Swamp People

Many people asked why Morgan City, Louisiana and not New Orleans well it's all about Swamp People. If you've ever watched the TV show you probably know what I'm talking about. You see Troy Landry lives in Pierre Part which is about 10 miles away from where we are camped but more about that later.

I wasn't really sure what to expect when arriving in Morgan City, I haven't been to the south. After spending a few days here I would have loved to stay longer. On arrival our neighbor introduced herself to us and was disappointed to find out we were only staying 3 nights.

Our site backed onto Lake Palourde which is well know for great fishing and boating.


Our rig in the middle of the picture site #85

The view from our back window can't get any better

People actually swim in this lake. Not doing that two reason one alligators and two cottonmouths. This is the perfect habitat for both. There is only a levy between us and the wilderness. The whole town including the campground is below sea level. So to prevent flooding a levy was installed many years ago consisting of a berm with large steel girders.

Levy

Barges travel up and down the river carrying cargo from one town to another.

Barges travel up & down the Atchafalaya River

Like I mentioned earlier one of my favorite people to watch on TV is Troy Landry from Swamp People. We were told he hangs out at a shell station in Pierre Part, so away we go. We couldn't find the place so we stopped I asked for directions and ended up eating lunch with Stanley. The story is that Stanley has owned this store/repair shop/gas station/ meeting place his entire life and loves too talk to anyone that stops by. Stanley was having lunch as we ventured by and invited us to "sit and have a bowl". We accepted and were treated to the best stories and the greatest food.

Our new friend Stanley

Chicken  sausage &  orca gumbo 

Our bellies were full and our brains filled with memories and stories to last a lifetime. But we had to continue on down the road to see if we could find Troy. Finding the shell station was easy, finding Troy not so. He was out of town and gator season doesn't start until September. Oh well we did get to see Duffy's.

This is where Troy brings his gators

On the Thanksgiving episode of Swamp people Liz and her family went hunting for Nutria. What are nutra you ask? Well they are a rodent that is not indigenous to North America but released many years ago and have flourished ever since. As I was having my morning coffee these Nutria walked by totally unafraid of people.

Nutria

The squirrels here are like most, unafraid also. They are so bold they will climb up your screen door to get food.

Very bold squirrels