After having a week filled with writing and tasks, we thought we’d take Saturday completely off, doing as little as possible. Much to our surprise and delight, Donny came by midafternoon and invited us to go birding and adventuring with him, over towards the Texas border.
Oak Grove to Texas and back
We crossed Calcasieu Pass on the Cameron Ferry – Chelsea and I love ferries, so that was a treat. At the ferry crossing, we saw many boats for the oil industry, from spud barges to lift barges (see notes below), to work boats (bringing supplies and materials out to the oil rigs in the Gulf) and crew boats (bringing the crews and supplies out to the oil rigs). Bird-wise we saw great egrets, lots of gulls, a yellow-crowned night heron, and lots of brown pelicans (which made us feel at home).
We saw Holly Beach as we passed through, then we turned north on Hwy 27 to see the Sabine Wildlife Refuge. We did the entire walk on the wetlands route, slowly, seeing as much as we could with our binoculars. Much of the vegetation was wiped out in the hurricanes, but to us it was still beautiful. It’s all flat marshlands now, with no large trees.
The bathrooms haven’t yet been repaired, and there are no extras, but the walkways have been redone beautifully. We didn’t see many birds except what we’ve been used to seeing, but we were delighted to have seen the refuge.
After the Sabine Refuge, just before Johnson’s Bayou, we stopped at the Peveto Bird and Butterfly Sanctuary, sponsored by the Baton Rouge Audubon Society. The Sanctuary was really battered by the hurricanes. We spotted remnants of posts marking walkways; we saw the top part of several birdbaths amidst the brush; benches had been torn apart and washed off their original spots; and all markings were gone. The entire area was full of broken branches, and the bushes were denuded.
Despite the wreckage it was easy to see that it had once been gorgeous. Huge old oak trees are still standing, though they’re a bit battered, and pathways are still visible. Through the trees the Gulf is visible, with waves crashing against the breakwater just offshore. The area gives a feeling of serenity.
There are signs of recovery – someone put the large visitor’s sign introducing the sanctuary upright and leaned it against a few pilings that remain of the original pavilion. There’s a brand new bench in the midst of the brush, and there’s a new box covering the water outlets for hoses. It was heartening to see the signs of rebound.
Our next stop was Don Billiot’s place in back of Johnson’s Bayou, where we’ll be staying on our next night after leaving here. We met Don and his wife Faye, and looked at our “accommodations”. They’ve got what they call a barn, but it’s not our idea of a barn.
Don and Faye lost everything – literally everything (nothing was found of their home, barn or anything else) – in Rita, and then lost everything again in Ike, less than three years later. They now have what’s called a camper trailer – meaning it’s small enough to be towed. In case of another hurricane, they will simply hook the trailer up to a truck and haul it out. Meanwhile, everything is new.
The barn is a metal building on a concrete slab floor, absolutely spotless. It’s clearly used for some storage, but it’s got a washer and dryer, a refrigerator with freezer, a chest freezer, a small couch that doubles as a pull-out bed, and a stove. We will have to put up our tent because of the mosquitoes (the building doesn’t seal), but it will be luxury camping for us. There’s no bathroom, but I’m sure we’ll be able to use Don and Faye’s.
We have a big comfort factor knowing where our next stop is, and meeting our hosts in advance.
After Johnson’s Bayou we headed off to Pleasure Island on the border of Louisiana and Texas. We drove the extent of Pleasure Island, entering into Texas – very exciting! We saw the bridge we’ll be crossing, and we decided on the spot that we’ll catch a ride across the bridge.
We didn’t get back to Oak Grove until almost 8:30, but we are now prepared for the next fifty miles or so, and we loved getting the chance to see the wildlife areas.
Sailing – Grand Chenier to Lake Arthur
Paul Cassity, along with several members of the Lake Arthur Yacht Club, planned a long weekend’s outing to Grand Chenier and back to Lake Arthur, Thursday to Sunday. Most of the boats were going down the Mermentau River to the IntraCoastal Canal and from there sailing east over to Freshwater Bayou. They planned on taking Freshwater Bayou Canal down to the Gulf, then coming out in the Gulf and sail over to the Mermentau River, entering the Mermentau at the Grand Chenier bridge.
