Lake Fausse Pointe State Park, St. Martinville, Louisiana
Starting a quarrel is like breaching a dam; so drop the matter before a dispute breaks out. ~ Proverbs 17:14
They have hiking trails, and canoe trails at this Park, and since we’re here for seven nights, we expect to try them all out. Today was originally to be a hiking day, and so that’s how we began. It’s flat walking, but you have to watch your step because the trail is full of Cypress knees poking up out of the ground.
Do you?
Bayou = a slow moving stream that crisscrosses Louisiana.
They’re marshy outlets for a lake or river.
But there WAS a long footbridge (although we didn’t measure it), and it was a beautiful area.
Okay. I just looked it up. It’s short for binoculars. lol!
It looked better in person . . . . : )
I saw a coyote (just the top part of the wood), Blaine saw an open-mouthed bear.
after we’ve been hiking and tripping and/or stepping over them for several miles already! : )
There were a few interesting things to see along the 3 miles we walked, but whenever we’d get a glimpse of the water, it called to us like a siren.
We had to cross this one on the way into the campground the first day.
When we don’t see wildlife, we tend to get excited by anything. : )
Our walk back towards home took us right by the campground office, when what to our wondering eyes should appear, but 3 campground workers, a ‘civilian’ eating Chez-its, and 5 young racoons! Guess there’s no rules here about feeding the wildlife. 😊 Cute little things. And they loved those Chez-its! The Park workers said they were about 4-5 months old, which surprised us because they were already pretty good sized, as you can see. Fun!
But one it realized Blaine wasn’t really offering any food, it scampered off in a hurry. : )
Home, lunch, short drive to the boat launch, and we were back in the water again! We’ve not been kayaking since we were in the Portland, Maine area at the end of August.
It was a great paddle day, perfect weather for it, and we saw plenty of birds – – egrets, herons, osprey, anhingas (haven’t seen them since Florida, and they were all females . . . where’s the guys??), and an eagle! The trail wasn’t exactly as I had envisioned. When I think canoe trail, I think more like a hiking trail . . . like the ones we kayaked through the mangrove forests in Florida. This one was very wide and seemed to be very deep.
But it was great to be able to get in without getting our feet wet!
They are really nice, but with our lifestyle, it wasn’t very realistic that we’d use it much – – if at all.
Parts of it were filled with some kind of water plant that seemed to be taking over. I can’t research it because I have no internet, but maybe we’ll spot a Ranger somewhere who can tell us about it.
Anyway, we kayaked about 4-5 miles today, stopping for a break at CCS#1. CCS stands for Canoe Camp Site.
They have five of these scattered about the trail system. You can only get to them via water. They have a spot for a tent, a table and a . . . well, I don’t know what to call it. Kinda looked like a fish-cleaning station, and maybe it was, but you could also use it for other things. Very simple. Very primitive. But a perfect spot to get out, stretch and have a cookie. 😊
The first time Blaine picked it up, it slid off the paddle and into the water . . . and popped up tail first.
At least half his body came out of the water. Hahaha!
I guess this was once theirs and they either donated or sold the property to the State.
No one bothered to take down the sign.
They actually waved when they noticed us!
This evening, I baked Krusteaz Cranberry Orange Bread into three small loaves. I first heard about this brand when our oldest son told us how good their cornbread mix was. We tried it, and agreed. So when I saw the Cranberry Orange bread in the store, I just had to try it. I wasn’t disappointed! The only disappointment is that I have to share. I’ve never had to share this culinary delight with Blaine in the past because he wasn’t a fan, but he actually liked this one. Or else, he was just craving something to munch on this evening. 😊
By the way . . . I added about a teaspoon of vanilla to the mix. I don’t know why. I just did. Maybe subconsciously I was thinking about those amazing mini-muffins we had last week? (By the way, as soon as I can find a mini muffin pan, I’m giving them a try!)