Banging on the Bayou XXIX Lafayette, La. March 11 & 12, 2023

[Les L]

The Louisiana Metalsmiths Association, LAMA, is pleased to announce their annual conference will be held at Beaver Park, in Lafayette, La on March 11 & 12 2023.

Gordon Williams, from Zion Blacksmith School, will be presenting both days. We will also have a toolbox raffle, a craft auction and a blind forging contest on the 11th and several vendors will be present with items for sale. 

Come join us for plenty of fun, great food and a chance to meet new friends. More information is available on our website and Facebook. Feel free to PM me with any questions.

[Scott NC]

  I hope you have a good turn out.  Kudos to whoever designed that poster.  

[Les L]

Thanks Scott. The poster was designed by a member that joined our club last year. He did one for last year also, we’re very proud of his work 

[TWISTEDWILLOW]

Sounds awesome! I wish y’all was closer I’d try to get down there, 

[Les L]

Twisted, All you have to do is load a bunch of tools on you sailboat for ballast, turn your sails to the south, dock her when you get here and sell the tools for the expense of having fun with us. Guaranteed to beat sailing the seven seas 

[TWISTEDWILLOW]

Bahaha! 

actually funny you say that, the port of catoosa is a couple hours from me and could probably throw some stuff on a janky ol Craigslist pontoon boat and float through all the locks an dams on the Arkansas river till I hit the Mississippi and just fish my way down close to y’all!!! 

I’d need need lift from the river to the hammer in though!!! Lol

[Les L]

That would be a trip to remember

[ThomasPowers]

As I recall; the original Corps of Engineers report said it would be cheaper to pave the river than make a port for Tulsa; however the Chairman of the Ways and Means Committee was from Bugtussle OK and so Tulsa has a port...

I've decided that since NM is in a blacksmith tool desert; I will try to disburse my tools locally.

[Purple Bullet]

TW, If you go down the river to 30 Deg 3 Min 58 Sec N latitude give me a shout and I can meet you on the levee. However, if you are going to Lafayette, you’d do better to put in at Baton Rouge. Actually, there may be locks from the Mississippi to the Atchafalaya. That could get you as close as Butte la Rose. Back in my diving days I worked on the Old River control structure feeding the Atchafalaya. One of our tenders saw a small tugboat come through one of the gates. They never recovered the bodies. As low as the river has been it might be navigable, but I wouldn’t advise it. 

Just saw Thomas’ reply so I guess its moot - unless you are up for an adventure for its own sake. You must get tired of sailing those same seven seas all the time. 

[TWISTEDWILLOW]

I saw a news article few years back about a dude from Australia who took a pontoon boat from the port of catoosa all the way down to the Gulf of Mexico through all the locks an dams on the Arkansas then on down the Mississippi, 

that’s where I got the idea, 

I think most of the river traffic is all commercial though big tugs and barges,

a few months ago the USS Tulsa navigated up an came into port at catoosa, I would have loved to go visit it and taken Max to go see it but I didn’t hear about it till they we’re already gone, 

I think my ol boat the USS Mesa Verde is way too big to come up to catoosa, I’ve got some pictures of her I’ll have to find an show y’all sometime

 the WW2 submarine USS Batfish is a permanent museum over at Muskogee right off the Arkansas river, every few years it makes the news when the river swells and leaves it’s banks and they scramble to keep that thing chained down lol

1 hour ago, Purple Bullet said:

You must get tired of sailing those same seven seas all the time

Nah!! We just follow the equator racing Jimmy Buffet to the good ports!!!