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by
Linda
Aksomitis
Through
the years, many other tales of the land along the Creole Nature
Trail became part of local lore. Some say the pirate Jean
Lafitte hid his treasure in Kelso Bayou in Hackleberry. This
tale was the inspiration for the celebration of Contraband
Days in May, one of more than about 75 festivals held annually
in southern Louisiana.
The
Wetland Walkway, where I'd been up close and personal with
a silent alligator in the marsh, is part of the Sabine National
Wildlife Refuge. Its prime function is to preserve a large
area of coastal wetlands for wintering and migrating waterfowl.
The area is a stopover for two flight patterns across continental
USA-the Mississippi and Central flyways. I found it amazing
to gaze at birds I'd see in the not-to-distant future on Western
Hemispheric Shorebird Reserve Network sites at home in Saskatchewan,
several thousand miles north.
Also
a major nursery for many estuarine-dependent marine species,
the Sabine National Wildlife Refuge provides 124,511 acres
of habitats varying between the four types of marshes: freshwater,
intermediate, brackish, and salt water. Much shallower than
swamps, the marsh areas abound in grasses that help stabilize
the soil and avoid loss of land to erosion. The sun shining
on the shallow water and mud provides a much warmer home for
the alligator, so that rather than hiding out in a hole of
thick mud, he comes out to sun himself throughout the winter
season.
My
hike at the Wetland Walkway also introduced me to a variety
of intermediate marsh grasses that would be a jungle of vegetation
during summer, but were a golden brown sea for my winter visit.
These included the arrowhead, cordgrass, wiregrass, deer pea,
water hyssop, and to me, amazing Roseau grass. The waters
were full of life: brown shrimp, blue crab, gulf menhaden.
My footsteps launched a flock of egrets into the sky, squawking
their irritation.
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A
veritable department store strewn across the sand offered
up colorful shells, whelks, conch, sharkseye, angelwings
and cockles.
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Journeying
further along the Creole Nature Trail, Martin Beach opened
up a whole new world of discovery. Waves lapped at the Gulf
coast shore bringing with them a Santa's sack of surprises.
A veritable department store strewn across the sand offered
up colorful shells, whelks, conch, sharkseye, angelwings and
cockles. Indeed an infant couldn't step on the beach without
the crunch of crumbling treasures beneath his feet.
(CONTINUE...)
The
most amazing find I made, however, was a large pod buried
in the silky white sand. The seed pod, much to my surprise,
came from the Amazon Rainforest and had drifted across the
gulf. Dried brown strands of seaweed from the Caribbean's
Sea of Sargasso rode in with the waves, like surfers in the
sun, before being spread across the beach.
The
Creole Nature Trail is home to several beaches along the Gulf
of Mexico, locally known as the "Cajun Riviera."
The white sands of Rutherford Beach conjured images of children
building castles, teens tossing frisbies, and parents lounging
in the sun-of course only a Canadian like me would think of
such things when the temperature was in the mid-60s. I yearned
to try walking this Cajun Riviera the thirty-odd miles right
to Texas.
Nearly
one-third of the population of the area along the trail, and
in several other nearby parishes, are of Acadiana descent,
or Cajuns. In fact, I had a great Cajun lunch along the route
in the town of Cameron, at Stella's Restaurant. The crab cake
appetizer was melt-in-your mouth delicious, while the gumbo
was a great example of why Cajun cooking is a world-wide institution.
Leaving
on the Cameron ferry, which crosses the Calcasieu Ship Channel
connecting the Intracoastal Waterway to the Gulf, I was sad
to think of the afternoon coming to an end. Tiny Cameron port
is ranked around sixth in the nation in tons of seafood loaded
annually. Indeed, my hands were itching to find some gear
to pull in a supper of my own. The local favorite sport is
catching crab onshore with a simple rod and string tied with
bait, then netting the catch when it bites. Ah, I thought,
what a way to spend the afternoon, never mind having a feast
for the evening along with a nice big bowl of jambalaya, and
pecan pie for dessert. Then I'd watch the sun drop over the
Gulf of Mexico's sparkling waters and continue my way along
the Creole Nature Trail, discovering more riches of Louisiana's
Outback.
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