Bluebonnet Swamp

I was supposed to do a road ride up in St. Franciscille with Beau and Charley this morning, but bad weather and illness foiled those plans. It's been warm here all week, but a front came through last night and now it's about 50 degrees and raining, perfect conditions for a quick walk in the Bluebonnet Swamp before lunch.



At the interpretive center, I paid a couple of bucks and got a little info. I was apparently the first visitor since the 21st, or at least the first to sign in.



I'd been there once before with the family and grandparents, but they've opened two new trails since then.

I say trails, but really it's all boardwalks...



...and wide gravel paths.



I guess technically those count as trails. I was really there to see the sights though.

The sights:



When I was a kid, we had similar terrain behind my house; dense woods for a few hundred yards, bordering a pretty sizable swamp. We cut trails all through it and built clubhouses. When it would rain, we'd walk around knee deep in the black, muddy water.

According to some literature out there, Bluebonnet Swamp isn't a totally natural phenomenon. Nobody is 100% sure, but it us believed that development to the south about 180 years ago blocked some natural drainages, hemmed in the water, and voilà, Bluebonnet Swamp.

At the north end of the it was all Tupelo. To the south there was a lot more Cypress.



I'd hoped to see a more impressive set of Cypress knees but I guess that'll do.

At the southernmost point, the trail led to a library, and today, a locked door.



Back at the interpretive center, there were two more couples about to head out. I guess I wasn't totally crazy being out there in the rain, or at least not alone in being crazy.