Laissez les bons temps rouler!

Having lived just north of Louisiana for most of my life, I've had the opportunity to travel there several times.  I always enjoy the food and visiting family, but the last couple of trips have given me the opportunity to get off the beaten path.  First, I joined my husband's family for a vacation in the Lake Charles area in the spring of 2010.  Then, I returned to northern Louisiana in the summer of 2011, and finally, I visited the Marksville area earlier this month.  I didn't make it down to New Orleans for the Mardi Gras celebrations, but in the spirit of the season, I thought I'd share a few pictures from my trips.

In March 2011, my family and I drove down to Sam Houston Jones State Park (http://www.crt.state.la.us/parks/ishjones.aspx) near Lake Charles, Louisiana. We rented a cabin overlooking the West Fork of the Calcasieu River and used it as our jumping off point to visit the surrounding areas.  The park itself was full of wildlife and plenty of places to fish. We ate tons of local seafood and explored the Cameron Prairie, Sabine, and Lacassine National Wildlife Refuges before winding up on Holly Beach.  The refuges and beach are located along the Creole Nature Trail, a driving loop that tours a good-sized section of rural, southern Louisiana (http://creolenaturetrail.org/). I was very impressed by the refuges.  There were nice trails, a viewing tower, a visitors center, and lots of wildlife.  I was also impressed by the number of visitors using the area, but we only felt crowded once...

We also collected shells on the beach and hired a local fishing guide to take us out on Calcasieu Lake.  We had a great time catching flounder and a better time cooking them back at the cabin.  We saw lots of birds and herps on this trip.  For the birders out there, our list included brown pelicans, cattle egrets, green herons, snowy egrets, semipalmated sandpipers, killdeer, white-faced ibis, black-bellied whistling-ducks, morehens, American coots, blue-winged teal, white ibis, black-necked stilts, greater yellow-legs, and tricolored herons.

On my other trips, I spent most of my time working, but I did manage to taste a few things and to snap a few pictures.  I witnessed the National Horseshoe Pitchers Association's World Horseshoe Tournament in Monroe, LA.  I had the biggest po'boy sandwich I've ever seen at Not Your Mama's cafe in Morganza, LA. (If you're in the area, I suggest you stop by.)  I also had some great boudin balls from Juneau's Cajun Meats in Marksville, LA.  I saw some beautiful upland and wetland habitats on these trips.  Unfortunately, most of it was private land, and I won't say exactly where.  I will say that I added roseate spoonbills, purple gallinules, northern pintails, gadwalls, greater white-fronted geese, mallards, and northern shovelers (among others) to my previous list of Louisiana species.

I look forward to my next trip down to Louisiana.  It's a state with tons to offer, especially if you like hunting, fishing, birding, or eating as much as I do.  New Orleans is a beautiful city, but if that's the only place you've been, you're missing out!