Day 14, Baton Rouge, September 30, 2022

Day 14, Baton Rouge, September 30, 2022

Baton Rouge (from French Bâton-Rouge 'red stick') is the capital of the U.S. state of Louisiana.  On the eastern bank of the Mississippi River, it is the parish seat of East Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana's most populous parish.  Since 2020, it has been the 99th-most-populous city in the United States and the second-largest city in Louisiana, after New Orleans.  It is the 18th-most-populous state capital.  At the U.S. Census Bureau's 2020 tabulation, it had a population of 227,470; its consolidated population was 456,781 in 2020.  It is the center of the Greater Baton Rouge area, Louisiana's second-largest metropolitan area, with a population of 870,569 as of 2020, up from 802,484 in 2010.

The Baton Rouge area owes its historical importance to its strategic site upon the Istrouma Bluff, the first natural bluff upriver from the Mississippi River Delta at the Gulf of Mexico.  This allowed development of a business quarter safe from seasonal flooding. In addition, it built a levee system stretching from the bluff southward to protect the riverfront and low-lying agricultural areas.  It is a culturally rich center, with settlement by immigrants from numerous European nations and African peoples brought to North America as slaves or indentured servants.  It was ruled by seven different governments: French, British, and Spanish in the colonial era; the Republic of West Florida, as a United States territory and state, Confederate, and United States again since the end of the American Civil War.

In 1731, after several wars with the French, the Natchez were defeated.  Most of the captured survivors were shipped to Saint-Domingue and sold by into slavery; others took refuge with other tribes, such as the Muskogean Chickasaw and Creek, and the Iroquoian-speaking Cherokee.  Today, most Natchez families and communities are found in Oklahoma, where Natchez members are enrolled in the federally recognized Cherokee and Muscogee (Creek) nations in Oklahoma.  Two Natchez communities are recognized by the state of South Carolina.

Additional info:   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baton_Rouge,_Louisiana

Historic Louisiana State Capital

The Louisiana State Capitol is the seat of government for the U.S. state of Louisiana and is located in downtown Baton Rouge.  The capitol houses the chambers for the Louisiana State Legislature, made up of the House of Representatives and the Senate, as well as the office of the Governor of Louisiana.  At 450 feet tall and with 34 stories, it is the tallest skyscraper in Baton Rouge, the seventh tallest building in Louisiana, and tallest capitol in the United States.  It is located on a 27-acre tract, which includes the capitol gardens.  The Louisiana State Capitol is often thought of as "Huey Long's monument" due to the influence of the former Governor and U.S. Senator in getting the capitol built.  The building's construction was completed in 1931.  It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1978 and was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1982.

The Horace Wilkinson Bridge (locally known as the New Bridge) is a cantilever bridge carrying Interstate 10 in Louisiana across the Mississippi River from Port Allen in West Baton Rouge Parish to Baton Rouge in East Baton Rouge Parish.  Around the Baton Rouge Metropolitan Area, the bridge is more commonly known as the "New Bridge" because it is the younger of the two bridges that cross the river in Baton Rouge, downstream of the older Huey P. Long Bridge.

The structure begins at the Louisiana Highway 1 (LA 1) exit south of Port Allen. After the interstate crosses the superstructure, it remains an elevated viaduct up to the Dalrymple Drive exit to Louisiana State University.  It is the highest bridge on the Mississippi River.

We saw parking lot traffic from our boat all day long on the bridge.  It seems a parallel bridge is in the future.

Memorial Tower, or the Campanile as it is sometimes called, is a 175-foot clock tower in the center of Louisiana State University's campus in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, United States.  Erected in 1923 and officially dedicated in 1926, it stands as a memorial to Louisianans who died in World War I. 

The plaza area in front of Memorial Tower has served as a place of both ceremony and celebration. The University's annual Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony takes place on the plaza and attracts many visitors to the area. In addition, Student Government holds the formal installation for its new President and Vice President each spring. Valentine's Day is especially important for the plaza, as superstition turned tradition says to become an official "LSU student," one must be kissed under the Memorial Tower when the chimes ring at midnight. Those wishing to carry out the tradition today find that the chimes no longer ring after 10 p.m. except for the evening of Valentine's Day.^[3]

Upon entering the tower, visitors find the rotunda of bronze plaques bearing the names of 1,447 fallen Louisiana World War I soldiers, to whom the tower is dedicated. The inside of the tower is also home to a military museum.

Tiger Stadium is an outdoor stadium located in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, on the campus of Louisiana State University.  It is the home stadium of the LSU Tigers football team.  Prior to 1924, LSU played its home games at State Field, which was located on the old LSU campus in Downtown Baton Rouge.

Tiger Stadium opened with a capacity of 12,000 in 1924.  Renovations and expansions have brought the stadium's current capacity to 102,321, making it the third largest stadium in the Southeastern Conference (SEC), sixth largest stadium in the NCAA and the eighth largest stadium in the world.

USS Kidd (DD-661), a Fletcher-class destroyer, was the first ship of the United States Navy to be named after Rear Admiral Isaac C. Kidd, who died on the bridge of his flagship USS Arizona during the 1941 Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Admiral Kidd was the first US flag officer to die during World War II, and the first American admiral ever to be killed in action.^[3] A National Historic Landmark, she is now a museum ship, berthed on the Mississippi River in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and is the only surviving US destroyer still in her World War II configuration.

Additional info:  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Kidd_(DD-661)

WELCOME TO THE LSU AGCENTER BOTANIC GARDENS!

The LSU AgCenter Botanic Gardens at Burden is an expansive collection of specialty gardens, woodlands, wetlands, arboreta and university research facilities located in the heart of Baton Rouge.  Our facility features "Trees and Trails," three miles of serene walking paths through the Burden Woods, as well as the Rose Garden, Children’s Garden, All-America Selections Garden, Stone Camellia Collection, Crowder Camellia Collection, Herb Garden, Tropical Garden, Memory Garden, Barton Arboretum, Oak Grove, StoryWalk loop, and the historic Windrush Gardens.  Additionally, our facility plays an important role in the LSU AgCenter extension and research programs, which support coastal restoration of Louisiana's wetlands as well as the state’s nursery, landscape, farming and forestry industries.  Our overarching mission is to showcase the natural beauty of our state while providing educational opportunities for all.

Additional info:  https://www.lsu.edu/botanic-gardens/index.php

It was delicious!

We will NOT cruise overnight to New Orleans due to very low water levels.  At the last four destinations the captain and crew have had to spend extra time and moves to park the boat safely for us to off load to go on our excursions.  Most guides here in the Lower Mississippi have stated they had not seen river water levels this low in their life times!

Hence the boat will remain in Baton Rouge overnight and we will be bussed to New Orleans air port in the morning.  Diane and I drew a short straw so we must be on the bus and moving at 8 in the morning to ride our bus to NO air port for our flight to KC via DFW.