We left Sam Houston Jones State Park on Saturday am before 8:00. From Lake Charles we drove to Lafayette on I-10. Other than the miles of elevated highway, what impressed us most was that the majority of the traffic all seemed to be Texas plated! Once we were in Lafayette it was more Louisiana plates on the vehicles. (Guess they were not really evacuating Texas after all.) . Our plan was to stop in Lafayette for supplies and to use Starbucks for wifi and a good cup of coffee. As it turned out, when we got to Starbucks it was just starting to rain and as we sat there the sky opened up and it came down like crazy, so we sat a little longer than we had planned.
The drive down from Lafayette was mostly in heavy rain and wind for nearly an hour and then things improved to just wind. We must note that the Mississippi delta is a very interesting part of the state. From Lafayette we took US90 to Raceland where we took LA1 the rest of the way to Grand Isle, which is one of just two barrier islands in Louisiana.
Once we got onto LA1 there was water everywhere, It often appeared that the higway was just placed over whatever land there was and that was that. We crossed many canals or waterways filled with shrimp boats. (Sorry the photo is so bad but the road wasn't smooth so there was no way I could hold the i-Pad even remotely still.)
Water when everywhere and much higher along the sides of the road. We had some places where the water was nearly out to the white lines. And these folks didn't get nearly the rain that the north and western part of the state did. This road most likely would have been closed if they had gotten three days of rain. All in all, we have been most fortunate that our Louisiana tour has avoided the worst of the storms. As of today, small rivers (not the Mississippi) are still over their banks. Countless people have been flooded out and lost everything. We've been very lucky.
These are Black Skimmers, who appear to be having a heated discussion.
A few bird baths were witnessed too.
And sunrises with the fishing pier as the backdrop.
Grand Isle State Park is nearly at the very eastern end of the island, so we saw the entire town on our way to the park. There was water in yards and driveways and once in the park we found standing water in many of the campsites and the trails around the ponds within the park were flooded and on Tuesday were still flooded. These are the same trails we walked and rode on our bikes three years ago.
We have spent our days here walking the beach, taking phots, riding our bikes, shucking shrimp, and in general enjoying "southern hospitality". We have had some interessting conversations with locals (no, not politics) regarding cooking, fishing, etc. All of the houses on the island are built up on poles tho prevent damage from coastal flooding. We were told that it is required - you can't get a building permit for a conventional ground-level house.
Marty has had a great time taking photos of birds.
And there is nothing quite like a Brown Pelican over the water, gliding effortlessly.
And on Wednesday morning, a beautiful sunrise masked by cloud cover.
When we were here three years ago, BP was still busy cleaning the beach from the big oil spill. This time, there's no such activity, but we still occasionally find tennis-sized balls of tar that wash up on the beach. Probably the effects from the spill will never entirely disappear. There are still many offshore drilling platforms in the Gulf, and helicopters almost continuously ferry workers to and from the rigs. It is very good to see so many marine birds around the park. They took quite a beating from the spill, but are much in evident now.
Getting our shrimp Thursday a.m.
Shrimpers in Grand Isle.
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