In June, we spent two weeks in Texas. While my husband had some meetings the boys and I headed to Houma, LA, the second-happiest city in the US, and our home for three years. Ten minutes in to Louisiana, a roseate spoonbill, a native bird I’d never, ever seen, flew over our car, kind of like a state ambassador welcoming us back.
I was determined to go on a swamp tour while we were in town — something we never got around to doing when we lived in Houma (though we sure loved our swamp adventures). I scheduled a trip with Cajun Man Swamp Tours, invited some friends to come along.
The super personable “Black” Guidry was our guide (check him out here in this Kia commercial). As there were French Canadians on board, Black gave the tour in both English and French, which was a lovely little Cajun bonus.
Oh, we sweltered. But there was Spanish moss!
And cypress knees (those little knobby things poking out of the water on the left-hand side)!
Egrets!
Even Leroy came to visit!
The tour felt especially personal knowing OVER IN THE WETLANDS, my picture book love letter to Coastal Louisiana, is coming out sometime next year.
A few days after the tour I stumbled on these gorgeous WETLANDS images from illustrator Rob Dunlavey’s studio.
The tour, that spoonbill, those illustrations, they were all like coming home.
Faith Hough says
August 4, 2014 at 8:10 amBeautiful pictures–though I can just imagine the heat! I visited Louisiana/Mississippi the summer before Hurricane Katrina, and it took me by surprise; I’d just never seen anything like those live oaks and cypresses and the abundance of wildlife. We were “rained in” with a “small” tropical storm, and the windows were crawling with little sticky-toed frogs.
I can’t wait to read your picture book to my girls!
Caroline starr rose says
August 4, 2014 at 8:58 amIt really is another world. Glad you got to experience it. The rain can be crazy.
Kimberley Griffiths Little says
August 5, 2014 at 11:42 amOh, I loved seeing these pictures! The swamp tours I’ve taken throughout Louisiana over the years (6 so far!) are some of my favorite experiences. The last one we did was outside of Houma and there were French Canadians on board, too! So fun to listen to them and our guide talk to each other. I even understood a bit of the questions and convo! 🙂
Caroline says
August 5, 2014 at 3:18 pmI wonder if your tour was with Black. He’s right outside Houma down Bayou Black Rd. It would be too fun to visit Houma with you sometime!
Kimberley Griffiths Little says
August 5, 2014 at 3:40 pmYep, it was down Bayou Black Road! An older man was our guide, and we held his baby alligators on his front porch. He’d named the alligators down the bayou that we saw, too. 🙂 It was June 2011 when I went to ALA in New Orleans, and then got lost leaving NO headed to Houma late that night. Too dark to see some of the turns! Arrived at midnight. Humid as a sauna that weekend.
Many years before that we were out with a fisherman and got caught in a rainstorm way out and it poured on us for almost an hour as we made our way back. Before the rain it was fantastic! That was in Patterson on the Bayou Teche.
And then there was that time we went canoeing at Lake Fausse State Park – just the two of us – and a mullet jumped in our boat . . . 🙂
Caroline says
August 5, 2014 at 3:46 pmToo fun!!!
I bet you anything it was the same tour. We met alligators Leroy and Peewee.
Kimberley Griffiths Little says
August 5, 2014 at 5:13 pmI’m pretty sure I remember Leroy! 🙂
Margaret Simon says
August 6, 2014 at 3:53 pmOf course, you were in my own backyard. I look forward to your picture book. The illustrations look wonderful. Next time you are in the area we should get together. Have some crawfish or somethin’.
Caroline says
August 6, 2014 at 4:48 pmThat would be grand!