March 8, 2018 - Swamp Tour.

Today with no real plans in mind, we called to see if there was any room for a Swamp Tour.  With 2 seats still available and very little time to make the 12:00 tour we arrived with a few minutes to spare.  Waiting right next to us in the parking lot were 2 men from Germany who were also on the tour.  One did well with English.  so we chatted a bit about our plans to visit Poland in June.

The tour boat held 10 plus the guide Al.  Once on the river it was obvious that the water lever is high and still rising.  The location of this tour is in the Louisiana Basin area in Plaquemine, LA...also near where the Swamp People show is filmed.

Heading downstream and a lot of the tree slash is floating.  The water is now about 4 feet above normal height.

The area has been marked for a pipeline which will connect to the Keystone Pipeline, but work has been stopped under a court order because of environmental damage concerns.

Because the water was higher, the boat could go between the trees.

The Cypress Trees have very small tree rings that would take a magnifying glass to even count.  During this time of year the growth is slow because of being covered by water and in the Winter tree growth is normally less.  Cypress Trees are some of the oldest trees in this area, often hundreds of years old.

Al explained that the nets hanging from trees are for catching crawfish.  They work similar to a lobster trap.

A young 4 footer was getting what little sun there was today.

The older cypress trees become hollow inside and are not good for harvesting.

Trees like this were often seen today.

Woodpecker holes. show up in a tree after the bark falls away.

Wide paths for pulling out logs are seen crossing all through the forest.

More inroads in the swamp

If one of the pipelines ruptured, It would destroy the vegetation because the water would carry the oil far and wide.

Several Bald Eagles were seen in the area today.

We enjoyed the tour and would recommend one if you ever visit the area.