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Published: January 5th 2014
Bayou
Lake Fausse Point CampgroundWe arrived at Lake Fausse Point State Park after dark on the December 29. We had traveled many miles over bridged highways that spanned miles and miles of bayou on Highway 10. Those of you who have campers know what a treat it can be to park an RV in the dark. In this case we were also in a park that was full of large family groups with lots kids still riding bikes after dark and generally doing what kids do.....around our moving camper. Our neighbors however, were very kind; they brought out their flashlights and helped watch different corners of the camper as Ron maneuvered into a tight spot. More helpers is not always a good thing, but we finally got settled in and thanked all the good folks who had strong accents , just like those guys on the alligator show.
The park has 3 different nature trails. We took the one called Armadillo Ridge. Along the way we spotted a barred owl, an eagle flew into a tree carrying a fish to eat, 2 pelicans repeatedly dove for fish, an anhinga, a pileated woodpecker, a blue heron, a kingfisher, a great egret, a yellow rump warbler,
a robin, goldfinches galore and 5 armadillos . And this is the short trail.
The area around the park and New Iberia grows sugar cane and January is harvest time. Ron pulled over at a farm field of sugar cane, cut off a stalk and we chewed on it to see if it was sweet, and it was! Not candy sweet , but certainly sweet.
At one time this was a rice producing area but has since changed over to sugar cane. We took a tour of the oldest working rice mill in the US which is located in New Iberia. Interesting bit of information on rice growing - they actually grow 2 crops in a rice field at the same time. Rice, of course , is the first one, but the other is crawfish. The crawfish live in the muddy fields and feed on the rice debris once it is harvested. They grow to a good size by April and are harvested by using funnel traps and then the rice is planted again, grows , is harvested, and all the while the little crawfish that are in the mud grow up and the
Sugar Cane
The tall stand is ready to be harvested in January cycle starts over.
This area was also made famous by an epic poem written by Longfellow published in 1847 called Evangeline. The poem is based on a true story about a time when the British forcibly removed French speaking Acadians from the area around Nova Scotia and Maine in 1755. In the poem an engaged couple , Evangeline and Gabriel, are separated during this forced exodus. Evangeline spends years searching for Gabriel and when she at last finds him he is sick and weak and dies in her arms. The story is, supposedly, based on the real life events of Emmeline Labiche and Louis Arceneaux . They really were seperated on their wedding day and Emmeline did search for Louis. She finally found him in St. Martinsville, LA, but he had married. When Emmeline heard the news she fell ill, died and was buried in the church cemetary. There is a tree called the Evangeline tree that shows the spot where she heard the news that broke her heart. I did a bit of research after reading the legend while visiting St. Martinsville. None of it seems to be true , but it makes for a wonderful
story and Longfellow helped spawn a whole tourist industry in the area based on the legend. In fact that seems to be about the only thing that St. Martinsville has going for it right now. The once quaint town now looks like so many others that we have seen across the country with one empty store front after another, while down the street there is a Wal-mart doing a booming business.
Ron and I are playing continuous rounds of 2-handed euchre - so far 34 games - total scores to date Ron:236 Tam:285
Here is a recipe for a handy little treat that we have on hand in the camper.
It is called
3,2,1 Mug Cake ---- Mix together in a gallon zip lock bag - 1 Angel Food Cake mix with any other cake mix that you like - I usually use chocolate,
In a coffee mug mix together
3 Tablespoons of the cake mix,
2 Tablespoons of water and zap in a micro wave for
1 Minute. And there you have a little treat that satisfies a sweet craving. We usually make this in
Church Cemetary
Above ground cemetery just like in the New Orleans area disposal paper bowls and swirl some jam through it before zapping. You can also add chocolate chips or nuts , top with cool whip etc.
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Ellen
non-member comment
Well Helloo
I am reading your blog after helping the neighbors help us remove another 5-6 inches of snow from the driveway. So far we have removed about 10 inches. It is now 5:30 pm and it is supposed to snow til 4 am. St. Martinville may not look so bad now!!! Love your blogs.