Category: Animal Sightings

Posted in: Animal Sightings, Exploring Florida, Hiking, Sightseeing

Orlando: Lake Louisa State Park

Written by tepetravels

We hadn’t really explored the area too much, so when the boys were off of school, we went to Lake Louisa State Park. This State Park is off of I-27 and was a neat park. Entrance was $5/car. There were a few primitive campsites, cabins for rent, and a campground.

The main lake, Lake Louisa, was a strange reddish color, which was attributed to high tannins in the water. There was a playground, bathrooms, and a beach at Lake Louisa. The sand was a nice soft sand, although there was an alligator warning sign there as well.

We didn’t do any swimming, but we did take a hike through the park. Although it was beautiful, the trailheads were not well marked. Some of them had names based on the map, but they were not labeled at the trailhead. I am really glad we chose a trail that was in our trail app (AllTrails), because there were several crossovers along the way. I would definitely recommend wearing sunscreen, maybe bug spray, and bringing water.

We didn’t see many animals along our hike, even though we were close to the water many times. We did see one bird, several animal prints, a couple of burrows, and several fire ant mounds. I had to teach the boys about fire ants, as we normally don’t have them in Ohio. Their mounds look like piles of sand, often in open places and without the telltale hole us Northerners are used to seeing in ant mounds.

It was a nice hike and had some pretty scenery. It wasn’t bad for a $5 admission!

Posted in: Animal Sightings, Exploring Florida, Sightseeing

Our First Day In Florida

Written by tepetravels

Our first day at the new campground was pretty successful. It was a larger campground and the sites seem nicely spaced. We managed to luck into a nice spot.

During our first exploration of the campground, we saw new (to us) animals. The Sandhill Cranes seemed to be everywhere in the campground. They are larger sized birds, with long legs, grey bodies, and a splash of red on their heads. They didn’t seem to be scared of people, but they were not aggressive either.

Nick was ecstatic that he got to see a turtle (which turned out to be a tortoise). We looked up what kind he was, and we think he (or she) was a Gopher Tortoise. Gopher Tortoises have claws for digging, as they create burrows to live in. They are listed on Florida’s Threatened List. We also read that you are not allowed to touch them, but can call a wildlife ranger to see how you can help if they are in distress. Apparently, some people have assumed the gopher tortoise is a sea turtle and put them in the water to help, but the gopher tortoises are not great swimmers and can easily drown. They recommend not putting any turtles in the water until you know their species.

It’s been fun learning about the types of animals we see along our journey.

Posted in: Animal Sightings, Exploring Louisiana, Hiking, School, YouTube Video Link

Lake Pontchartrain Causeway and Fontainebleau State Park

Written by tepetravels 2 Comments on Lake Pontchartrain Causeway and Fontainebleau State Park

One of the things we wanted to see while in New Orleans was the Lake Pontchartrain Causeway. It holds the Guinness World Record of the longest bridge over water (continuously).

There was a toll on the north side of the lake heading south (back to New Orleans) for the bridge. The toll was $5/2 axles, or $3 if you had a toll tag. You could also take a different highway home to avoid the tolls, but it does add additional time to your commute.

When we went, it was a little overcast and cloudy. Luckily there wasn’t too much traffic on the bridge. The causeway has two bridges, one going North and one going South. Each side had two lanes. Around the middle of the bridge, there was a drawbridge to allow water traffic through, although we did not see it in action. The drive was fun. We saw a few birds roosting and a few motor and sail boats out on the water. At one point, we couldn’t see land in either direction! Lake Pontchartrain is large at 629 mi² and 39.77 miles in length, but averages only 12-14 feet in depth. VIDEO: Driving On Lake Pontchartrain Causeway from New Orleans to Mandeville (South to North)

Although the drive itself was our mission for the day, we also stopped at Fontainebleau State Park to stretch our legs. Admission was $3/person (daily), not the normal per car fee. The park had several offerings: campground, cabin rentals, playground, beach, walking trails. We headed to the Visitor Center first and learned some interesting information about the park. It was at one point a sugar plantation and was named Fontainebleau by its owner after a park in France. Located in front of the Visitor Center were the remains/ruins of the sugar mill. They were fenced off with a short picket fence, but they are in bad shape, so be careful walking near them. The Visitor Center had a campground map that had a park map printed on the backside. The Visitor Center was smaller, but worth a stop if you are in the park.

The windows looking out had an etching of the sugar mill. It is a little hard to see in the pictures though.

We drove down to the beach and it looked like a soft sand. There were alligator caution signs throughout the park. The beach also had a nice large parking lot, several picnic bench areas, and a large building with changing stalls, showers, and bathrooms. There was also a pier you can walk out onto, located at the beach area.

