Monday, January 2, 2012

Louisiana, America’s Wetland

The winds abated enough by this morning so I could finally head out from Anahuac NWR.  Mostly it was an uneventful 213 miles to Lake Fausse Pointe State Park in Louisiana.  It turned out I had about a 25 mile drive once exiting I-10 to head south to the park.  Those first five miles on the two lane road made me wonder what I had gotten myself into.  LA 352 is just in awful shape out of Henderson.  Eventually the road smoothed out as it traveled along the Atchafalaya Basin levy.  It was a long 25 mile drive!

IMG_5404But, it was worth it.  Having never been here before, it was a lottery shoot when I had to pick a specific site to reserve on Reserve America.  Site #32 is a beauty.  To get into this site, I had to go past it and then loop around so I passed it again in the opposite direction.  As I did the loop, I decided to unhook the toad.  I didn’t know there was a rig pulling in directly behind me.  I got out and told them what I had in mind, and the gentleman in the fifth wheel hopped out to see if I needed any help.  Well, you know how that goes. I have a system for unhooking, and he really didn’t interfere very much.  Turned out that he and his family were arriving to camp in the site next to mine.

IMG_5414At the far end of my site, there is a deck with two little benches that overlooks the Borrow Pit Canal.  It just looks like a river (bayou) to me.  I paid an extra $2/night to have a premium site, and that includes a deck along the water.  How cool is that?  If I had a boat, I could tie it up here.

IMG_5405                                                    This cypress is right to the front of the deck.

IMG_5412                                                                         Looking up the canal.

IMG_5406

                                                             The view of my site from the deck.

As I began to back up the rig into the site, the gentleman from the fifth wheel suddenly appeared in my rear view mirror helping to direct me into the site.  Cool beans!  As we chatted while I tried to get my water hookup to stop leaking, he said he had the same problem.  He and his family are native Louisianans, and they have invited me for dinner tomorrow to experience some down home Cajon cooking.  It has something to do with pork, sausage, rice, and white beans.  I’ll get the name of it tomorrow.  Now I’ll just have to figure out what I can bring to contribute to the dinner.  I’m so happy I decided to go on this little excursion before heading to my next refuge.

He also informed me that there is wifi at this state park.  I can’t get anything on my phone or air card, so we’ll just see if I can get this posted.

Thanks for stopping by… talk to you later,  Judy

39 comments:

  1. You succeeded in posting and it looks like you picked your site well. Enjoy.

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  2. What a lovely site. I'm sure you'll enjoy your time there.

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  3. Looks like a very nice park -- with nice neighbors too.

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  4. That's a beautiful park. Thought you'd like it there. Glad to hear they have WiFi now.

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  5. Lovely site you have there.
    Thanks for sharing,and have a safe and happy 'Murphy-free' new year.
    Hugs to Emma. Happy Trails to you. Penny, TX

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  6. That's a beautiful spot and a lovely site! Good for you! Enjoy your time there and the home cooking!

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  7. Cool beans! and a free dinner what else could you ask for.. Nice camp ground also.

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  8. WOW great site! I just posted from some Georgia Wetlands and here you are in Louisiana wetlands. We're sympatico :-). But your site is way better than mine. LOVE that deck. Your site unseen place just went on my list. Sure am glad I follow your blog!

    Sherry
    www.directionofourdreams.blogspot.com

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  9. You hit the mother load of spectacular sites. How about bringing pound cake? Enjoy your new site and new neighbors.

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  10. Wow, What a nice site. I would be spending a lot of time on that little deck. Maybe a nice bottle of wine.

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  11. I second Susan's recommendation - a bottle of wine on the deck.

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  12. That looks like such a pretty, restful place to stay for a while. The good neighbors are an added bonus. Enjoy!!

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  13. Cajun cooking will knock your socks off! Hope it's not too spicy for you! from Nannie in Baton Rouge.

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  14. What a great spot! You could maybe go out tonight and catch an alligator to contribute to the pot! That Cajun food is really good, and sometimes it will really wake you up, if you know what I mean. Enjoy your time there and relax a bit before you have to move on.

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  15. You sure lucked out on that site. A deck and everything - wow! Hope you enjoy some nice weather.

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  16. And, were you able to post?

    Nice site. Waterfront even - very posh!

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  17. That site looks like it was worth waiting for. Enjoy your respite!

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  18. What a great site!...I do love Louisiana and the "flavor" of blending the nationalities...I agree, a bottle of wine and some shrimp cocktail...plus camera at your side to catch some of the great birds in the swamp...LOVE IT!

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  19. If you think the road is bad now, the levy road use to be gravel all the way to the park. I have never camped there but my son and I brought our boat and fished a couple of times. I really like your site. I'm going to have to camp there one of these days.

    A friend and I put on a get together near Henderson for some of our Texas RVing friends last April. We toured the area and ate a lot of Cajun food. There are several good restaurants in the area. You will even find Alligator on the menu.

    Enjoy your stay.

    Martha

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  20. I think you are such a nice person, and you had such a tough time with repairs etc. for awhile.. that now it's YOUR TIME! So nice that these wonderful things are happening for you!
    ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
    Karen and Steve
    (Our Blog) RVing: Small House... BIG Backyard
    http://kareninthewoods-kareninthewoods.blogspot.com/

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  21. Great pictures of a fantastic site. Always hard to pick out a site from an online map but you sure got that one right. Hope the weather stays nice so you can really be out and enjoy it. Bet your nice neighbor was really surprised by the "little woman" handling that great big rig. It is nice to have someone offer to "spot" for you rather than offering to "park" it for you when you are traveling alone.

    http://travelinglongdogs.blogspot.com/

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  22. Don't think I'll be rajun for Cajun anytime soon....

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  23. What a great site, and wi-fi to boot. Looks like you found a wonderful place and some new friends, too. Looks like 2012 is starting out great for you!

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  24. Nice to see things going your way and working well. And with that water so close by, with gators, I'm sure, you won't be seeing any meeses. :c)

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  25. nice new neighbours and very neighbourly too!!..a waterfront view with wifi to boot!!..can your life be any more perfect!!!

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  26. Lovely spot. We too have beauty but this is something different I do hope we can experience it. Dream list gets longer by the day.

    Blessings

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  27. What a lovely spot you got yourself; this one will go on my campground list for the future.

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  28. Glad you made it there without any problems. Also happy to learn of Lake Fausse Pointe State Park, it sure looks like a beauty.

    John and Ellen
    connectedtothevinephotography.blogspot.com

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  29. If this guy's cajun food is anything like Rollie's you will love it!

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  30. Glad you had an uneventful trip, even with a not-so-fun last stretch of road. The site looks really, really, REALLY nice! Well done! Enjoy! Wish I could partake of that dinner . . . YUM!

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  31. That's a great site you have with your own little dock and everything - very nice!

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  32. Looks like a great site. Even better to have friendly folks next door

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  33. Since my other half is a RCA, I leave it up to him to do the Cajun cooking. If you want to know what RCA stands for, ask your neighbor.

    We head out tomorrow but won't be in Louisiana for another 6 weeks or so. Enjoy yourself y'all.

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  34. that's an awesome site!!! getting off to a much better year????? sure hope so!

    enjoy the new friends!

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  35. Looks lovely...and good neighbors too! Enjoy the dinner and be sure to tell us all about it!

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  36. It looks so beautiful there! And, as always, fab photos.
    Wishing you a wonderful New Year and every happiness on your travels.
    Love from La Palma.
    Ann.

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