Paul’s 27-foot sailboat boat is older, and he says it’s the slowest of the boats, so he wasn’t keen on going out in the Gulf. He’d have to be sure he was in through the bridge at Grand Chenier before 6 p.m. when the bridge closes, and that might have been iffy. He opted for continuing on down the Mermentau River through Grand Lake straight to Grand Chenier.
We met up with Paul in Grand Chenier early Sunday morning so we could sail with him back up to Lake Arthur. With skies overcast, winds blowing at 14 mph (gusting to 23 mph), and a weather forecast of severe weather (rain, lightning, high wind and potential hail), we faced an interesting six to eight hour trip upriver.
We had a gorgeous ride the whole way. Paul put up the sails early on, and we motor-sailed for quite a distance. I took over the helm when he put up the sails, and stayed at the helm until we were inside the yacht club – I got a great deal of experience on this ride, with the wind and waves.
The only dicey part for me was out on Grand Lake. The wind was quite strong and was gusting to boot, and we were frequently “running with a quartering sea”. It was much harder for me, as inexperienced as I am, to keep to course with the wave action and the wind gusts.
Paul complimented me several times on my handling of the boat (I was thrilled with his praise), and Chelsea told me I did wonderfully too. I will admit to practicing my deep breathing a number of times. Chelsea did a great job helping out with the ropes and sails.
At one point out on Grand Lake, Paul cut the engine and we were only sailing. It was quite a thrill. He walked us through everything (Chelsea was on the ropes and I was on the helm) and we did a perfect tack (Paul’s words!). The only problem was that we dropped to just above three mph, and with the threat of a severe thunderstorm ahead, we had to start the engines again.
Just after we finished the lunch Paul prepared for us, we hit a big cold front of air with gusty winds (the water and waves had gotten much calmer once we got out of Grand Lake and crossed the IntraCoastal). The temperature dropped about fifteen degrees in only a few minutes, and we thought for sure we were about to get rain.
Not only did nothing happen, but the winds dropped quite a bit. By the time we docked at the Yacht Club, the winds were dead calm – for the first time in perhaps six weeks!
Donny drove up from Sweet Lake to pick us up and bring us back to Oak Grove. We all chatted awhile with the remaining members of the sailing excursion, then took off for home. It was really tough to say good-bye to Paul; we have so much fun on our outings together.
My world was rocking for hours after our return home. I checked my email and checked the weather, and the laptop was rocking gently from side to side, as was the dinner table. By bedtime things were still rocking – the bed and the walls just kept slowly rocking back and forth. I was so glad to awaken on Monday morning and find the world was still again!
We’re spending this week writing and catching up on tasks – Chelsea is still transcribing the session with Benny Welch, and I’m working on an article on mosquito repellent strategies. After skipping last week’s rides, we are back at it this week – in fact, we saw four dolphins this morning feeding and frolicking in the Mermentau River!
Oak Grove LA
Notes:
We love knowing as much as we can about the areas we’re in, so I always do research on things I don’t know. I’ve got definitions here for the various types of boats we’ve seen around the area; I took the following definitions directly from the site listed at the end (in the interests of full disclosure).
*** “A spud barge is a vessel that uses heavy timber or pipe as a means by which to moor. The timber or pipe is located in a well at the bottom of the boat, and acts in the same function as would an anchor. Spud barges are riverboats that are most commonly used as work barges, or as a loading or unloading platform.”
*** “Lift barges are large, flat-decked vessels designed to haul and transfer products and equipment too heavy for standard transportation. Many lift barges can also function as mobile dry docks; capable of lifting and securing vessels in excess of 15,000 tons.”
*** “Jack up barges are a self-contained combination of a drilling rig and a floating barge, fitted with long support legs that are dropped to the sea floor once the barge reaches the desired drilling location. Once the barge is properly positioned, the support legs are dropped to the seafloor and driven into the bottom to ensure vessel stability. A pre-loaded jacking mechanism attached to the barge and drilling system then raises the barge above the water to a predetermined height, so that it is unencumbered by wave, tidal and current conditions.”
http://www.resource4admiraltylaw.com/topics/bargeaccidents.html