Spike Speedwell

The Shreveport Railroad Museum is next door to the water plant and it too is free. It is small and packed full of small railroad memorabilia items. Railroad history buffs and kids will love it. For the kids there is a model train set up like a city and another train on the wall that circles the inside of the building. It is about a ten- or fifteen-minute walk through. It is worth the time.

The detail in the dioramas is mind boggling. It had to have taken thousands of hours of highly skilled artist to do this. The more you look the more you see.
The building is a large donut. Around you go to finish where you started. You could spend all day here learning about the history of Louisiana through the informative dioramas, the artifacts, and the historical paintings. It is amazing. The dioramas each represent a way of life, a major event, an industry. or a period in history. It is like watching a historical movie, only nothing is moving.
It is free!

The R W Norton Museum is an immaculately maintained facility. The floors are polished to a high gloss, shinier than the finish on my car. The only lint or dust in the facility probably came from my Carhartt tee shirt. It has a stately, reverent, ambiance that causes everyone to feel like they have to whisper. I am not sure why; sound doesn’t damage paintings only bright light does. As long as you don’t use a flash you can take as many pictures as you like. And I did. There are docents available through out the museum to answer questions. A first, I thought they were stationed to keep a watchful eye on people of questionable character like me.

I am a big fan of Charles Russell and Frederic Remington. The museum has a great collection of Russell’s painting, along with works from many other western artists. The collection is not solely western art, there is a good variety. Check the pictures.
If you are a folk-art enthusiast, or if you are an Antiques Roadshow nerd, you may have seen paintings by Clementine Hunter, a local artist from Natchitoches Parish. The history of this lady is worth the time to read if you are not familiar with her work. Anyway, getting to see her work was my event of serendipity from the visit.

In comparison, I enjoyed the R W Norton Museum, much more than I do the Philbrook Museum of Art in Tulsa.

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I chose Speedliner Truck Accessories based on the perfect reviews the company had on Google.

The 5 stars are well earned; I was impressed. Justin, is friendly, customer oriented and responsive. I needed a truck bed cover. Speedliner has an excellent selection with working models on the show room floor. There are many options to suite your needs or preference. Justin took the time to explain the features of each. I went with the BAKFlip hard cover. I was in the store at 10 am, Justin had the cover delivered from the distributer by 2pm. I went back for the install and was out the door by 2:30. This is a quality product with a 10-year warranty. If you are in the market, consider it. For exceptional service get it at Speedliner Truck Accessories. Justin will take care of you.
First class operation!

For other reviews laced with superfluous, time-wasting inessential information, sarcastic diatribe and subjective opinion, follow Spike S. on Yelp and Spike Speedwell on Google