Our vacation season will soon be over as we are approaching the end of February and John is back to work the first of March. We try not to stay in the same campground or place if we pass through an area we have before, there is just too much too see in this big country!
This trip through Louisiana, we are staying at the Grand Isle State park. It is located on Louisiana’s only inhabited barrier island. The length and sheer thought of the engineering that has gone into this bridge that is taking us from the mainland far out into the Gulf of Mexico is impressive and a little un-nerving. The Leeville Bridge or the Gateway to the Gulf Expressway, about 8 miles long, is one of the longest bridges in the world.
As we are nearing the end of the bridge we get a good view of the homes on stilts out in the water and on land.
This area is renowned for its great fishing, and has been used by the Chitimacha and Ouachas tribes for thousands of years, the pirate Jean Lafitte, and Confederate soldiers during the Civil War.
Following the Civil War, the island became a fishing and tourist destination. About 1,500 people live and work on the barrier island, which is about 8 miles long and 1 mile wide.
There is a lot of outdoor fun packed into this small area, with about 10 miles of public sandy beaches, swimming, boating and fishing, shrimping, and crabbing.
Bird watching, both water fowl and land birds is quite popular. The Grand Isle Migratory Bird Festival is a three day event held sometime in mid April every year. It is an important stop for over 150 different species of song birds after their long flight across the Gulf of Mexico. We are seeing a lot of water fowl here in February, but a small variety, probably year round residents.
It is cool and overcast but its making for some great photography. John doesn’t often get time to relax and just take pictures but when he does, he gets some good ones.
I like trying to take pictures but he has a much better eye for it. So I bird watch and let John know what I would like pictures of and he does his thing. These two, a sand piper,…the larger…and a Rudy Turnstone, he catches running from the waves. Quite the high stepper the little one is.
Disclaimer: I’m not great on bird recognition so I could have the name of the birds wrong.
As we walk the beach this morning we see scores of washed-up jellyfish. Kind of a pretty color and much easier to appreciate when they aren’t stinging you.
We notice that the gulls gather in flocks on the beach waiting for the large boats, we are assuming fishing boats of some kind, to motor by and then they take off and follow them. This is a perfect opportunity for John to show off his action-shot skills.
These black skimmers are set and ready, waiting for a boat. The over cast sky’s give a black and white illusion to everything making for some cool picture effects
Here comes the boat….and…they’re off!!
Out into the foggy morning.
With the birds gone we walk out the long pier to see if we can see the dolphins.
With our binoculars we locate a boat with the gulls flying all around it and dolphins porpoising alongside the boat. So cool, they almost look like they are playing in the boat’s wake.
The brown pelicans are everywhere, on land and in the water. They are quite beautiful compared the white ones, in my opinion.
A first for both of us, we step into the cold water of the Gulf of Mexico. Feet picture!
As we traverse the beach we keep noticing these holes everywhere. At first we think they are being made by a person with a walking stick, but the holes are too clean and neat.
Shows you how much we are NOT beach people. They are made by these little Ghost Crabs. (can you find him) Speaking of crabs, while we are picking seashells for the kids, we find quite a few hermit crabs snuggled up in shells. And John wonders why I don’t want to put the seashells in my pocket, who knows what might come crawling out!
Tomorrow we are heading to John and Sharon’s place in Sebring, Florida. Maybe we will visit here again during the Migration festival.
