20/01: Swamp Tour
Category: General
Posted by: The Agnew Family
This morning we ran a couple of errands then drove a couple of blocks to Lake Pontchartrain. The townhouse we are staying in about a mile from the lake so it was about time that we saw it. One of the most interesting things about the lake is the causeway.
The causeway is composed of two parallel bridges crossing Lake Pontchatrain. The longer of the two bridges is 23.83 miles.
Yesterday, we had a small taste of the Louisiana swamp. Today I wanted to see more of the swamp, so this afternoon we drove to Slidell and took Dr. Wagner's Honey Island Swamp tour. The boat we went on holds 23 people and it was full. Luckily, Ed has a wife who loves him and managed to get him a seat at the bow of the boat --- the best place to take photographs.
Our tour guide said winter is not the best time to visit the swamp --- all the trees are gray and mostly bare, the alligators are dormant and so are many of the other swamp inhabitant. The water level is a foot lower than yesterday, the sun is shining and it is relatively warm. All of these items helped to increase the possibility of viewing wildlife.
This Diamond Backed Water Snake was one of two snakes we saw sunning in trees.
We also saw a number of turtles sunning on logs.
A Great Blue Heron.
Our guide worked hard, checking out all the places where Alligators normally hang out. He found this young one enjoying the warm sunny afternoon.
After touring an area of the swamp near the boat dock, we drove down the Pearl River finding huge homes backing onto the river. A little further down the river were some Cajun homes.
A few of the Cajun homes looked abandoned but several of the homes were definitely being lived in. Our guide said the owners of these homes live here all year round and are fishermen.
The sign by this house says it all.
The swamp was everything I imagined it to be in the winter --- still, a little eerie but very beautiful. Now Now I've added a swamp tour in the summer to my bucket list.
The causeway is composed of two parallel bridges crossing Lake Pontchatrain. The longer of the two bridges is 23.83 miles.
Yesterday, we had a small taste of the Louisiana swamp. Today I wanted to see more of the swamp, so this afternoon we drove to Slidell and took Dr. Wagner's Honey Island Swamp tour. The boat we went on holds 23 people and it was full. Luckily, Ed has a wife who loves him and managed to get him a seat at the bow of the boat --- the best place to take photographs.
Our tour guide said winter is not the best time to visit the swamp --- all the trees are gray and mostly bare, the alligators are dormant and so are many of the other swamp inhabitant. The water level is a foot lower than yesterday, the sun is shining and it is relatively warm. All of these items helped to increase the possibility of viewing wildlife.
This Diamond Backed Water Snake was one of two snakes we saw sunning in trees.
We also saw a number of turtles sunning on logs.
A Great Blue Heron.
Our guide worked hard, checking out all the places where Alligators normally hang out. He found this young one enjoying the warm sunny afternoon.
After touring an area of the swamp near the boat dock, we drove down the Pearl River finding huge homes backing onto the river. A little further down the river were some Cajun homes.
A few of the Cajun homes looked abandoned but several of the homes were definitely being lived in. Our guide said the owners of these homes live here all year round and are fishermen.
The sign by this house says it all.
The swamp was everything I imagined it to be in the winter --- still, a little eerie but very beautiful. Now Now I've added a swamp tour in the summer to my bucket list.