My next destination was Chicot State Park near Ville Platte, Louisiana.
I found it easily and pulled up to the gate. The ranger asked me if I had a reservation. I did, so I wasn’t worried that they wouldn’t have a site for me. Turns out I REALLY didn’t need to worry if they would have a site.
Here are the views from my trailer.
Nice park, right? Notice anything missing? Like, maybe campers?
The park had two campgrounds. I never made it over to the South Campground, but in the North Campground, there were a total of seven sites occupied!
The park was kind of a study in contrasts.
For instance, the office was really welcoming. It felt like they actually wanted you to come in. The door was easy to open and they had a bathroom right there for people to use. I can’t tell you the number of times that I was in dire need of one by the time I arrived at a campground, only to be directed to one on the other side of the park.
They also sold shot glasses and beer can koozies. Most state parks usually hand you a long list of “don’ts” when you come in and one of the top “don’ts” pertains to alcohol. Here they even will sell you things that you can use with your drinks!
The park is huge, and in the campground they posted information you might need in an emergency.
They give you every phone number you might need, but then tell you that cell phone and pager reception are unreliable in the campground.
There is no phone reception, but they do provide free wifi service. Yes! Free wifi! But, they have many of the useful and entertaining sites blocked.
One of their bath houses is kind of dated.
The other one is beautiful, with large, spacious showers, good water pressure and plenty of hot water.
There is a laundry room in the bath house, too. There are two washers and two dryers and they are free! But, only one of each works.
Each campsite has electricity, but the electricity is supplied by an enormous generator. It sounds kind of like having a big truck running all the time. The electricity wasn’t consistent, but my surge protector would flip off when the voltage was too low or too high, so at least my electronics were protected.
Now, this generator was a couple hundred feet from my site and it was noisy enough. However, there are sites directly on either side of it. If the noise wasn’t enough, the scenic view of the dump station was just a little added touch.
I decided to drive over to look at the lake.
I guess it is more economical to put up signs than to fix the road.
I was kind of impressed by the covered boat dock.
You have to look out for the trees, I guess.
Well, it was a quiet place. It met my needs – most of the time – and it only cost $20 a night. I guess I can’t complain. Besides, it was only for a couple days until I met the Freeroaders in Eunice, Louisiana for Cajun Mardi Gras.