Almost 3 Years Later.

Still unbearable., originally uploaded by gina64.

And the destruction that Katrina wrought upon the New Orleans area is still evident, still overwhelming and it seems almost insurmountable.

My trip was many things: enlightening, sad, rewarding, fun, exhausting, moving, HOT, emotional, stinky and dirty...all in all it was a very complex trip and it wasn't always easy to balance the vacation and touristy part with the real reason I was down there.

Here are a few photos I took while we drove through the areas that were hit the hardest by the flood and the levee breaks. Most of these are from the Lower Ninth Ward. I was amazed at the apocalyptic scenes we drove through and how things are still so bad down there. One estimate states that it will take about 25 years for the area (including St. Bernard Parish, which was hit just as hard as NOLA) to rebound, if it ever does completely.