“Creole Nature Trail" – Part 2 (5/26/09)

The Creole Nature Trail is just over 180 miles long. It can be accessed from Sam Houston Jones State Park, from I-10/Exit 20 at Sulphur, LA, or from I-10/Exit 36, LA 397. The tour route signage is good. The tour route heads south toward the Gulf Coast, primarily on LA 27. In addition to seeing some wildlife, we wanted to see how the coastal communities have recovered from Hurricane Ike last fall (2008).

We began on the western arm of the tour route, coming down from Sam Houston Jones State Park. The route passes through agricultural areas until reaching the Intracoastal Waterway just north of Hackberry. Then we started seeing signs for fishing guides, RV parking, crawfish and crab for sale – the focus now changes to water activities.

We crossed the Waterway on the Ellender Bridge, and stopping for lunch at the Intracoastal Park on the south side of the bridge. This was a really pleasant stop. The Intracoastal Waterway goes from New England all the way down to Brownsville, TX. We watched a couple of long barges – one going in each direction – as they navigated these protected waters.

Here’s a link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intracoastal_Waterway

“Calcasieu” Parish is pronounced “Calca-shoo”! We’ve really enjoyed listening to everyone’s Cajun accent. The Cajun (really Acadian) French dialect is now being taught in southwest Louisiana schools as an effort preserve the Cajun heritage. For so many years, the Cajun people have been the brunt of derogatory humor. Only recently has the richness of that culture been recognized and efforts made to save it.