The Nature Conservancy saves our Louisiana vacation

We were going to be driving through Louisiana and we made the kind of plans we usually make in such situations: we planned to stop at the state welcome center, pick up some maps and try to find a state park to hike in and have a picnic lunch at.

The Louisiana welcome center was closed. I found a state park using the GPS, but its north entrance too was closed when we finally got there. It was with a despondent air that we continued making our way through the state. Where were the bayous? And would we ever see them?

So, when we crossed a long stretch of swamp on the highway, we decided to take the next exit and ask a local how we could get to see the swamp up close. She mentioned swamp boat tours and then seeing my disappointed face (we didn't have that much time: we were just driving through), told me about this place called St. Martin Lake about 20 miles back the way we'd come.

We took the 1.5 hour detour to go see the swamp and it turned out to be the highlight of our Louisiana trip.

And wouldn't you know it? It turned out to be a Nature Conservancy project. One more reason to support them!