Down in the Bayou
July 29th, 2010
Finally, I want to share my digital photos from our night that we spent at Lake Fausse State Park in Louisiana back in May. I already posted some film from that day, but of course there’s more! Hanging out in the bayou was seriously one of the best parts of my year so far, I feel like I’m always bringing it up in conversation, but I can’t help it! It was another world, for sure. A weird, swampy zone filled with gators, wood cabins, rocking chairs and boat adventures. A few of these photos were taken by Kevin and Rachel, travel buddies extraordinaire.
The park itself was really beautiful, and we arrived just before dusk. Our cabin (#3) had the best dock that jutted out into the water, and our cabin was on stilts above the swamp. The whole week in New Orleans we were making jokes about how there would be a gator under our cabin, and then of course, there really was! Not just one, but many gators appeared to check us out upon our arrival. The water was very calm, which is their favorite time to swim around and look for food. I think there were five gators chillin’ with us at one time, small and medium sized. We were careful around them, don’t worry! Other notable critters: armadillo, ridiculously adorable tiny bird, larger birds (not pictured), damselflies.
We attempted a 1 mile trail near our cabin, but as the sun continued to set, the bugs got increasingly intense, to the point that my stupidly uncovered legs were under attempted attack by 8-10 horseflies at any given time. It’s a good thing that I’ve been going to the gym, because I honestly had to run the whole way back to the cabin… they wouldn’t stop chasing me! Every time I would turn back, the flies would still be at my legs. I’ve never been bitten by a horsefly and I’m happy to keep it that way. Jerks! We drank wine out of mugs on our dock, watching gators sneak in and out of the light from our cabin’s windows. The sunset was gorgeous, and the swamp symphony slowly started building as it got darker and darker, starting with the cicadas and adding frogs, birds, owls and who knows what else over the course of the evening.
I told my friends that I’d be taking care of dinner, and used our pathetic purchases (a box of grits, frozen creole-seasoned vegetables, half a fried catfish po’boy sandwich, pork rinds, wine, 1 beer and butter) from a Cajun truckstop style corner store (basically only exists for selling bait & beer, the food shelves were a sad state) to create a fuckin’ awesome Southern dinner. I seriously used every cooking skill I could think of to make the following: red wine soaked fried catfish jambalaya, creamy grits and butter with seasoned fry bits and toasted pork rind topping, grilled bread & butter and a mini salad. SO PROUD!! We ate dinner on the screened-in porch in the humid air and listened to the bayou get louder and louder.
After dinner we remained on the porch, sittin’ in our rocking chairs and enjoying the sounds. Kev went out onto the porch and excitedly informed us that the biggest gator ever was down in the water near our dock, and dudes, I am not kidding- this thing was a BEAST. A true monster. After seeing so many smaller gators earlier in the day (and on our swamp tour earlier in the trip), it was clear that this was the hugest one we had ever seen. We mentioned big papa gator to the lady in the cute interactive center the next day, and she said, “Oh, that must have been the eleven footer!” ELEVEN. FOOT. GATOR.
The next morning we woke up bright & early, had creamy grits and leftover jambalaya for breakfast and spent the rest of the day paddling around the swamp in a flat-bottomed boat and exploring on foot through the nature trails. A whole bunch of school kids arrived that day for field trips, but once we got onto the trails we were all alone. The kids were so pumped to see us paddling the boat, they were blown away by the fact that we were IN A BOAT. That is unreal to me! They also thought it was really funny when they saw Rachel & I paddling while Kevin laid down in the back, they were shrieking, “The GIRLS are doing all the work!!!!” The trails were so interesting, thankfully we only saw one snake, and it ended in a crazy long dock reaching out into plant-covered swamp, which is where the first photo in this post was taken. A great reward at the end! Oh, and Rachel took this great photo of Ruby, a VC Andrews book that we both read in highschool that sparked our interest in Louisiana, haha. I think that any trip I take to a city will have to include an out-of-town state park night, because it’s a really great way to get a true feel for the area, especially if you are a nature lover like me!
I also edited together a little video from our time at Lake Fausse Pointe, and I’m happy that the nature sounds were captured pretty well, and I like how the background just gets noisier and noisier as the night progressed!
Too Many Gators from anja verdugo on Vimeo.
26 Comments
Add your own1. Rachew | July 29th, 2010 at 3:26 pm
2 many gatorz
2. Ellie | July 29th, 2010 at 3:32 pm
This is just absolutely amazing. I am so jealous, I would love to do this! x
3. madi | July 29th, 2010 at 3:42 pm
so cool. i totally thought that gator was going to jump at any second, he looked so mad. sounds like a truly unique vacation!
m.
