Location: Lake Fausse State Park, Louisiana
We love Louisiana, it just might be my favorite State. It has a little bit of everything - great food, potent alcohol that's readily available (as in drive-in Daiquiris stands), ecclectic culture and music, tropical weather, insane wildlife, and the people are fun, bordering on crazy. Where else can you find a drive-thru crawfish restaurant? In Cajun' Country we have a favorite little out of the way place to eat. It's located in New Iberia and called, "Bon Creole". The first time thru this part of Louisiana we couldn't find the place, the second time - after much searching - we found it. It's very nondescript and not advertised. We couldn't wait to revisit the place.
Ned holding an alligator head, some of the fine decor inside the restaurant.
By the time we left Texas (finally - dang that's a big state) and traveled through Louisiana we reached Bon Creole late afternoon. Yes ma'am, we were hungry and ready for some Cajun food. Their Po'Boys are huge so we settled on splitting a crawfish Po'Boy with a side of gumbo. YUM!!! I'd write more, but mom always taught me not to talk with my mouth full. Be back in a bit:)....And for the record it was as good as we remembered.
We've always rated Lake Fausse State Park as one of our top 3 State Parks in the country. I think the last time we stayed here was about 7 years ago. We were so excited to check her out and see if she was as cool as we remembered. As we drove into the park a baby alligator skurried across the road. We both looked at each other and said, "Oh, yeah, this is going to be good." Lake Fausse sits between a bayou and a lake. At first glance it seems serene and beautiful. Do not be fooled.
To give you another flavor of the park, here's the restrooms.
The last time we were here we took a bike ride at dusk. To this day it was the scariest bike ride of my life. Bats were flying overhead, armadillos were running across our path and we were on a really narrow path so close to falling into the swamp. I so wanted to do this ride again, but this time in daylight, just to prove to myself that it wasn't THAT scary. With some trepidation we headed out for the trail.
Because of the recent floods the trail was sloppy muddy and in some places completely submerged. We made it barely a mile in and had to turn around. Actually, I was quite relieved. Even in daylight it's a terrifying ride. Of course, the signs warning about the 200 lb. snapping turtle didn't help. On the trail we met up with a cute kid, Raydon, who was about 13yrs. old. He lives at the park full-time with his mom and 5 siblings in a school bus at the campground. We told him that we were disappointed (NOT) that the trail was washed out and he said he'd give us a personal tour of some of his favorite places. We followed him through grassy fields and muddy trails and he took us to his favorite spot. Some of his stories were over the top.
The wildlife at this park is extreme. Our campsite is on the bayou and comes with a little dock and we thought having a glass of wine on the dock while welcoming the evening would be fun. As I'm writing this several alligators have swam by, within just a few feet of us!
One of them is even having a staring contest with Ned. If I had small children or animals I would not camp here - seriously! The swamp is alive with sound on the point of being ludicrous. Insects, birds, bull-frogs, and I have no idea what else are all competing. One alligator in particular has hung out next to us for about half an hour.
Yeah, this place is definitely still my fave!
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