Acadiana Park, Lafayette
The trucks were awful all night long. I really didn’t sleep well. Around 6:30 am, I put on the noise canceling headphones and slept two more hours.
Acadiana Park
I was actually going to hike Lake Martin near Lafayette but it seemed like the trails were flooded. I found Acadiana Park near by and chose to hike it instead.
Acadiana Park is located in Lafayette, Louisiana. It is a sprawling 120-acre park that offers a wide range of outdoor activities for all ages. To my surprise there was camping in this park. The park seems to be used for a lot of outdoor educational programs. The nature center was closed for the season.
I was following the Moon Seed Loop from AllTrails. Near the nature center, there were many raised boardwalk trails. Closer to the river, the trail passed between the river and forest. There was a point when the trail crossed a bridge on a street that led into the forest on the other side of the river. At this point the trail was basically just mud. I turned back after 100 yards and walked back along the river. By now I was making it up as I went.
There was a sign that invited hikers to explore and use their imagination, to look under leaves, into the trees and on the ground. This was another entrance into the same loop that I was trying to hike. So, I entered and explored. There were different types of flowers and some berries I’ve seen before. I avoided the berries because I was told they were poisonous.
I met a guy on the trail who was photographing birds. He was was in a birding group and trying to photograph birds in all the parishes. He had a 600mm (long) lens and seemed to know all the birds in the area. We talked for a while about photography and places to see in Louisiana. I made some additions to my ever growing list of places to see.
As I walked there were different types of butterflies flying around. I tried to photograph them, but they didn’t remain still for more than a few seconds. There were plenty of birds as well, but I didn’t have a long enough lens to capture them in the thick brush.
Afternoon
I stopped at subway nearby for a sub and then searched for a Starbucks. The Starbucks was actually inside a Target. I found another Starbucks that I could sit down at and do a few things on the computer.
I stayed at the same KOA again for another night of loud trucks and squealing tires.