Walking trail to Marsh Boardwalk

It was a little muddy, so we only took the shorter trail near the beach area to the marsh boardwalk. We saw a few birds and ducks, but no alligators. It was a nice enough park, but I wouldn’t go back for more than one visit with the entrance fee. I would definitely prefer to go Barataria Preserve to get a look at bayou type of areas. However, their rental cabins did seem nice and were right on the water, so it would be a nice place to stay. (Click here for my Barataria post.)

Fontainebleau Park Details:

  • TICKETS: $3 per person for daily pass
  • PARKING: Lots of parking at beach, Visitor Center and near trails
  • BATHROOM: Yes, at Visitor Center and Beach
  • TIME RECOMMENDED: 1-3 hours

Lake Pontchartrain Causeway Information Links:

Posted in: Animal Sightings, Exploring Louisiana, Hiking, Sightseeing

We Found Crescent Park! (French Quarter, New Orleans, LA)

Written by tepetravels 1 Comment on We Found Crescent Park! (French Quarter, New Orleans, LA)

Crescent Park is located near the French Quarter, right on the Mississippi River. The park is a little over a mile long. One of the entrances is by the French Quarter Market; it is tucked behind a wall, on the other side of the train tracks. If you are anything like us, you probably walked right by it and didn’t even realize it was there. There is also a parking lot at the other end of the park.

Two of the bridges you can use to access the park. The tall cement one has an elevator and stairs, and is by the French Quarter Market.

The park has several tables and chairs, lots of lawn space for a picnic, great views of the river, and a dog park. There were a lot of runners, bikers, and roller skaters. There is a large covered concrete pavilion of sorts on the French Market side where kids were practicing their on bikes and roller skates.

Foggy morning. Same views: top picture is at the beginning of our walk, bottom is at the end.

It was extremely foggy when we got to the park. We were standing on the walkway right next to the Mississippi River and couldn’t see the water, much less the city. Eventually it started to clear up. Towards the end of the park, the skies were pretty clear and blue, but on our walk back there was still some fog closer to the city.

It was a really nice walk and we enjoyed the park. It seems like it would be a nice green space to walk and enjoy some beignets. 😉 (Note: It would probably be pretty hot in the summer, as there were trees by part of the path, but it didn’t seem like they would really provide shade for the trail.)

Posted in: Animal Sightings, Exploring Louisiana, Hiking, Sightseeing

New Orleans: City Park

Written by tepetravels 1 Comment on New Orleans: City Park

City Park is a pretty large park. You can drive and park there, or take one of the streetcars.

The park has a lot of things to do! Free things include playgrounds, walking trails, and picnic tables. Paid items include: Storyland park ($5.47, under 36″ free), Art Museum, Besthoff Sculpture Park ($5/adults, 19 and younger free), City Putt (starts at $10/ages 13+, $8/ages 4-12). There were also soccer fields, tennis courts (reservations/fee), and a dog park (permit required).

We really enjoyed walking around the park under the Spanish Moss.

On our last visit to the Park, we explored the Couturie Forest. It does not have a large parking lot, so you may have to park farther away. There is a little library nearby and a creek with a bridge to cross over. The trails are dirt/mulch. We did get to complete the arduous climb to the highest point in New Orleans: Laborde Mountain. It is a whole 43 feet above sea level! There were even chickens roaming around.

Walking around Couturie Forest: Trees, platform at top of Laborde Mountain, wild chickens, stick shelter, ibis

I would definitely get a copy of the park map on your phone before you go! It is a large park and we did not see a lot of signs with a map on them. It is a nice park to spend the day at.

Posted in: Animal Sightings, Exploring Louisiana, Hiking, National Park, National Parks, Sightseeing, YouTube Video Link

Jean Lafitte National Historical Park: Barataria Preserve

Written by tepetravels 1 Comment on Jean Lafitte National Historical Park: Barataria Preserve

SUPER BONUS – Brought to you by the National Parks. Call (504) 799-0802 and learn about the Barataria Preserve.

We wanted to take a nice walk, so we headed to the Barataria Preserve (part of the Jean Lafitte National Historic Park and Preserve).

Our first stop was at the Visitor Center at the Barataria Preserve (the Jean Lafitte Visitor Center in the French Quarter is currently closed due to COVID). Unfortunately, we went after work/school, so we didn’t get there until 4:30 and they closed the gates at 5:00pm. We took the shorter Visitor Center Trail, which took about 20 minutes. We really liked the park and decided to come back on the weekend when we had more time. There are several trails that were closed because of damage, so I would recommend stopping at the Visitor Center to see which ones are currently open.

Our second time there, Nick got his Junior Ranger Badge. We took the Bayou Coquille Trail and Marsh Overlook. The trail began as a dirt/gravel path and once you got to the marshy bayou, it switched to a wooden plank trail.

It was gorgeous. We didn’t see any alligators, although we did see lots of caution signs for them. It was probably too cold, as it was in the 60’s. We did see a turtle sunning on a rock, several great egrets, a nutria eating and swimming in the bayou, and a deer.

