another side of nola

Nola = New Orleans, LA


Yes. We have The French Quarter, Mardi Gras, Bourbon Street, The Riverwalk, The Mississippi River, and lots of other things that makes New Orleans, New Orleans. But there are other parts of this great city that are unique and beautiful and famous.


And one of those things happens to be its cemeteries. Most people don't know this to be true about Nola, but it is. They are known as the "cities of the dead". Very early on, people found it hard to bury their loved ones because of the high water table here and shallow plots. (New Orleans happens to be below sea level.) And because of this high water table, or a flood, or even a heavy rainfall, the caskets would literally pop out of the ground...float. True story! They tried a lot of different things to remedy this situation such as putting rocks in and on top of the caskets, drilling holes in the caskets, and other ideas. Nothing seemed to work. So they decided to adopt a Spanish way of doing things...the use of 'vaults'. They started to bury people 'above' ground. The tombs or vaults are put in rows like any other cemetery but because of their size, it looks like paths or 'streets' throughout them. Giving them the nickname "cities of the dead". Believe it or not, it's actually a big tourist attraction. They really are UNIQUE and BEAUTIFUL!


My Dad and I were out and about again the other day and found this very old cemetery in a city just outside of New Orleans. Due to the locks on the gate, we weren't able to go in. It was a smaller cemetery. This one doesn't have a lot of the 'big' tombs or vaults - I'm thinking because of how old it is - but I found it to be really interesting anyway. And this is why -- it was established in 1772 : I am told that a few soldiers from the Revolutionary War are buried there : some of the tombs were so old that they just crumbled or fell apart : and if they haven't done that yet, then they are well on their way.
I wanted to share some of the images I got while there of some of the uniqueness of this cemetery. I hope that some of you, especially the 'locals' of this city, will find this as interesting as I did.
(In a later post, I will share some photos of some other cemeteries around the city. The more 'famous' ones.)

*Update* Just click on an image to enlarge it if you would like to see it bigger.

More than one person can be buried in these...

Right across the street was the levee and Mississippi River.


(The ferry was closed that day.) I love this picture! ;)



View from the levee...



This building was right next to the cemetery. (Maybe an old church?!)



The 'country' part of Nola!
I feel that this is just another beautiful side of the surrounding areas of New Orleans. As my Dad was driving through these areas, I had my window down, just snapping away. He gave me a funny look and I said what Dad?! ;) This is the country part of New Orleans! You don't get to see this everyday! as we both started to laugh......at me! But that's ok! I'm alright with that! (By the way, it's true, most of these next shots were taken in a moving car! Now that takes talent....and a fast camera! JK!) ;)




Lots and lots of sugar cane fields!


Beautiful pastures! And yes, that's an egret hitching a ride on a cow!



The bridge we took to cross the river. I really liked the architecture of it.

*Update* This is the Hale Boggs (Memorial) Bridge. And this is what took us to the city of Edgard in St. John Parish where the cemetery and fields are. (Boggs was a Representative of LA when he dissappeared in a plane crash over Alaska in 1972...presumed dead. And was declared dead in 1973.) The bridge was built in 1983 to survive hurricane force winds and this was proved to be true when Katrina hit in 2005.

I just wanted to throw this one in there! I've been seeing these just about everywhere I go. 'Mudbug' holes! A.K.A 'crawfish'! (Just in case you were curious!) ;)


Thanks for letting me share a few different sides of Louisiana! Or I guess I should say, thanks for reading! ;)