4. Rachew | July 29th, 2010 at 4:08 pm
also LOL at the sound of me eating those pork rinds
5. anne | July 29th, 2010 at 4:08 pm
Wow!
What a great place!
6. Andrea | July 29th, 2010 at 4:13 pm
Sounds amazing! Definitely agree about getting out in nature – even though I’m a city dweller at heart, one of my favourite parts of travelling in NZ’s South is being in the country. All those sounds – native birds, droning crickets and even (such a cliche) sheep and other animals.
7. Rhiannon | July 29th, 2010 at 4:31 pm
I’m terrified of gators! I would never be brave enough to get photo-taking close to them. But, oh wow, whatever it is you’re wearing in that top photo is gorgeous!
8. Kristen | July 29th, 2010 at 6:10 pm
I love the shots at dusk! I can feel the humidity (perhaps due to my location as well!).
9. stina | July 29th, 2010 at 7:11 pm
again, you go to such amazing places while well-dressed lol <3 the gators are scary and sneaky looking but super cool that you got to see them in their natural habitat.. california suddenly sucks? :/
10. bea | July 29th, 2010 at 10:41 pm
I would love to do this one day. I think this is going on my bucket list. I cannot imagine a more perfect vacation. And you look as cute as a button in these photos.
Thank you so much for sharing this. I am blown away!
11. afreckledlip | July 29th, 2010 at 11:40 pm
Wow, it does seem like a whole other world. What an amazing trip!
12. Kate | July 30th, 2010 at 12:16 am
Omg, those gators really wanted to eat you! And I get itchy just listening to all those nature noises (bugs love to eat me) but I REALLY wanna do this! US Road trip in one month so maybe I will.
Love your travel posts.
13. Sophie | July 30th, 2010 at 2:08 am
It is beautiful, i’d love to go to New Orleans one day.
14. Madeline | July 30th, 2010 at 2:54 am
oh gosh! they’re so scary! (the alligators that is…)
15. Victoria / Justice Pirate | July 30th, 2010 at 5:14 am
oh goodness these are so gorgeous and I love all the shots and how much fun it seems to have been.
16. Tracy | July 30th, 2010 at 8:55 am
oh my goodness on the gators–YIKES they look scary! Looks like an awesome experience..the pictures really give me a feel for the place. Thanks so much for sharing!
17. Diana | July 30th, 2010 at 10:12 am
Oh darling a little scary but so so much fun♥ am going to the beach this weekend I need some natural view like ASAP♥ awesome post………
18. Liina | July 30th, 2010 at 11:23 am
Totally bitchin. I would love to see the south some day.
19. Prae | July 30th, 2010 at 1:15 pm
It looks like you guys always have a great time. Those gators are awesome ( and scary at the same time!) and you looks so cute in these shorts and socks!
20. calivintage | July 31st, 2010 at 5:31 pm
i don’t know if i’ve mentioned this yet, but your whole trips sounds amazing. i love nature, but that place would definitely have challenged me. i might have been terrified, so i’m glad i can appreciate your lovely documentation from afar!
21. Cydney Meyerdirk | August 1st, 2010 at 4:34 pm
I grew up in Florida land of the many gators. I love how you guys go trekking after an armadillo. They are one of the meanest animals ever. Armadillo’s are chill right? Lol… too funny. Seems you had a great time in the swamps! It sure does make me miss home. Great pics!
22. Eartha | August 2nd, 2010 at 1:02 am
It all sounds SO beautiful but I’ll admit that the gators freak me out!
23. lion heart vintage | August 2nd, 2010 at 9:27 pm
oh SNAP! that dinner sounds delicious. major props to your southern cooking stylez! those swamp sounds are insane!
PS you ladies look adorable in your matching socks and moccasins.
24. Chloe | August 3rd, 2010 at 6:07 pm
oh my gosh, i’ve been there too! it’s beautiful, i loved chasing the armadillos. i was there in late winter – i think you see more gators and less critters the warmer the weather is, hmmm, wonder why that is
? loving all your louisiana posts, i’ll have to give Ruby a read!
25. Emma | August 11th, 2010 at 1:43 pm
ah! i live there. i can’t believe you came to louisiana! it’s like a whole ‘nother world, isn’t it?
p.s. we were old lj friends; don’t know if you remember
26. Jason | August 16th, 2010 at 2:23 am
Thank you so much for posting this! It looks like such a great place to stay and I’ve instantly added it as a stop on my U.S. Road Trip.
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