Our weekend off

First we welcome Ira and Vicky. Glad to see you here!

Having last Saturday free from our care responsibilities of Len's mother, we decided to take advantage of the opportunity and go for a nice drive.

This is the Calcasieu River as it runs through Lake Charles, La. We drove along the shores in part of the city that is home to several river front homes the like of which we would never be able to afford.

The dock of one home.

The home.

From there we left Lake Charles driving the Creole Trail. We have driven this approximately 100 trail not long after Hurricane Rita whipped through. At that time all we saw was destruction. We were amazed at the changes this time. Where before we saw houses off their foundation and lots of blue tarp roofs, this time we saw very little evidence of a hurricane's force and many new homes. However, most new homes were built on ground that was raised several feet or on tall stilts which would allow the water surges to flow under the building. Still - this area gets hit with severe storms every several years. But the people continue to rebuild.

I have been coming to Louisiana almost 23 years. Until this ride I had never seen an alligator in the wild. This trip more than made up for it.

There are several driving and walking trails off the Creole Trail. Pintail Drive is a driving trail in the Cameron Wildlife Refuge between Lake Charles and the town of Creole. As we drove this trail, we wish we had counted the number of gators we saw. They were abundant in every direction.

To cross over the Calcasieu ship channel, a ferry has to be crossed. The channel runs from the Gulf of Mexico to Calcasieu Lake.

This is the small car ferry that is crossed. We have crossed this ferry before but this is the first time there was a charge. It is $.25 for walk on passengers and $1.00 for vehicles. We were the first car lined up to board. When the attendant came to collect our toll, she asked if we were over 65. Since I am, we did not have to pay the toll. Age does have some benefits

Heading back toward the town of Sulphur, you drive through the Sabine National Wildlife Preserve. We stopped to walk the 1.5 mile trail that takes you out into the marsh. We again saw some gators and also these turtles sunning themselves on the bank.

This walkway leads to a platform overlooking the area.

Most of the walk is on a concrete walk. However, one section requires an elevated boardwalk. As we crossed via the boardwalk, Len noticed the snake seen here in the lower portion of the picture. He believes it is a young cottonmouth. Sure glad we were on that boardwalk.

This drive and day was desperately needed as we prepared for another week of caregiving.