The real swamp rats have masks

September 27th, 2010

So slightly anxious and nervous, I left Bay City to drive up the Gulf Coast. I drove on without a single plan on where I was going. I knew where my end point was (Greenville, North Carolina) but I had no idea what I was going to do between. With it being my first real night on this trip, and the first night camping since I was a kid, I decided to stop early in western Louisiana. Thanks to my Iphone, I decided on Sam Houston Jones State park near Lake Charles, LA

The website for the park included many upsides such as long hiking trails and fantastic birding. The reality left me a little wanting. The whole place felt more like a local park and RV park. While the tent area was fairly empty, the park itself was filled with screaming kids and parents. The whole place felt like Lake Charles amusement park, with attractions including, playground, petting zoo, and convenient boardwalk for your children to ride their scooters on. This was not exactly the environment I imagined when I dreamed about this trip.


Slightly jaded, I unpacked my car and attempted to set up my camp for the first time. This was made harder by the fact I had only put up this tent once before and it clearly takes a little finesse. It took a couple tries and a little cussing, but I finally got up my tent, and got it looking half respectable. With that I decided to check out the rest of the park. The part hopefully away from all the people.

Even with the trail I took being 3 miles, I still managed to find grandmas, couples, and women walking the trails like a local park. While I realize people will be on trails in state parks, my evidence that this is different resides in the fact most of these folks were power walking, and didn't spend the night.

While the swamps are dramatic and stunningly contrast from most forests I was used to, the swamp still left me a little underwhelmed. While it was good to stretch my legs, by the end of the hike I was ready to get back to camp. I will admit it might just have been the lack of wildlife I found

Here were a few photos from the walk:










This is a good picture of the Louisiana swamp and bayou. What's filling up most of this picture including the middle is swamps filled with small pla













More swamp

















I wouldn't call this a swamp, but more of a bayou. The water is very dark, like most of the swampy habitats in the south. The leaves and other plant material sit on the bottom of the river, collecting. What happens is the pigments in the stale water stain the water a deep brown, coloring it.




Now's a good time to explain one questionable issue about the park and why I said it was a petting zoo.They feed their animals. This is a concept I know is frowned upon in most of the biological world. When animals become dependent on humans, they change their innate behaviors and can either turn dangerous or obnoxious.

What happens at this park is that it turns into a petting zoo with families coming out from the nearby areas to feed the animals. The park does their part by leaving out tins of food on the ground. While this leads to a collection of cute deer your child will enjoy feeding, it also leads to more dangerous animals like raccoons.

Now don't get me wrong. Raccoons are some of my favorite animals, and some of the cutest. I just don't want a wild animal near me, especially when he's hungry. Which is exactly what happened.

This is your cute picture for the day. As I knelt down to take a picture of the family of raccoons feasting on the state parks offer to the gods, this little guy snuck up on me. By the time I lifted my head up from the camera, I had a raccoon a foot away from me. I wish I would have named him, and part of me wishes I would have pet him, but that would have been a bad idea.

Within a minute of taking pictures, I started attracting attention. There were 15 people enjoying the animals, but only 1 (me) paying any attention to the raccoons. Whether it was the neglect or the greed inherent in raccoons, I soon came face to face with the zombie horde of raccoons. And quickly became the most popular person around. As the onslaught of cute began its way towards me, they started getting meaner and meaner. Eventually fights started breaking out for who would get to meet me, and arguments ensued.

I'll admit it's good to feel loved. And I'll admit its good to be the mayor of Raccoonville, but I wasn't feeling it was time to get my rabies shot, and quickly got up to leave the scene.
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Zoom in to see the saddest raccoon


Later on my trip to the bathroom, I was given a little knowledge on the situation:

And this sign was explained further, by the 10 raccoons ransacking my neighbors campsite. Food, item, and camping items were spread throughout their campsite.

I even managed to find one checking out my campsite, who I quickly chased up a tree and harassed him with photos. That'll teach him. And yes that's my head lamp adding light to the scene.


To celebrate my victory, I cooked my first dinner on my sweet propane grill. The design of this grill is so genius and so cheap, that I marveled at my ability to find it. Who needs fancy burners and a container, when all you really need is a propane tank and a piezoelectric switch? Genius I say, Genius.

With night falling and the campground quieting down, I decided to talk a walk on the nearby boardwalk that lay over the surrounding swamp. The kids were gone to bed or back to Lake Charles, and the night was much more peaceful. The cool air, bright stars, and singing crickets helped ease some of my first day anxieties. I slept more peaceful than I anticipated.

The morning turned out to be a good one too, with the air filled with birds. Prothonotary Warblers, Pileated woodpeckers, and even a Louisiana Waterthrush were a few of the birds that joined me for breakfast. I though twice about leaving, but decided it was time to get back on the road. So by 10am I had my stuff packed away and started my next long drive.