Part of the bayou was covered in a flotant, which is a floating mass of plants. It looks solid, but is not always strong enough to hold a human’s weight. It certainly looked like you could walk on it, it would be a huge surprise to find out it wasn’t solid and end up in the water!

Although I was disappointed we didn’t see any alligators, going in the cooler weather probably saved us from a few mosquito bites. And as a friend pointed out when they saw the pictures, probably from seeing a few snakes too. (I am glad we missed the snakes, especially since they have cottonmouths and copperheads down here.)

I could spend several days there. I loved seeing the Spanish Moss on the trees and hearing the different bird calls.

The park did a nice job with the informational signs around the trail as well. Several stops had an audio tour that was a great touch. You called a number from your phone and entered your stop number to hear the information. It was really neat (see beginning of this post to experience it for yourself).

There are a few other trails on the other side of the road by the Educational Center. We were told those trails are mostly dirt, so if it had rained recently they would be muddy. We didn’t have the shoes for mud, so we may go back another day.

VIDEO: Clips From Our Walk In Barataria Preserve in Jean Lafitte National Historical Park and Preserve

Posted in: Animal Sightings, Exploring Louisiana, Hiking, Sightseeing

Audubon Park in New Orleans, LA

Written by tepetravels

We wanted to get out and take a walk, so we started looking for local parks. We found Audubon Park. There was on-street parking, and their website states there is a parking lot as well. You can also take the St. Charles Streetcar to get to the Park. The park had a a golf course, a great walking/biking trail. There were a few shelters and spots to have a picnic. There was a pond as well, but no fishing was allowed. It sits next to the Audubon Zoo and also across from Tulane University. The park itself was free, but the Zoo and golfing do cost extra.

Restrooms were also hard to come by if you are not familiar with the park. Shelters 10, 11, 12 are listed as having restrooms. (Two of which are on the same side of the park.) The men’s restroom was closed at Shelter 10 and while the women’s was open, it was missing toilet paper in some stalls and was ok in terms of cleanliness.

We really enjoyed walking around the park and seeing the huge live oak trees. We stopped at the Tree of Life (Note: It’s on the zoo side, not the golf course side, so we had to cross the road to get to that part of the park). It was planted around 1740! The tree was amazingly large and very neat to see.

We also saw The Labyrinth while we were on that side of the park. It is a two part maze, but is built into the ground, so there is no getting lost! We had a kind of sunny day, so it was a little hard to see the different colors of the bricks marking the path.

Video: Walking the Labyrinth

While walking around the pond, we saw a few different types of birds that were new to us as well.

Posted in: Animal Sightings, Exploring Texas, Sightseeing

Weird Ducks in Texas

Written by tepetravels

I have loved Texas so far. However, I have to say they have some unique looking animals. We did not get to see any armadillos while exploring Texas. 🙁

Longhorns are just neat to look at and their horns can be huge.

The ducks though, man, the ducks are weird looking. I’ve seen mallards and Canadian geese. But there were a few that I hadn’t seen before.

Muscovy Ducks have bumpy faces.

Black bellied whistling-ducks have long legs.

Egyptian Geese were at the KOA San Antonio/Alamo. They were pretty weird looking with the orange circles around their eyes. They are not native to the US.

Posted in: Animal Sightings, Exploring Texas, Sightseeing

Houston, Texas: Hermann Park

Written by tepetravels

We were in the mood to explore outside. After some online searching, Hermann Park came up on several lists of things to see in Houston.

It was a cloudy day, but the park was very busy.

We walked around the park checking out what was available. There was a small train to ride, a lake with paddle boats, walking trails, picnic areas, and a Japanese Garden.

We walked through the Japanese Garden, but after San Antonio’s amazing Japanese Tea Garden, it was a bit of a let down. Maybe in the spring when it is more green and things are blooming it would be better.

Hermann Park Japanese Garden

We walked a path down towards the lake and found some trees for the boys to try their new hammocks. We sat and watched the birds/ducks/geese while the kids hung out.

Texas is the first place I could see living in besides Ohio; however, not in Houston. Houston just doesn’t have the same nice feel as the other cities, and is by far the worst at mask wearing and compliance. Even in stores where it is “required”, a lot of people do not wear them and there is no enforcement of the rule.

Posted in: Animal Sightings, Exploring Texas, Hiking

Exploring San Antonio, TX: Brackenridge Park

Written by tepetravels

We wanted to find a new place to explore and walk around. After Googling for a little bit, Ben found a park with a 4.5 star rating, Brackenridge Park. It definitely earned its rating! It was a really neat area to walk around with trails, water, picnic areas, and lots of neat bridges and buildings.

It was on the San Antonio river, near the zoo, so parking could be a little busy.

The area had been used as a swimming area in the early 1900’s and there are still several buildings from then, including the Pavilion (which is gorgeous).

It was a really nice day to walk on the trail and around the area. If you are in the San Antonio area, I would definitely check it out!

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