Louisiana Bayou

Yesterday, December 25, we decided to go to the Bayou and walk the nature trail near Lake Ponchatrain. After it had rained during the night, the wind was quite strong and the temp had dropped to about 46. Normally we would have been sniveling about how cold it was but after hearing how nasty the Christmas storm is reaking havoc on Tennessee, Alabama, Carolinas and up the coast - we have nothing to complain about. There is a hard freeze warning for tonight so we will have to disconnect the water from the RV, store the hoses inside, and Dave will have to put on the light underneath where the water valves are. There is enough heat emitted from a 60 watt bulb to make sure our water system doesn't freeze up. But, that means we will have to live with a bucket of water in the bathroom to flush the toilet. In the morning he'll rehook up the water, then we can heat the hot water tank - and life will be good. A little inconvenience, but not bad.
We were sorely disappointed with the Joyce Wildlife area walk. When we camped last winter in Old Town, FL the campground was located on the Suwanee River and they had built a boardwalk to the river. Alligators and all. This boardwalk was okay - but very slippery from the rain - was afraid I'd slip and fall right into the bayou. From there we drove towards Slidell, the town that also got wiped out from Katrina but there is Big Bend Marsh Wildlife area, so we thought we'd continue our walk and go for it. Again, sorely disappointed, but glad we did go, saw so much devastation and so much poor, and I do mean dirt poor, homes. All up on stilts and people still living in homes that were half demolished. Makes you so humble and grateful for what you have. Got back to the RV about 4pm and the sun came out - go figure. Made a nice warm dinner and Chip decided he wanted to eat at the table with us - here's a pic of him staring at Dave's glass of wine - waiting for dinner. He likes Merlot. Tomorrow we will head into Baton Rouge and visit a Rural Farmland that is sponsored for LSU. And the weather should be greatly improved, otherwise we'd go today.