Atchafalaya

The Atchafalaya (a Native American word meaning “long river”) stretches about 140 miles northward from the Gulf of Mexico with a floodplain more than 20 miles wide in places. Few roads cross this wilderness and access to the interior is hard for those without a boat and a guide to point the way. Lying just outside Atchafalaya’s western levee is Lake Fausse Pointe State Park where we are camping for the next three nights.

The drive from Buccaneer State Park, in Mississippi, was almost 190 miles. We passed into Louisiana about noon and crossed the Mississippi River at Baton Rouge.

We also passed an exit for the town of Rosedale. Notice the water/swamp just off the edge of the road.

We had made the turn off Interstate #10 onto Florida #362, a road that parallels Atchafalaya’s western levee for 26 miles to Lake Fausse Pointe State Park, when we came upon this scene.

We watched while one person was removed from a car that had gone about 50 yards off the road to the edge of a river.

Then we waited and waited for a tow truck to arrive.

And here is where we stayed for 1 1/2 hours.  Some people climbed up on the levee to get a better view and we followed.

This is the top of the levee and the river on the other side.

The road at the top of the levee.

While we were waiting we talked with the man in the truck, pulling a boat, that was ahead of us.

He’s a crawfish fisherman and he told us all about catching crawfish. This is one of about twenty traps that he uses. Nice white boots.

These crawfish in the back of his truck where still alive and squirming.

After about 1 hour, those who could drive up the access road to the top of the levee did so in order to bypass the closed road. We stayed put because we could not turn around to reach the access road.

Eventually they loaded the patients into the ambulance…

and the helicopter….

and pulled the car up from the bank. We were free to go.

Our campsite is right on Lake Fausse Pointe and we have our own dock.

Frederick is walking back from the dock (behind his shoulders) through our good-sized site.

After we unhitched we went for a walk to get to know the park better. There are 18 individual cabins on the Lake, but they are closed for the season.