We've been silent for a few days so it's time for reflection and sharing. Primarily, it has been WINDY here at Grand Isle State Park. We've rolled up our awnings because there is so much wind we got tired of listening to them creaking, rattling, and groaning. Also, it has been cooler than we anticipated, with a low this morning of 37F which, by the way, was only four degrees warmer than in Augusta, Maine! Go figure!
The campground is comprised of two rows of pull-through camp sites. Seems we all have electricity and water, which is always appreciated. There is again, as at Bayou Segenette, free Wi-Fi (slow speed), which allows us access to the outside world. Although slow, it is better than no Wi-Fi at all so we should not complain. There are two bath houses (or bathrooms) one of which has a laundry (which is also free, as it was in the previous campground). The presence of a free laundry and free Wi-Fi is an incentive and one has to wonder a little, did they do this because it might draw folks to campgrounds in Louisiana that might otherwise not have had such a draw after hurricanes and oil spills?
The beach here does not have sugary white sand as in Florida last year. It is brownish and we first wondered if it were because of the BP oil spill from three years ago. [It wasn't; brownish is natural for this area on the Gulf.] The beach, however, is very accessible and firm and we can ride our bikes on it for miles! We took a nice long ride on Saturday and then returned via LA 1, making a stop at the biggest grocery store in town, which is more like an old fashioned small town store which sells everything from groceries to hardware. David even spotted various sizes of boat anchors! They do also have a better wine selection than what we found at the last Winn Dixi store near New Orleans. What does that say about the population here?
As for the town of Grand Isle, David learned that the population is about 1200 during the off season (like now) and rises to about 20,000 during the main season. The city is hit by major hurricanes or tropical storms every 2.6 years and experiences flooding caused by tidal surges as high as 16' which is higher than most of the bases of the houses on stilts! So, these folks take their water very seriously.
 |
| Dee and Paul riding into the wind |
When we rode our bikes on the beach each day we saw groups of workers drilling down into the beach. Upon questioning, we learned that they auger down about 4-5' looking for oil deposits. They collect samples from each test hole and bag it up for lab analysis. Besides the workers operating the machinery, there were representatives from federal, state and municipal agencies, making sure that the collection process was transparent. The samples were taken about every 15-20 feet, in a grid pattern along and across the beach. We were told that if they found oil, another crew would be sent in to remove it and then restore the original beach profile. So far (they have covered about half of the four-mile beach in the past month), they say they have found little oil. We were not told so, but strongly suspect that the bill for all this beach remediation goes to BP.
 |
| Memorial to the 11 workers killed in the Deepwater Horizon explosion of 20 April 2010. |
We rode the beach again today, this time nearly to the bridge, which is about four or more miles from the campground. The wind was blowing hard and steady, so we were weary when we arrived back at the campground.
 |
| Workers looking at the dirt/sand brought up by the auger. |
 |
A broad view of the crews looking for oil under the Gulf Island Beach
|
No comments:
Post a Comment