If Shreveport in Louisiana feels an awful lot like Texas, it's because people from Dallas and Fort Worth come here to play--hard and often. It's just 189 miles (barely a trip by Texan standards) from DFW to this capital of Northern Louisiana, which lies conveniently just across the states' borders. Lying at the edge of No Man's Land (where no authority laid down the law between 1803 and 1845), and not far from a town in Texas called Uncertain (they were uncertain whether they were in Louisiana or the Lone Star State for a long time), Shreveport has always had a bit of the Wild West about it, something Texans really appreciate. And this part of Louisiana has plenty of oil, too!
Texans can reach Shreveport best on I-20 east of Dallas, passing through Gladewater (the antique capital of East Texas) and dozens of commercial rose fields along the highway. Just south of Marshall on US 59 is Carthage, home of the Texas Country Music Hall of Fame and the Tex Ritter Museum. And a few miles south of Longview on US 259 at Kilgore is the East Texas Oil Museum, where a 1930 Christmas present in the form of a gusher changed life in these parts forever. Open daily except Mondays, on the Kilgore College campus, Highway 259 at Ross Street, phone 903/983-8295.
Today, people from all over drive in to gamble at Shreveport's five riverboat casinos, one of which, the Horseshoe, claims implausibly (in print) that its "slots pay out an average of $8 million per day...more than any other casino in the state." If you're the gambling type, you can negotiate room prices at the Horseshoe Hotel and take them up on their offer of a $5.95 breakfast special or $6.95 New York Strip late night special in the Oak Creek Cafe and Grille. Avoid Jack Binion's Steak House, where the menu sports steak at $32, $38 and $42.
If you're smart and don't want to lose money at the casinos, there is plenty to do in this capital of the region state authorities call a Sportsman's Paradise. You can watch the local baseball team, the Swamp Dragons (otherwise known to most folk as alligators) or pay $45 for an all-day canoe rental at Norris Canoe Outfitters, PO Box 5626, Bossier LA (physical address Highway 80 East), phone 318/949-9522. You could go out to Louisiana Downs to watch horseracing for just $3, only $1 for children and seniors. Free seating (after you pay the admission) is available each raceday on three different levels, in fact, and reserved seating can be had for just $2 more. The season is from late June through early November. Phone it at 800/551-7223 or 318/747-RACE. The address is PO Box 5519, Bossier, Web site www.ladowns.com.
Finally, you can also watch stock car (March through November) and drag racing (year round), or even hockey (November through March). Ask at the local Visitors Bureau at 629 Spring Street in Shreveport, phone 318/222-9391, for details.
On your own, visit the great outdoors for fishing, swimming in the lakes, boating, and picnicking at the five spots listed in a Visitors Bureau leaflet, "Gaming & Playing on the Red River."
Shreveport Highlights
The most important fact to learn about Shreveport's geography is that it has a sister city, Bossier, which sits on the east side of the Red River, and which threatens to eclipse its former rival in rate of recent growth. They even have their own airports, Shreveport's commercial one to the southwest, the mighty Barksdale Air Force Base practically in downtown Bossier.
Visiting Barksdale, the Air Force base to which President George W. Bush flew on the day of the terrorist attacks in New York City and Washington, D.C., used to be a highlight of seeing Shreveport. But the visits ended on September 11, perhaps to be resumed (said spokesperson, Buck Rigg) when a security fence can be built enclosing the museum area and separating it from the base itself. (Formerly, you could walk out the museum door and directly to a flight line of retired airplanes, including those from World War II, then onto the airfield itself.)
From Shreveport, I could see B-52s taking off for unknown destinations. When visits are resumed, you'll see memorials to 17 Congressional Medal of Honor winners, all from the 8th Air Force in the period 1942-45, as well as 25 aircraft from a Russian MIG to a B-52, retired as late as 1992. Phone the museum at 318/456-5553 or go to the Web site, www.8afmuseum.net.
River cruises are fun, with tours on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays taking about an hour and costing $8 for adults, $2 for children 12 and under. You'll pass under four bridges, view blue heron and the kingfisher, as well as, possibly, alligators, white egrets, snakes, and turtles. The boats depart on the Red River from the city center, phone 318/424-3576.
America's largest park dedicated to roses (over 40 acres) is the American Rose Center, just west of Shreveport a mile or so. Open daily April through October, the center is strewn with winding paths, brooks and thousands of roses in over 60 gardens. Don't forget now, 2002 has been designated The Year of the Rose by Congress, so get out there and celebrate! From November 23 through December 30 (except Christmas Day), you can see Christmas in Roseland, with story tellers, choirs, Santa Claus, carolers and cloggers, for $10 a carload or $3 per person. There will be a huge display of electric trains and railroad scenes, plus one million lights as part of the displays and animated scenes, accenting the Windsounds Carillon tower, Japanese Tea Garden, Hardtner Chapel and more. This has been named one of the Top 20 Tourist Events in the Southeast USA for 12 consecutive years. Contact the Rose Center at 8877 Jefferson-Paige Road, Shreveport, phone 318/938-5402, Web site www.ars.org. Admission is $5, less for seniors and children.
A fine little collection of cars is available at the Ark-La-Tex Antique & Classic Vehicle Museum (and Shreveport Firefighter's Museum), in a former car salesroom in the heart of downtown. Note the antique cars and old firefighting equipment, but also check out the tiles for the original showroom, made to order to promote the automotive industry's charms. You may also notice that several of the cars come from a Sammy Vaughan of Uncertain, Texas, who was certain enough about liking this place for his cars to be put on display. Adults pay $5, seniors and children less, kids under six free. Closed Mondays. 601 Spring Street, phone 318/222-0227.
Without doubt the best fine arts museum in the area is the R. W. Norton Art Gallery, on 46 landscaped acres of its own. Free to the public, the gallery houses collections of American and European paintings and sculptures, and is especially noted for Western artists Frederic Remington and Charles M. Russell. There's also the work of Rodin and Rosa Bonheur and pottery by Josiah Wedgwood. The azalea garden (with more than 10,000 plants) is open throughout the year. The museum can be visited daily except Mondays. Contact the gallery at 4747 Creswell Avenue, Shreveport, phone 318/865-4201, Web site www.softdisk.com/comp/norton.
Kids will especially enjoy the Sciport Discovery Center, a newish building with over 200 interactive displays as well as the inevitable IMAX Dome Theater. General admission is a high $8.50 for either the museum or IMAX, not both (both cost $14.50), children 3 to 12 and seniors less. You can contact the center at 820 Clyde Fant Parkway, Shreveport, phone 877/SCI PORT or 318/424-3466, Web site www.sciport.org.
For something really weird, visit the Touchstone Wildlife & Art Museum, where Mr. and Mrs. Sam Touchstone have on display quite a lot of dead stuffed animals from all over the world. Some of the exhibits are quite intriguing, and yes, there is a gift shop. You can safely ignore the religious leaflets about the End of the World, but do have a look at old clippings about Bonnie and Clyde, local folk heroes of sorts. Contact the museum at 3386 Highway 80 East, Bossier, phone 318/949-2323.