Air Boat Tour, LaFayette, Louisiana

February 15th. 2011

This has to be one of the neatest things we’ve ever done.  On our way to Florida we spent two nights in Lafayette, Louisiana.  Lafayette is about 140 miles west of New Orleans.  Just east of Lafayette lies the Atchafalaya Basin, also known as the Atchafalaya Swamp.  This swamp is the largest in the United States.  It’s about 20 miles wide by 150 miles long.  And the water level?  Our airboat guide told us it fluctuates by about 20 feet during the year.  The only roads within the basin follow the tops of levees, except Interstate 10, which crosses the swamp on elevated pillars for over 18 miles.  We were lucky enough to get a tour for just the two of us.  Here’s some photos of the beauty of the Atchafalaya Swamp.

From Breaux Bridge, Louisiana, the road heads east a couple of miles, then the asphalt turns to dirt and you climb up and over the levee.  This is what you come to.  Imagine a bunch of dogs barking, a mild breeze and a couple of old guys with cigarettes leaning on the railing, looking out over the swamp.  That’s what we