Thursday, Oct 27
Today was a short drive from Lake Charles to Baton Rouge, Louisiana. I had planned, and made, three stops but was expecting to do much more at the first two than was actually possible when I arrived..
Stop one was at St. John’s Cathedral in Lafayette, LA. Although this is a relatively modern church the online reviews convinced me it was worth a visit. I arrived just before noon to find the large parking lot almost full, the construction crew working outside shutting down all of their equipment and a large number of pedestrians heading for the entrance and realized that there must be a service. This limited me to strolling around outside and taking photos of the cemetery, the amazing 500 year-old live oak nearby and the exterior of the church. All were beautiful so it is a pity I was not able to get inside.
Stop two was at a wildlife conservancy just outside of Lafayette where there is a highly rated boardwalk trail through the swamp to Lake Martin. I arrived at the visitor center to find that it was closed – not a problem, I thought, I’ll just take the walk. However, a quarter of a mile along the trail I came across this 
which scuttled my plan. I did drive to Lake Martin which looks like this. I’m sure the trail would have been great.
The third stop was a Louisiana State visitor center in the Atchafalaya Basin which is the largest river swamp in the US. This had free coffee, a great movie and several displays about the region. Interstate 10 cuts right across the basin over the third longest bridge in the US (18 miles long) and there are a couple of good views of the area in the video which can be found here.
Awesome tree!
Surprised when a few days back you did not reach Brownsville before heading north.. having visited some decades ago I wa wondering what it is now like. Swamps of e south look as exotic as ever.. how about the mosquitoes?
Didn’t seem to be any compelling reason to go to Brownsville. No mosquito problem anywhere on the trip so far. I was expecting hot and humid weather in southern Texas but, until I reached the Gulf, it was beautiful – high 70s/low 80s, sunny and not at all humid.
Must be all that awful flooding this past spring/summer, that caused all the damage and closures. The live oak is beautiful. Very Southern looking. Went to a music festival there in 2011 but didn’t see the town! Too crowded. Great pictures. Looks like a good trip.
The live oak was pretty amazing and the whole area was so green although a local I met in a bar said that the swamp water levels were low at the moment.
James Lee Burke country looks much as I imagine it although the video is less sweaty than his prose.
Not sweaty here at all. Pleasantly warm, a little humidity but very pleasant in October.