Swamp

We had an nice night in a RV park called Twelve Oaks, and once the dogs stopped barking we had a restful sleep. Our plan today included a swam tour and a walk on a boardwalk and possibly a plantation or two. We did manage to visit one plantation called the Oaklawn Manor and it was alright but different because the owners still reside in the house. They mostly use the upper levels, which we did not see, as we were only able to see the main floor. We got lots of history and wished we would have had more time to tour the grounds but our swamp guy called and we had to go. We had, before this manor stopped at another called Grevemberg House Museum but it seemed that no one was there and it did not look kept up too well, so we just kept on going.

We arrived, as our tour guide and a family of three from Austria were waiting to get started. Cajun Jack was our tour guide and boat captain, who took us into one of the millions of bajou's of the Atchafalaya Basin. We saw millions or billions of cypress trees, which by the way are known for their ability to resist rot and termites, hence many of the older homes were built with this wood and are still standing. It is too bad the trees were bare as it would have been amazing to see them full with foliage. We saw a bald eagle, hawk, egress and other birds. It was much too cold to see alligator and we learned a little bit about crawfish hunting, which is quite a profitable business. We did meet up with a trapper who was getting ready to go bait his cages although it was a bit early in the season. In a week or so the water will rise and the crawfish will crawl out of their holes to release their young and many will get caught to eat and to sell for eating. September is alligator hunting season where as many as 35,000 are caught that month.

If you follow me on twitter you will have seen pictures of our supper last night that contained crawfish, catfish, frog and alligator. Unfortunately the restaurant we choose battered and deep fried it all, which made it all taste the same. So tonight we had Mexican again.

Oh, we did finally find the boardwalk through the swamp that we were eagerly looking for but it did not meet up to our expectations. Oh well, we tried. Tonight are in the town/city of Thinodaux, LA. Tim just asked me to mention that our swamp tour guide is cousins with Troy from the show "Swam People" and we were about a mile away from where Troy hunts. I have never watched the show but for those of you who have, well you know.

We are close now to the Plantations that we are hoping to visit tomorrow. I am including some pictures from today.

Please pray for our friends as many have lost loved ones in the last days and weeks, our hearts and prayers are with them.

Thank you Lord for beautiful strong cypress trees and large majestic oak trees.