Tuesday, January 10th, 2023 - Taking in the natural beauty and history surrounding the areas outside of New Orleans!
On a Whim
I had finished teaching school at 2:15 and Nate said let's go to Fontainebleau State Park. So we were off! It's open 6am - 9pm everyday and located on the shore of Lake Pontchartrain, boasting hikes, beaches, live oaks, and a sugar mill built in 1829. We packed up the cats and set out.
The Drive
Does anyone else have unreliable GPS directions constantly being given to them by their phones? Our phones have been very confused by the roads here and sending us in crazy directions when a way easier path is obvious to us. We take the way easier path when it is apparent but sometimes the phones get the best of us still.
Anyway, who has heard of the Lake Pontchartrain Causeway?? A 23 mile highway stretching over the lake? For miles we drove and saw nothing but the vastness of the water, with the occasional duck or heron flying or swimming by. Interestingly enough, there is only a charge one way on this bridge, so as we drove North we got to drive for free. On the way back we avoided the $5.00 toll by driving around and stopping for dinner along the way.
Image from https://www.travelthefoodforthesoul.com/the-ultimate-guide-to-lake-pontchartrain-causeway-bridge/ - site has way more interesting info about the bridge!
Arriving
The sounds of birds and bugs was so loud in this place. We pulled off at the sugar mill which was a pile of bricks. We were standing surrounded by woods yet to my surprise, there was a scattering of seashells on the ground.
This was right next to the Sugar Mill, built back in 1829. It was really just piles of bricks, resembling structures, one pile resembled a tower. The structures were covered in plants, and there was a gate surrounding the area. It was cool to see because we are reading Little House on the Prairie and Laura Ingalls was born in 1867. So something built in 1829 really put what we are reading into perspective.
Visitors Center - So Much to LEARN!
We stopped inside the visitor center, it had a lot of good information about hikes in the park and the history of the area. In addition to information about the humans who occupied this land, there were displays about the wildlife in the area, and the effects of Hurricane Katrina.
It has been sobering to see the places that were hit by the 2005 storm. Nate and I can both remember watching it unfold on the news, we were 8 years old. When the storm came Northward, it had picked up a lot of water from Lake Pontchartrain and trees and wildlife in Fontainebleau State Park took a beating. Many plants and trees had been completely uprooted during the storm, and the park had to close down while people came to clean up and replant.
The park reopened back up to the public in stages, with the final stage in 2008.
Beach Views
From the beach you could see wayyyy off in the distance, the Pontchartrain Causeway. It was a tiny line in the distance that disappeared on the horizon, then a little further down you could see where the bridge rises up higher then dips down again into nothingness.
Luna, Lucy, and I looking out at the lake. The bridge is way out there to the right of us.
The sunshine was warm, and the Cyprus trees all around were fun for the cats to explore through. It was also the cats first time seeing so much sand - I thought they would be so excited but they were really just confused at first. They were a little weird walking in it at the start, but that didn't take long for them to get used to.
People were swimming, walking out on the pier to the gazebo that was out over the lake, or playing music and just enjoying the views. We decided we wanted to be there at sunset so we should go and look at the oak trees we passed earlier. We put the cats in their backpacks and they looked out at the world while we walked away from the beach and towards the oaks.
To the Oaks!
The ground was very wet, I wished I had remembered to put on my hiking boots. We passed a sign for an alligator boardwalk hike but knew we didn't have enough time so right then we knew we would have to come back here. The closer we got to these trees, the more in awe we were. All around us all we could hear were breezes softly blowing the leaves/branches, birds chirping and fluttering about, and buzzing sounds from bugs in the woods. We saw a couple deer in the distance, grazing on the grass. There weren't many people there at all on a Tuesday in January which is how we like it.
Lucy Never Thinks Before She Acts
The cats loved the hanging leaves, climbing up the low and wide branches, and listening to the sounds all around us made by the animals who lived there. Lucy had me worried when she went up a tree branch so quickly with such ambition! I stopped her from going up so high out of my reach and she looked over at the branch hanging about 3-4 feet away and geared herself up to jump. Of course she was also about to attempt this over a puddle - the whole ground was varying from dry to completely flooded and she had chosen a branch that was over a flooded part of course.
See that look in Lucy's eyes - she's always searching for something to get into.
I made her leash more taunt so that she knew it would not let her attempt this jump. Luna was also climbing up behind her making the branch more cramped. Lucy has gotten stuck up high in trees and needed to be saved with a ladder before, so I was not trying to deal with that scenario today. I had saved some of their favorite treats for them to have on their outing today and suddenly remembered I had those. As soon as we said "treats" both cats came climbing down the branch as fast as they could manage - the pros of having food motivated pets!
Sunset Pier Walk
We decided the sun was getting low and we better walk back to the beach. We walked out on the pier which was another first for Luna and Lucy. I didn't know how they would react to being surrounded by water on all sides. Lucy wanted to walk and she did so briskly all along the path with no plants or things there to distract her. She kept a decent pace to the gazebo at the end and went right to the rails to step out and look out and down at the water below. Of course now I got to imagine what would we do if she fell off and into the water below, so I kept the leash taunt and she peered over with half her body through the rails.
Lucy walked around to look out from all sides, Luna came out of her backpack to also look around. We were the only people out there and got some photos, gave the cats a lickable treat from a tube which they LOVE. They were purring loudly enjoying their treats while we enjoyed the views and the sounds of the waters. We went back and this time Lucy rode in the backpack while Luna walked herself down the pier, only stopping once or twice to look out at the land from where we were.
Kitties vs. Noisy Waves
At the beach again, we walked along where the waves rolled up on the shore, creating a noise that was unfamiliar and concerning for the cats. They had heard this sound before on a hike that came close to water and were both terrified. This time, Lucy stayed cautious, but decided to be brave and investigate. She would sniff and paw at the water until a wave came up, sending her jerking backwards towards safety. Then when the danger ceased, she would repeat the process in fast intervals since these waves kept coming and coming. Eventually she was able to just sit by that water and she looked out at it with us from her spot.
Meanwhile, Luna had jumped down from her bag, and started digging into the sand. She did use the bathroom and bury it but we had been carrying bags around with us for in case this happened. We scooped up her business and were surprised to find that afterwards she became very nervous. She got a little jumpy running in quick bursts and then ran to her backpack to stay there. We decided now was as good a time as any to head back to the car so we scooped up Lucy who was still watching the waves and headed back. Lucy hopped right into their car crate but Luna needed some coaxing which was unusual. The ride home they got busy grooming themselves from the sand and the wet areas of the grass and then settled into a nap.
Jobs Fill Your Pockets, Adventure Fills Your Soul
-Jamie Lynn Beatty
Going home took a while since we stopped to grab dinner and avoided the bridge to avoid the tolls. The cats slept the whole time and upon returning, ate their usual dinner and went right to bed.
All in all, a very successful outing and we certainly hope we will return here before we leave! And yes, we will definitely want to bring the cats with us again! Please don't hesitate to ask questions, leave comments, or share your own adventures or insights about the park or area!
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