The food was great, Cajun hospitality is awesome and Louisiana is truly a sportsmans paradise. Everyone should try to get there at some point, especially if you like nature photography.
We saw a lot of animals that we don't normally get to see in The Shoals and a lot of animals that are native here. In almost all cases, the animals that were common to both the Shoals and Bayou Black, the animals in the swamps were both larger and more colorful. The Herons seemed to be about a third larger than I'm used to.
There were two "kinds" of raccoons present as well, what we call "our" raccoons, and another variation referred to as a "Swamp Coon". These were a very Reddish color and shaped a little bit more like a small bear. They were very curious about us as well. A lot of times they would come close to us and stand up to get a better look at us, (or their environment). The one thing they would absolutely not do is enter or get too near the waters edge. Around where we live, raccoons commonly will mill around the edge of the water foraging for crawfish and other prey items, however in Bayou Black, they never got too close to the edge of the water for fear of the alligators.
As for the alligators... A 14' alligator looks pretty big on Animal Planet, however when one is swimming straight for you and comes within 6 or 8 feet, IT'S PRETTY STINKIN' HUGE! We were fortunate enough to get a couple of very large gators to approach enough to get some photos. One 12' long and a monster that was a little over 14', according to the folks that led us into the swamp. In fact, Alice, our nickname for the 14' gator, did some significant damage to the boat on our last day in the swamp. Just a few seconds before she became irritated, I was laying near the waters edge taking photos of her as she approached. Next time, I think I'll be a little more cautious.
I hope you enjoy the photos from the trip, I'll be adding more in the next few weeks as time permits, and maybe adding more stories from the trip as well.
Thanks everyone,
Joe & Val
