Tuesday, February 12, 2013

Gators, Turtles and Snakes Oh My

Breaux Bridge, LA    February 8 - 11, 2013

We decided to make a stop near Lake Martin, LA to take a recommended swamp tour so we could finally see alligators.  We drove south through Mississippi and back into Louisiana.  The eastern part of Louisiana was much prettier than our earlier stops.  We found this great RV Park called Poche’s Fish and Camp.  We were given a great site with water on both sides.  It was a little tricky back-in spot and not my best effort, but we settled in nicely.  The dogs loved it… Calcite swam every day.

We scheduled our swamp tour for the next day with Bryan Champagne a French Cajun Louisiana local.  The two hour tour was on Bayou Teche which was damed to create Lake Martin and was really fantastic.  We learned all about the plant and animal life in the swamps.  We saw alligators big and small, snakes, nutria rats, and a large rookery with snowy egrets, and great blue herons nesting.  The rookery closes on February 15th to all boat traffic as that is when nesting season really kicks into high gear with hundreds and hundreds of birds.  There were between 200-300 birds for our trip.  The flat bottom boat was built by Bryan and only drew one and a half inches of water.  It would roll over all of the logs in the water and roll side to side…. a little scary with alligators all around.  We did get stuck once while trying to get closer to a huge gator, but Bryan didn’t break a sweat.  I will say he put his motor through hell and it was a great endorsement for a Mercury engine.  We came to Breaux Bridge just for this tour and it was worth it. 

We made a trip into town to finally try the Louisiana sensation…. Crawfish.  We decided on Crazy ‘Bout Crawfish.  Peg ordered 3 lbs. of crazy spiced boiled crawfish.  When she asked the waiter for crawfish eating instructions all of the surrounding tables offered their own tips and advice.  At the end of evening she decided it was good, but not worth the work, the mess and the stains on her shirt.  Her final comment…”It ain’t lobster”.
 
Coming soon… Panama City Beach and Inverness, FL

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