BAYOU & PLANTATION (Day 6 - part 1)

After another light breakfast at the hotel restaurant, we walked to the pick-up spot for our tour. We really wanted to visit one of the plantations. This tour offered one of the most famous ones AND also included another bayou tour. Who could resist that?

Maria, our driver, had an incredible wealth of knowledge and filled the time with countless interesting stories and history.

The crazy traffic of the French Quarter ... The minivan

Going over the Crescent City Connection bridge

Westwego was founded by the Texas and Pacific Railroad when it placed a railroad yard and docks on the Mississippi River just above the canal linking the river to Bayou Segnette and then to the Gulf of Mexico. No one is quite sure how the town got its name, but the story goes that as travelers departed the station they would hear the conductor yell “west we go”. A railroad engineer first publicized the name in 1873.

We ended up going to the exact same location as our previous tour, Bayou Segnette just outside of Westwego. But that was ok because one can never get TOO many alligators in one's life.

We didn't even have to get on a boat to see one! An alligator lazily drifted around the dock.

Instead of an airboat, we were on a larged covered boat. ... Today was Mark's (our driver and guide) last day before retirement!

Even though we saw many of the same sites, we also went to several different places. Mark also shared different stories.

Leaving the dock ... It takes the shrimp boats 8 hours to reach the Gulf from here.

One of two pumping stations to control storm surges

Passing through the Bayou Segnette Sector floodgate

The second pumping station

Could this be the same double-crested cormorant?

Lapalco Blvd bridge ... and out into the bayou. We went fairly quickly here to get what Mark referred to as "Cajun air-co".

Swamp wood is very flammable, which is a big reason the French Quarter burned down several times.

Bald cypress trees ... and a great egret

We saw MANY alligators so I basically just lumped them all together here, although some individuals were actually recognizable. Mark had names for them, such as Scarface, Big Head, or No Tail.

Alligators tend to stay in their own territory, which about a one mile range at the most. They can live up to 60 years and grow up to 15 feet long. They grow an foot per year for the first 4 years, then it comes slower and more sporadic. The young can feed themselves from the moment they hatch, but mom generally protectes them for the first 3 years. They will eat fish, birds and even rodents.

In general, alligators are scared of people.

Feeding time!

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