Im having some trouble getting photos uploaded using my new tablet and blog app. I have my own IT team, but she didn't want to come on this trip.
I got to watch the sunrise in the swamp - it was beautiful. It was as loud as it was striking. Just before the sun comes up, every creature in the swamp starts to call or sing - birds, frogs, bees, crickets--even the fish chime in with a big splash every once in a while. The fish jump so often that I managed to catch a photo of one in mid air.
I drove into Pierre Part. This back-water area is now well known since Troy Landry hunts gators there on the TV show Swamp People. I had made arrangements to meet up with a guy from near Baton Rouge. I had never met him, but had gotten to know him via email and text. I had sent him a couple of Reborn guitars last year and kept in contact. For the past month, he had been texting me phone pics from the area, cafe menus, event flyers and other stuff to help me plan my trip. He offered to bring over his boat and drive me around the swamp. Of course I couldn't pass that up.
John showed up right on time with a boat, an ice chest full to the top and a beautiful wife. I figured out quickly that he and I had a lot in common, not the least being that when it comes to wives, we are both playing way out of our leagues :) But as it turned out, John didn't bring her along just for her looks. Susan proved to be a great deck hand and knowledgeable about most everything I wanted to ask about. After meeting these two folks, I was ready to move here - they both look about half their age. John told me Susan looked so young because he treated her so well, and that she never had to worry or want for anything. The reply look on Susan's face told me it might just be genetics.
Before we headed into the swamp, John and Susan treated me to lunch at Landry's Cafe. I had a mountain-sized plate of crawfish and an iced tea. We also had frog legs and fried gator. Wow what a meal.
After lunch we launched the boat and in short order we were deep in a bayou. The water was narrow, with moss-covered cypress trees thick on both sides. Everything was green and full of life. It was hot, but I could hardly sit my camera down long enough to get a drink. There was something flying, splashing, calling or wiggling almost constantly. I took about 300 pictures. We saw egrets, ibises and bald eagles, turtles and snakes. We saw lots of gators but they were pretty quick to slip under the surface. John did manage to slip us up close to a big one and I got some nice pictures. Later in the day we happened onto and epic bayou battle - a large water snake was locked in mortal combat with a fat catfish. We watched from just a few feet away as they twisted and splashed. The snake had a death grip and was determined that the fish was going to be dinner. They finally slipped deep into the vegetation.
Toward evening, we were deep in the back of a dead-end bayou and I saw something that will likely haunt me the rest of my life. This was the type of sickening site that you just cant shake. On the edge of the water was a large boat that someone had abandoned years ago. Most of it was sunk below the surface, but the bow still swayed above the water. On top of the weathered and moss covered bow, sat a complete drum set. Someone had thrown away a perfectly good drum kit and there was no way for me to salvage it! I'm sure I will have nightmares tonight. Ewww, I shiver just to write about it.
I drove into Pierre Part. This back-water area is now well known since Troy Landry hunts gators there on the TV show Swamp People. I had made arrangements to meet up with a guy from near Baton Rouge. I had never met him, but had gotten to know him via email and text. I had sent him a couple of Reborn guitars last year and kept in contact. For the past month, he had been texting me phone pics from the area, cafe menus, event flyers and other stuff to help me plan my trip. He offered to bring over his boat and drive me around the swamp. Of course I couldn't pass that up.
John showed up right on time with a boat, an ice chest full to the top and a beautiful wife. I figured out quickly that he and I had a lot in common, not the least being that when it comes to wives, we are both playing way out of our leagues :) But as it turned out, John didn't bring her along just for her looks. Susan proved to be a great deck hand and knowledgeable about most everything I wanted to ask about. After meeting these two folks, I was ready to move here - they both look about half their age. John told me Susan looked so young because he treated her so well, and that she never had to worry or want for anything. The reply look on Susan's face told me it might just be genetics.
Before we headed into the swamp, John and Susan treated me to lunch at Landry's Cafe. I had a mountain-sized plate of crawfish and an iced tea. We also had frog legs and fried gator. Wow what a meal.
After lunch we launched the boat and in short order we were deep in a bayou. The water was narrow, with moss-covered cypress trees thick on both sides. Everything was green and full of life. It was hot, but I could hardly sit my camera down long enough to get a drink. There was something flying, splashing, calling or wiggling almost constantly. I took about 300 pictures. We saw egrets, ibises and bald eagles, turtles and snakes. We saw lots of gators but they were pretty quick to slip under the surface. John did manage to slip us up close to a big one and I got some nice pictures. Later in the day we happened onto and epic bayou battle - a large water snake was locked in mortal combat with a fat catfish. We watched from just a few feet away as they twisted and splashed. The snake had a death grip and was determined that the fish was going to be dinner. They finally slipped deep into the vegetation.
Toward evening, we were deep in the back of a dead-end bayou and I saw something that will likely haunt me the rest of my life. This was the type of sickening site that you just cant shake. On the edge of the water was a large boat that someone had abandoned years ago. Most of it was sunk below the surface, but the bow still swayed above the water. On top of the weathered and moss covered bow, sat a complete drum set. Someone had thrown away a perfectly good drum kit and there was no way for me to salvage it! I'm sure I will have nightmares tonight. Ewww, I shiver just to write about it.
No comments:
Post a Comment