Fillmore Family: Trip to Louisiana

Looking behind us as we leave the boat docking area. On each side of us is the freeway (I-10) just east of Baton Rouge, LA. The freeway has an 18 mile long bridge over this swamp - the Atchafalaya Swamp which is twice the size of the Everglades.

This is the Water Hyacinth - an invasive species. Beautiful to behold but it clogs the bayous and kills off native plants. It also kills off the water life since it depletes the water of oxygen.

Typically of many views in the swamp. It was a spectacularly beautiful place.

Brock

Kaylee as watching as we are returning to the docking area.

Here is Jim holding one of the wild baby alligators that our guide led us to and caught for us. They were hard to spot and harder to catch! They had reddish strips that went around their bodies. At this stage, their teeth are tiny and can't break the skin. You can see Brock in the background, very interested but keeping his distance.

One of the many Snowy Egrets that we saw during our 3+ hours in the swamp. We saw birds everywhere. The guide assured us that if we came back in the spring, we'd see thousands as they nested and raised their chicks.

Kaylee was the brave one. She couldn't wait to hold the baby alligator. Her brothers weren't nearly as enthusiastic. This is about as close as Trevor would get. Brock got up enough courage to touch the alligator if I held it.