Alligators and The Creole Nature Trail

Do you see these shadows?
Shadows mean sunshine and that is what we had ALL day!
We decided to drive the Creole Nature Trail.  It is about 100 miles long and  is one of the oldest scenic byways in America.  The drive takes you through marshes, prairie, and along the Gulf of Mexico.

We crossed canals, bayoues, and lakes using bridges, a drawbridge, and a ferry.

We hiked broadwalk, paved, and grassy trails, drove gravel and

Paved roads.

The most exciting thing we saw was over 30 alligators.  We saw most of them as we were driving the Pintail Drive and Broadwalk.  Because it was such a sunny day, the alligators were enjoying laying in the sun.   Most of them were in the water and were small but there were a few larger ones on the banks.  In fact, on the Wetlands Walkway, one was in the grass along the walkway.  It was on my side of the trail, laying in the grass, about two feet from the trail.  I nearly jumped out of my skin and my reaction caused Carol's heart to beat rapidly.  After watching them from the safety of our track, I didn't expect to see one so up close and personal.

A good deal of the drive goes through a couple of national wildlife sanctuaries.  We saw flamingoes, pelicans, egrets, white and blue herons, and ducks of many, many different kinds.  As we drove by the Gulf of Mexico, we saw houses, hospitals, fire stations, etc. on tall support beams.  We talked to a man from Lake Charles.  He told us that when Hurricane Ike came through in 2006' everything in this area was under 15 of water.  A lot of the buildings have been rebuilt after that date.  There are new, more stringent building codes that require the support beams be dug at least 15 below ground and lift the structure 15 feet above.  They are able to park their cars under their houses.