Louisiana: Palmetto Island State Park: Floating on the Bayou

Palmetto Island State Park, Louisiana

On the first Sunday of each month, there's a ranger-led canoe tip at Palmetto Island State Park. Free!

Palmetto Island State Park, Louisiana

Palmetto Island State Park, Louisiana

Lots of vultures about on the day we floated. It's not a good quality photo, but you can see a cluster of them in the tree below:

Palmetto Island State Park, Louisiana

I saw a lethargic snake on the bank, which the ranger identified as a yellow-bellied water snake. Can you see it in the picture below?

Palmetto Island State Park, Louisiana

I'll be writing more about this later - the disappearing of Louisiana - but I learned from the ranger that the people who do maps (USGS?) have begun to remove some location names from their current Louisiana maps because these locations no longer exist. They have eroded away.

Palmetto Island State Park, Louisiana

Louisiana: Palmetto Island State Park: Pigs and Swamp

Palmetto Island State Park, Louisiana

Some of the Louisiana parks participated in the First Day Hike program, and Palmetto Island State Park was one of them.

Feral pigs at Palmetto Island State Park, Louisiana

A hiking companion and I, and her kiddos, were the only ones to do go on the park's First Day Hike. (It was a little rainy today.)

Feral pigs at Palmetto Island State Park, Louisiana

I saw my first feral pigs. Smaller than I expected, but these were the sows, their little 'uns, and adolescents. I guess the boars can get pretty large (100-400 pounds) with tusks. The boars are loner types. The sows and young ones form groups called "sounders."

Pleasant Road, which leads to the park from State Road 82, has a stretch of swamp that's very pretty.

Did you notice the pretty yellow flowers? In January!

Pleasant Road near Palmetto Island State Park, Louisiana

There's a guided canoe trip at the park on the first Sunday of every month. I signed up for the next one.

Palmetto Island State Park, Louisiana