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A32    FEATURE
                 Wednesday 1 august 2018

            Frog symphony and ancient trees in a verdant Louisiana swamp


            By BETH J. HARPAZ                                                                                                   spot today.
            Associated Press                                                                                                    Another   sign   showcas-
            MARRERO,  La.  (AP)  —  It                                                                                          es  the  "Monarch  of  the
            was 93 degrees and humid                                                                                            Swamp,"  a  massive  old-
            when I set out on a 4-mile                                                                                          growth  bald  cypress  tree
            stroll  through  a  Louisiana                                                                                       estimated  to  be  700  years
            swamp.                                                                                                              old. These trees were prized
            Crazy, you say? But let me                                                                                          in the South because they
            tell you what I found there,                                                                                        were  resistant  to  termites,
            in the Barataria Preserve of                                                                                        so many of them were cut
            Jean Lafitte National Histor-                                                                                       down.
            ical Park and Preserve.                                                                                             "We  always  wonder  why
            A  symphony  of  frogs.  A                                                                                          that  one  survived,"  Wal-
            700-year-old  tree.  And  a                                                                                         lisch  said  of  the  Monarch,
            verdant landscape of drip-                                                                                          adding  that  the  joke  goes
            ping moss and neon green                                                                                            that loggers must have en-
            that  seemed  to  melt  with                                                                                        countered  it  on  a  Friday
            the  heat  into  the  woods                                                                                         afternoon when they were
            and wetlands.                                                                                                       ready  to  knock  off  work
            Fan-shaped       palmettos                                                                                          and  said,  "We're  not  start-
            waved  hello  along  the                                                                                            ing on that tree today!"
            trails.  Strange  formations                                                                                        Hikers  might  also  see  liz-
            of  cypress  trees  known  as                                                                                       ards  and  snakes  —  but  if
            knees  pushed  up  through                                                                                          you  do,  don't  panic:  "For
            the swampland. Moss cas-                                                                                            the most part, they are not
            caded     from    branches   This June 3, 2018 photo shows sign marking Bayou Coquille on trail in the Barataria Preserve,   interested in us at all. They
            overhead.  I  half-expected   Jean Lafitte National Historical Park and Preserve in Marrero, Louisiana, just outside of New Or-  just want to go about their
            to  spot  a  mythical  crea-  leans.                                                                                snaky  business,"  Wallisch
            ture  like  the  rougarou  —                                                                       Associated Press  said. And if you see a white-
            half-wolf,  half-man  in  Ca-  I  tweeted  out  a  few  sec-  public information.      vateer  —  OK,  let's  just  call  tailed  deer,  you  might  no-
            jun folklore — lurking in the  onds  of  a  video  I'd  taken  "Traditionally summer is our  him  a  pirate  —  who  sup-  tice that it appears smaller
            forest.  But  no  werewolves  on  my  cellphone,  showing  low  season  because  it's  plied Jackson with soldiers,  than  deer  in  other  regions
            or  fairies  crossed  my  path,  the wet, green world I'd en-  very hot," Wallisch said. But  guns and more. Had Lafitte  but with bigger feet. "They
            though I was startled by the  countered,  along  with  its  while  locals  head  to  Gulf  shown  up  at  the  docks  in  adapted,"  Wallisch  said.
            creepy sight of a couple of  natural soundtrack. A short  Coast beaches this time of  New  Orleans  with  his  con-  "They  evolved  with  those
            alligators  floating  motion-  time later, the park's official  year  to  escape  the  heat  traband,  he  would  have  feet  because  it's  easier  to
            less and half-submerged in  Twitter  feed,  @JeanLafit-   and  humidity,  the  park  had to pay taxes on it. In-    walk on wet ground."
            dark waters.                 teNPS, retweeted it with this  does  get  out-of-towners  stead,  he  used  the  water-  The preserve is a great spot
            I  was  also  enchanted  by  message: "That's the way to  — like me. "Kids are out of  ways as back roads. Some  for birding too, especially in
            the    continuous   sound-   stand up to a south Louisi-  school,  people  are  trav-  of  his  operations  were  fall and spring as millions of
            scape  of  creatures  bay-   ana summer — pack a bot-     eling,  and  they're  saying,  based where the Barataria  birds head south to Central
            ing,  chirping  and  croak-  tle of water & stroll thru the  'OK, it's going to be hot and  Preserve is now.        or  South  America  for  the
            ing, from bronze frogs that  swamp."                      humid, but we're also going  My visit included a walk on  winter, then return.
            sound like bicycle horns to  I  had  to  find  out  who  was  to  see  and  hear  amazing  the  Palmetto  Trail  and  the  For  tourists  taking  a  side
            narrowmouth  toads  that  behind  this  empowering  things  we're  never  going  Bayou  Coquille  Trail.  Co-       trip  to  the  park  from  New
            sound like sheep.            never-mind-the-weather  to see and hear anywhere  quille is the French word for  Orleans,  it's  interesting  to
            That night, back  in  my  air-  message, and a couple of  else,'"  she  said,  adding:  shell,  named  for  an  enor-  consider  that  the  preserve
            conditioned  hotel  room  phone calls led me to Kristy  "You'll forget the heat and  mous  mound  of  shells  dis-  "is  pretty  much  what  New
            a  half-hour  drive  from  Wallisch,  a  park  ranger  humidity  three  days  later.  carded  by  Native  Ameri-    Orleans  looked  like"  when
            the  park  in  New  Orleans,  who  handles  Jean  Lafitte's  But you'll always remember  cans  who  once  inhabited  European  settlers  arrived
                                                                      what a wonderful time you  the area. A sign marks that  300 years ago.q
                                                                      had."
                                                                      The  Barataria  Preserve  is
                                                                      one of six distinct sites that
                                                                      make  up  Jean  Lafitte  Na-
                                                                      tional  Historical  Park  and
                                                                      Preserve. The other sites in-
                                                                      clude a visitor center in New
                                                                      Orleans'  famous  French
                                                                      Quarter and the Chalmette
                                                                      Battlefield, where the Battle
                                                                      of New Orleans was fought
                                                                      in 1815. It was the final great
                                                                      battle of the War of 1812, in
                                                                      which Andrew Jackson led
                                                                      the Americans to a David-
                                                                      versus-Goliath triumph over
                                                                      British forces.
            This June 3, 2018 photo shows a verdant landscape in the Bara-  Jackson owed his victory in
            taria Preserve, part of Jean Lafitte National Historical Park and   part to the man for whom   This June 3, 2018 photo shows a walkway in the Barataria Pre-
            Preserve in Marrero, Louisiana, just outside of New Orleans.                           serve, part of Jean Lafitte National Historical Park and Preserve
                                                     Associated Press  the  park  is  named:  Jean   in Marrero, Louisiana, just outside of New Orleans.
                                                                      Lafitte.  Lafitte  was  a  pri-                                       Associated Press
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