Swamp Tour and Moving on to Mississippi!

One of the things friends who have been to NOLA suggested was going on a swamp tour.  I had scheduled one for Sunday at 9:30 am on the Pearl River which is about 45 minutes from New Orleans.
We were a little concerned about finding the meeting spot as my Acura navigation system has an issue with unusual addresses.  This one, after you put in the city and state does not like a number first.  It insists you must put in a street name first.  But some addresses in rural areas are not like that.  Our swamp tour guide, Al, had given detailed directions on how to get to the meeting spot.  So we ended up following them.  A little nerve racking as you did not have the calm voice on the GPS telling you you were on tract.  But the directions were perfect and we found the out of the way location behind a bar where the boat launched.  A women from Organ followed the same directions and got there fine.  But another couple did not follow the directions and used google to find the nearest boat launch - they missed the tour and ended up 20 miles away.  So it was lovely having just three of us.

There are a lot of shacks along the bayou's.  I liked this reflection.

This was the sign on this shack.  Deliverance anyone?

A creative shack - a trailer home.

Even more creative - just use an old school bus!

Our guide, being entertaining.

Some areas were real slow zones - to save the natural habitat.  Our guide got upset with a few boaters who did not pay attention to the signage.

Some beautiful views of the swamps.  We learned about the cypress trees who like to live in areas of high, loose soil.  So only a foot or so of water, clay is ok.  They put out "knees for separate footings to keep them grounded.  The knees are the short knobs of roots rising up around the cypress tree.

Spanish moss, is not really moss at all.  It does not harm the tree.  It is a bromeliad.  It does not harm the tree.  There are a lot of stories of why it is called Spanish moss.  One story is that the French people thought it looked like Spanish men's beards. 

We entered a different waterway.  Here the trees were different.  They leaned over the water to capture the sunlight.  We asked what they were called.  Our guide did not know.  He said they were lean over trees.  Guess that is descriptive.

They only wildlife we saw were herons.  White as below and some more rare ones - the blue heron.

The waterways here are subject to flooding.  The same area may rise 6-10 feet depending on the amount of rain in the area or up-river.  This sandbar was very new, and severely cut into the area where the boat could navigate through.

If you can believe it, this was part of a bridge that was used for cars to cross the water 5-6 years ago.  It is a wonder no car ended up in the water before they closed it.

After the swamp tour we went to a wonderful restaurant our guide recommended.  It was called "the Dock" in Slideal, LA.  We went miles out of our way - but well worth it.  I had Corn and crab cream soup that was fantastic.  Mike had the gumbo that was one of the best we have had.  I had fried catfish with cheesy potatoes and Mike had shrimp and grits.  They were both fantastic.  Over half my dish is in our cooler.  As our food tour guide said when I asked him about lighter fare in LA - Nothing foodwise in LA is light.  We continued our drive east along the coast towards Bay of St Louis, toward Gulfport, MI.  There are a lot of touristy areas, but also a lot of beautiful places as well.

All along the shore we saw homes built up on stilts.  The cars are not so protected, maybe because they will use those to escape with the hope that the home one story up will avoid flooding.

 Stilts built - I presume a home will be built on top.

A lot of marsh land around.

With all the water - there are a lot of bridges as well.

There is no way to avoid the rain here totally.  I spent 5-6 shots trying to get the windshield wipers in action.

There was a woman walking along the side of the road.  I didn't realize that the reflection in the car window would produce this effect.

Want to learn to do pottery anyone!

 Just after Bay St. Louis we saw this beach front and stopped to capture a few photos.

We are staying in Gulfport, MI tonight.  Tomorrow we will check the weather, as a hurricane in the Gulf of Mexico, called Micheal, is headed for land.  Not sure where it will touch land.  That will change our plans about where to go next.  More tomorrow!