We were on our way to the Turtle Bar and Marina. This involved going over the levee twice, a normal experience for people living in this area.
Lots of house boats here, some you can rent to stay in. Right now the water is low so they couldn't get out of this area.
An RV on the water, nice.
We were ready to "Let the good times roll".
And here is our tour boat. There were 7 of us on the tour.
Birdie and I grabbed the front seat so we would have a good view for picture taking.
Someone's home on the water.
The Cyprus trees are so unique. Almost all the cypress in the Atchafalaya Swamp are only 40 to 50 years old as the trees in the swamp were all cut for lumber in the 1950's.
Captain Tucker was very personable and a great guide. He took the time to tell us about the history of the area and the people living there.
The swamp is really a unique place to visit......not like what you might expect.
Someone built something in this group of trees.
You can see where the water was about 6 weeks so you can tell it is pretty low.
This is the area under I-10 as you are driving across the Atchafalaya.
Now we are heading into smaller water ways.
The boats have vinyl on the bottom so they can slide across almost anything.
Visitors........
Captain Tucker has been doing this for about 30 years. He actually clapped his hands and called the alligators by name in this area. He warned us to keep our hands in the boat (like I would be tempted to do anything else) but the alligators know him and he could handle them.
He was also feeding them so they were glad to see us.
This guy just got his chicken. You could tell they had their own pecking order
The distance from the eyes to the nose in inches is supposed to equal the length of the alligator in feet.
Alligator season is in September after they have mated so that it doesn't impact the new generation. Alligators were on the endangered list in the past but not any more. Alligator farming is a business in this area. A certain percentage of the farm raised alligators have to be returned to the wild.
You can see the two cuts in this tree that were made so that a board could be inserted.
Can you see the baby alligators here? There were a couple of generations sharing the next under this tree because some were only about 7 or 8 inches long while others were about 15 inches.
This was probable "mama" watching us from across the way. Baby alligators are pretty much on their own once they are born. They are very susceptible to predators their first year.
The boat on the right in this picture is another type of boat trip you can take from another marina.
Looks like someone's floating home. Because the water is low, the back is on the ground.
Looks like fun.
Our trip was fantastic and we were glad we chose the airboat tour because we went to a lot of different places. I would definitely recommend it.
Every time I've driven across the Atchafalaya I've wanted to take a boat ride into the swamp. I love the look of the cypress.
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