went for another mile, the end of the paved road was the end of my adventure down the Mississippi River.

The Mississippi River Delta