Lafayette to Baton Rouge on the Trip to Florida - 2005

Picture Album

Random Recollections
  • We had traveled this way before, but were taken by the famous Basin Bridge over the Atchafalaya Swamp. I took a few pictures of this amazing area. Laura was especially alert, since this is the same place in which earlier non-confirmed sightings of the Ivory-billed Woodpecker had taken place.
  • The following excerpt came from a local explaining the need for a guide to tour the Atchafalaya Swamp:

    Thomas Kibodeaux , jan 09, 2001; 02:00 p.m.

    James,

    Being from the area as well, I would like to add to the other recommendations. The guides are not an option but a requirement! If you have a boat or maybe receive some simple looking maps etc. don't think of exploring alone! Hire a guide!

    There is a very good overall tour out of Patterson, LA. Cajun Jack's I think. His favorite story is when he was conducting a tour and noticed a nice bass boat tied off in a remote area. When he approached, a man jumps up offering him the boat and trailer for getting him back to his truck. He was from out of state and had been out there three days after the Bass Tournament had ended! Lots of American Alligators, poisonous snakes, and spiders, and unimaginable quantities of mosquitoes to keep him company for his stay.

    The Atchafalaya is no place to wander around on your own. I have seen much of the basin from near I-10 all the way South to the Atchafalaya bay @ Morgan City. It is definitely worth seeing, and could provide you with thousands of great images, or a lifetime of nightmares. But the first 30 times you visit, it all looks the same after an hour or two of cruising around.

    Get a guide, even if it is a hunting and/or fishing guide, just tell them what you want to see, or where you want to go. A good tip, other than the monetary type, is to offer a nice framed photograph of the guide in the place that is so dear to their hearts. Many guides in the area do not even have a point and shoot, but have tens of thousands of beautiful images, in their hearts and minds. We (Cajuns) love to brag about our homeland's beauty and acknowledge our responsibility to preserve it through increasing awareness, among other means.

    Definitely have a guide.

  • I also took a few photos as we were crossing the Mississippi River at Baton Rouge.
  • We travelled on to Slidell, LA and had a great supper at Appleby’s before spending the night there.