Bill and I left the critters in the air-conditioned RV and headed for Breaux Bridge to take a swamp tour that had been recommended by a fellow camper. On the way, we went through Lafayette.
I had to stop and photograph these trees further beautified by the famous (or infamous?!) Mardi Gras beads...
OK, so I can see how that still dormant tree up there could've used some additional decoration back in February, but this tree here? Maybe all these magnificent magnolia blossoms only came out in the last few days? Anyways, hard to imagine this tree looking any prettier, no matter what you did to it!
Hopefully it doesn't mind wearing all these necklaces...!
A Breaux Bridge storefront with Mardi Gras and Fleur de Lis decor.
And I loved this display in a shop's window!!! A giant crawfish coming out of its tower!
St. Bernard's (no relation to the big hairy beast, I'm sure...) Catholic Church.
Had to wait an exorbitant amount of time for the sun to come out from behind the clouds. It was perfectly lit earlier, but there was a funeral procession going on, and I figured they wouldn't take too kindly to this silly San Diego amateur photographer invading their privacy! So I waited, and so did the clouds. As soon as the doors closed behind the last person, poof! Away went the sun! The limo driver and I exchanged several glances while I waited. I'm sure I must have been some kind of entertainment...! But at last! Those darn clouds moved on enough that I could get a few shots, but good thing I moved fast because they hurried back again!
See all this nice sunlight? Bill and I went over to the cemetery while the memorial service got under way. It's so interesting how the bodies must be entombed above ground in these southern lowlands. Otherwise, they'd all literally be in watery graves!
Another little lamb who must be dancing in the clouds...
And here we are. At Champagne's Cajun Swamp Tours. When I first saw this place, all I could think was wow, how did we end up at this little tourist dump?! But you'd think I'd learn... First impressions can be misleading! These folks did a great job (and so did the alligators!!!), and I had a fantastic time!!
Bill and I had a great day - warm enough for the gators to be out but not too hot for us, and some sun, some clouds. And we loved their boats. Very open, so you could see everything, and the seats swiveled! All the better to capture you, my dear gators!!!!
Swamps and bayous are gorgeous places, if you ask me!!
And this one was very popular for fishing and hunting - there were all sorts of hang-outs and hides on the water!
Beautiful bald cypress. They, and the mossy oaks, sure say "South" to me!!
And this crazy cajun... He was so full of shyte, there was just no telling when (if?!) he was ever telling the truth! But we all loved it! Once you got the hang of it... But he was a great guy and made the experience a lot of fun!!
See him? I think he sees you...!
Fisherdude on a dock.
We saw SO many gators during these 2 hours!!! It was AWESOME!!!
We kinda whizzed by these two, so couldn't shoot for perfection - as true for almost all these shots. Sometimes we'd stop, but even then we were still moving! It's not like you could set up your tripod and dial in the depth of field...!!
Moving on, we came up on this big guy and his pal. It was so cool how our guide knew who would likely be where and could spot them from afar. He even had names for most of them :)
I think the giant one (on the right) was "Blackie." The (headless?!) one sort of under him was reportedly missing his back right foot... He'd/she'd better be nice to Blackie, or they might end up being his lunch!! From what I've read, that's what may keep these XL gators growing!
Resting on his friend snack...?!
As we leave the pair, Blackie flashes us a toothy grin...
Enchanted cypress forest
It was in the areas covered with this thick, floating, living, green carpet that we saw many baby gators, but also this one big daddy...
This lovely specimen was many, many feet long... Blackie-sized, I would say! And look at that broad beak!
This little guy was only a couple feet long or so.
And this one? Maybe just a foot? It was in this area I thought I heard some chirping... Maybe from this one or his/her siblings?
My favorite shot of the day. If you enlarge the photo (just click on it, remember), you can see that beautiful eye up-close.
We even saw a couple of these cottonmouths (aka, water moccasins). Our boat driver told us to come back in a bit, when it got warmer, and we could see them hanging in the tree branches - over the boat, over our heads... Yeah, I'm sure a lot of us would be signing up for that!! And yes, it's true. Bill can regale you with stories of them dropping down into your boat with you, or chasing you out of a lake - any time you'd like to hear one of those tales, just ask! That Texan boy has plenty of snake stories to entertain you with...
I think this one was called "Chickie" - she kind of looks like a Chickie, don't you think?
Another big 'un. Just love the pose - looks like he couldn't get up enough energy to go any further. I think he did go as far as he could, but it just looks like he ran out of steam...
But this one ain't sleepin'! He's watching us...
And I loved this perspective - an alligator basket! Happy Easter!
One more majestic tree...
And a few goofy turtles. There were about 100 turtles on this log but only three brave souls remaining when we got close...!
The BEST swamp tour!!! Would do it again in a heartbeat!! And I hope I will some day!
