Just outside of New Orleans is 20,000 acres of swamp land called the Barataria Preserve. Coming on the heels of a soggy day with little sun we were told that, unfortunately, alligators wouldn't be out. Cold blooded creatures, they typically only come out of their holes after it has been in the 70's for a couple of consecutive days.
Walking the first two trails we were indeed unlucky, though that depends how you look at it I suppose. The beauty of the swamp, even in February, was unreal. With the exception of a few trees missing their leaves, green foilage and growth greeted us in every direction. Colorful lichen dotted the trees. The swamp was teeming with color and life. But no gators.
As a formality we went to the third trail, Twin Canals, to see how long it was. Right out of the parking lot we spotted a young gator, sitting still as a stone in the canal. Many more sightings were to come, maybe 5 in total.
The woods were alive and mysterious-rattling leaves, rusling bushes, splashes in the swamp. Since the trail floor was carpeted with discarded leaves, conditions favored by a poisonous swamp snake, it was also unnervingly alive. Giant flys, tiny salamanders, lizards and snapping turtles could be seen everywhere, if they were slow enough hiding and you fast enough to spot them.
Our greatest find of the day was a gigantic bull (adult male) alligator sunning, most of it's body out of water. Now for the faint of heart it's best not to think of how hard we had to work to get the pictures we did (Isaiah in full Crocidile Hunter mode at points climbing trees and dangling from branches over the water). It was a heart shuddering and absolutely unbelievable nature walk. To reassure those who might be concerned, we didn't actually see any real movement from any of the alligators, they merely sat eyeing us, perhaps hoping the tree branches underneath Isaiah weren't load bearing.
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