| One
of my favorite things about staying in state parks is taking
walks along their nature trails. I think I especially enjoyed
this one since I hadn't been able to do this sort of thing in
a while. |
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I started
out walking around the ruins of the sugar mill that operated
on the Fontainebleau Plantation between 1828 and 1852. I always
find these sort of historical sites fascinating and I enjoyed
imagining what life must have been like here in its hey-day. |
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An entrance
to the 3 nature trails is right across the road, so I started
out to follow the signs to the Alligator Marsh Boardwalk. I
just loved the quiet, peaceful feel of the mossy trees with
only the sounds of the birds to accompany me. |
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Arriving
at the Boardwalk, I didn't see any alligators, but did see
this snake slithering through the marsh. I have no idea what
it was, but saw signs warning about cottonmouths, so I was
especially careful not to fall in!
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I particularly
got a kick out of this scene. As I was approaching this section,
these ladies were all so intent on looking for birds through
their binoculars, they were totally unaware of this heron looking
like he was watching them as he was practically walking up to
them! |
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Back
on the trail, I finally came out near the Pavillion with an
expansive view of Lake Pontchartrain and nice facilities for
large picnics and get-togethers. |
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After
such a great walk, I was ready for some Louisiana fortification.
I had been thrilled to see a suburban Cafe
Du Monde only about 5 miles from the park when I was coming
in on US 190. You just can't visit the New Orleans area and
not get covered with powered sugar from eating beignets and
getting jazzed up on cafe au lait! |
