Grand Isle State Park Wrap-up (mostly pictures)

Location: Grand Isle State Park (El. 5 ft); Grand Isle, Louisiana

all pictures taken with Nokia Lumia Icon 929 Cell Phone
(click pictures to enlarge)

I've been here 5 days and tomorrow is moving day. In the past I averaged moving campgrounds about every 3 or 4 days. This staying put for 5 days feels about right but I am ready to move on. Grand Isle State Park is nice in that it is close to the beach and I've taken several long walk along the beach. The campground is about 25% full so the beach is deserted most of the time. There isn't much to do up in town and there are only a couple restaurants open since it is still the off-season. I did get a burger and some gumbo at one of them and both were very good. Although, I'm glad I came here, I'm pretty sure I won't be coming back since it is somewhat out of the way.

One of the walkways over the sand dunes. This one has an observation tower.

From the observation tower looking north to the bay. The dock in the water is a crabbing pier. For those Yankees that haven't been crabbing this is one of the ways it's done. Buy some cheap chicken parts, such as necks or wings. Tie a string onto the chicken and throw it in the water. Wait for a while (the time depends on how hungry the crabs are) then slowly pull the chicken up to the surface. If you see a crab holding on to it, slowly slip a net under him. Place him in a cooler or 5 gallon bucket. Note: you don't have to do this from a pier like in the picture. It can also be done from the bank. Fun time for families with kids.

Still in the tower looking across the water at Fort Livingston. It was originally a place were the pirate Jean Lafitte stayed but he moved on and the U.S. government built a fort to protect the south side of New Orleans. It has been abandoned for while. I don't think it is open to the public and you can only get to it either by boat or helicopter. The contraption on the left is a lift boat. More on them later.

Still from the tower looking at the beach. I could see many dark colored dolphins surfacing but were a bit far for my cell phone. I thought about going back to Freedom for the fancy camera with zoom lens but was just too lazy to do it. 

Beach walking

  

Beach combing. Didn't find anything good.

A little bird watching while walking

The second day brought out a different color to the water. The beach was mostly deserted except for one or two others.

Still during the second walk

This is from a drive I took to Port Fourchon which is a very busy oil/gas center. It is located at the foot of the large bridge in this picture. Nothing to do there but drive and see what can be seen.

With the price of gas so low, many companies and people are out of work. The is picture is of one of the lift-boat companies. That is a lot of steel sitting idle and not making money.

This is a close up of one of the individual boats. 

I copied this picture from the internet to show what and how the lift-boats work. You can see the two sets of propellers on the right side of the picture. The boat travels to raised structures in the Gulf such as oil platforms and is capable of raising the entire boat out of the water. Some of the larger boats have legs long enough for 300 feet from the floor of the Gulf. My son worked at a ship yard that made some of the larger ones.  

A nice sunrise. It has been a while since I've seen one.

3rd day of beach combing. Still didn't find anything. 

I did catch a gull flying over the choppy water.

I figured it was time to post another selfie so the grandkids will know what I looked like when they get older. 

I've been around the oceans and lakes a lot over my life but I've been hearing something coming from the Gulf that I've never heard before. It is a constant humming sound and it is the loudest at night. At first I thought it was a shrimp boat passing by, but the sound stayed steady throughout the night. The sound doesn't increase and decrease in volume like it would if it was the wind or surf. It may simply be a sound from some of the industry near by and it just sounds like it is coming from the Gulf. Oh well, a little mystery is good for the mind and senses.

My next stop will be Bayou Segnette State Park in Westwego which is suburb of New Orleans. I will be there at least 5 days. I have plans for only 1 of those 5 days so I'll be doing some research once I get there. Of course Taco Bell is on my list since this place is deprived of such a fancy eatery. 

Ya'll take care of each other. I'll Cya down the road.