Louisiana Byways

There was a knock at the door this morning at 8:30.  They wanted my rig to work on those things on my list other than the new shades.  Okay, time to get everything in order for the rig to move.  I managed to do that in 20 minutes.  Then, Emma and I headed out for a drive in the country.  I figured we be gone for an hour or two, but it turned into a 200 mile drive!

As we headed south, we passed many crawfish fields and rice fields. 

We drove the Creole Nature Trail which is a National Scenic Byway.  Can’t say that anything really impressed me along this route.  I guess I’m spoiled with the Idaho Scenic Byways. 

After about 90 miles or so, we came upon this little gem.  I had never heard of Cameron Prairie NWR, but I’m sure glad I decided to take Pintail Drive. 

Shortly into the wildlife drive, there is a boardwalk trail that goes for about a half mile or so.  What a delightful little trail this turned out to be.

This wetland area had abundant wildlife to observe.  Besides the savannah sparrows, there were scads of black-necked stilts working the waters.

The algae made interesting patterns where the wind blew it into the vegetation. 

As we continued down the wildlife drive after the hike, I was amazed to see all the birdlife in the wetlands.  This greater yellowlegs was very busy looking for lunch.

Of course, birds were not the only things out and about.  I saw quite a few turtles as well.  I think the one on the left is a red-eared slider.

The Eastern kingbirds were out hawking bugs on the wing, and…

I was able to spot this Northern shoveler mom with her three young chicks.  All of these sightings were made within the first mile of the three mile wildlife drive.  I’ll be posting the rest of what I saw probably tomorrow.  I’ll just say it was a great drive. 

 

A little further down the road, I stopped at the refuge’s visitor’s center and talked to one of the interns about RV volunteers.  They do have them on this refuge, and I now have a contact person to talk to about possibly volunteering here in the future.  With all the birdlife, it seems like it might be a good match for me.  It’s definitely a possibility. 

 

It was almost 3:00 when we got back to the fix it shop, and there I learned that I certainly did need some new house batteries.  That was not a surprise to me.  While I was gone, they also rotated the tires, and installed a Fantastic Fan in the shower area.  The original fan there was a piece of crap.  Most everything on my list has been taken care of, so now it’s just a matter of waiting for the shades to be built and sent.

 

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