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Borrego Springs, CA

Saturday, January 22, 2011

Louisiana road trip

Since it’s the weekend, and no work will be done on the rig, I decided a road trip was in order for Emma and me.  Once the sun melted the frost on the windshield (I no long own a scraper:)), we headed out for Atchafalaya National Wildlife Refuge that is located between Lafayette and Baton Rouge, LA.  I stopped at two different Visitor’s Centers along the way, and I must say that Louisiana visitor’s centers are exceptional.  They have movies, displays, and many knowledgeable folks manning the desks to answer questions.  I was really impressed.  At my second VC, I got the directions to find the refuge. 

 

Perhaps many of you have driven I-10 between Lafayette and Baton Rouge, but this was my first experience of the, I think, 18 mile long bridge through the swamps.  Wow!  I wish I could have stopped to admire the views, but there aren’t any pull offs.  Anyway, I then took LA 975 for 17 miles down a gravel road.  On my left was a levy, and on my right was woods.  I never saw a sign for the refuge, and being winter there really wasn’t anything worth photographing.  I guess this is one of those refuges that few people other than hunters visit.  Bummer.

IMG_8669As we headed back towards the rig, I made a detour through Breaux Bridge and decided to visit Lake Martin.  One of the folks at the second visitor’s center said you could drive completely around the lake and see some swamp area close up.  Turns out you can’t drive all the way around Lake Martin, but I did come upon a Nature Conservancy preserve.

IMG_8672There was an inviting boardwalk through the cypress swamp, so off we went.

IMG_8679The sun was behind us, so it provided some nice reflections in the bright, sunny, but chilly afternoon.

IMG_8689In the spring and summer, Cypress Island Preserve has many alligators that can be observed from this boardwalk. 

IMG_8685We didn’t see any, but Emma was certainly trying to find something interesting.  I’m going to have to look at the weather forecast because I’m thinking I’d like to take a swamp tour, maybe on Monday.  I’m fascinated by these cypress swamps.  I imagine they will just be teaming with life in a couple of months.

 

Tomorrow, I suppose I should do the Tabasco factory tour since I’m in the area.  I also plan to do some grocery shopping to plump up the empty shelves in the new fridge.  :)  Emma will have to stay home and hold down the fort!

 

Thanks for stopping by…. talk to you later,  Judy

11 comments:

  1. Lake Martin is one of Gordon's favourite places. In the spring the rookery there is amazing! And if you look closely you can find all kinds of birds and gators in the swamp.

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  2. Do the gators hibernate? Or do they just come out when it's warm?

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  3. Beautiful pictures. Sure glad Emma didn't decide to jump into the swamp for a swim!

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  4. I was wondering if your new fridge was going to stay that empty! You might not have found birds or wildlife to photograph, but I thoroughly enjoyed your pictures of the cypress swamp. I like to look at trees and these look most interesting.

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  5. We've driven the unending bridge but since Jim was driving, I got to take some pictures and really got to enjoy the ride. We took a swamp tour in FL and it was really exciting.

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  6. I particularly like that color of green in your first photo splashed with a touch of blue sky in the water behind that gray Cypress tree.

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  7. Very interesting landscape, I've never been to LA.
    p.s. I miss your bird at the top of your blog.

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  8. We did the Tabasco factory, but production was down the day we were there. Be sure and try the tabasco ice cream. You will love your cute little sample bottles too. I loved it.

    Would you share, privately of course, how much the fridge and instalation are? Do you have contact info for the business that did yours? We have been thinking about doing this for a long time, and we love yours. Thanks..

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  9. I've followed your blog for a while and know that since you were raised way up yonder in the north, you have probably been deprived of the ability to properly pronouce some common words. So, if your funny accent doesn't give you away, you may be able to hide your yankee upbringing if you pronounce Atchafalaya correctly. ah-CHAF-fah-lie-ah (accent on CHAF).
    Seriously though, I've enjoyed your blog for a while. It always has great pics and is well written with humor and educational information. I hope you enjoy my state.

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  10. Honestly, I could spend months in Louisiana...Those Cypress swamps are intriguing and silent...just love all the mossy dripping trees too....Our trees up here are dripping too....but with snow! GRRRRRR!!!

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