Bayou Self (well, there were gators)

I-10 connection (Wikipedia photo)

Swamped

Blue and I decided to take a short overnight trip down to Louisiana, to go on one of those airboat ride tours. The trip itself is pretty simple and boring, about two hours in the "Mississippi Tunnel", that is, trees on both sides of the freeway, and then as you cross over to Louisiana, you go over this stretch of freeway that goes over the western edge of Lake Pontchartrain, which is pretty neat. It took us a leisurely 4 hours to do the 200 some miles, which included a lunch stop.

After going through all these different airboat operators I selected this particular one. I figured what their website lacked in HTML refinement, they probably make up in local knowledge, and I was right. These people know the swamps and the tour, on a boat that sat 6 people (I wanted to avoid the "tourist barges", as there are some that take a whole bus load of folks), was fun and educational, as we weaved our way through what looked like the leftovers of the original Jurassic Park. The boat captain kept us informed of things we were seeing and it was nice to hear it from someone who lives there and makes a living out of this everyday, along with alligator hunting. Anyway, here are some photos of the 90 minute tour. I will post some videos later.

Water everywhere, nothing is solid around here.

Hanging Moss

Things you can do with an airboat, like going over a 6 foot levie

Local resident comes to say hi

"Big Hall", I believe the tour captain called this big gator with a taste for chicken. He was big alright, but apparently used to these regular visits and the accompanying treats.

"Ok, give me the chicken and beat it!"

Water Cypress shoots coming out of the water.

Sailing on a sea of flowers.

Beautiful flowers, and sweet scented also.

These Water Lilly leaves reminded me of Packman.

Water World, heading back at high speed.

It was a nice tour but I need to go back and try some other areas of the state, as there are lots of places where you can go visit the swamps. This place is only about 45 minutes south of New Orleans, so if you are in the area this is something you might want to check out. It is certainly a view into a lost world. it takes very little imagination, believe me.