Alligators and Petrochemicals

March 31, 2011: We spent all day yesterday driving from San Antonio TX to Sulfur, LA – 340 miles. Arrived at a very nice RV park with lots of grass, with our trailer backed into a space adjoining a pond. I went for a walk after dark and noticed bright lights and billowing steam about ½ mile away, which turned out to be the Conoco-Phillips oil refinery. This is just one of many petrochemical plants that are situated along the Louisiana coast. This area has the greatest concentration of chemical plants anywhere in the country! Along with the petroleum industry is the infrastructure to support it, everything from suppliers of drilling mud to companies that scrap old oil platforms. Juxtaposed to the heavy industry are the bayous that teem with wildlife – birds, fish, alligators, turtles, crabs, shrimp, and oysters. There is a massive wildlife refuge immediately adjacent to the industrial area. Fishing boats and the oil field service boats literally share the same docks.

We explored Louisiana's “outback”, which contains hundreds of square miles of wetlands, and were able to hike well-maintained trails to view some of the wildlife. We were able to view alligators in the wild, up close (but not too close.) There were many varieties of shore birds, including the great blue heron. There were lots of guys fishing for crab. They throw out a baited string, wait for the crab to clamp on, and haul it in.

Next we drove to the coast, where there are miles of deserted beaches. You can even drive on them! The towns along the shore had been decimated by hurricanes, with street after street of vacant lots with concrete slabs where houses once stood. Some homes had been reconstructed, but this time on stilts up to 15 feet high. One place had a sign on it that read “Cajun High Rise”.

Near the coast are elevated areas that are the remains of ancient beaches. These are now known as "cheniers" and are habitat for oak trees that are over 1,000 years old.

The food here is interesting. On the freeways, you see signs advertising tasso, cracklins, boudin, which are (respectively) a special ham seasoned with Cajun spices; fried pork fat; and pork sausage stuffed with meat, rice and sometimes blood. We ate at a Cajun restaurant in Sulfur that had good ratings and shared servings of a chicken and sausage gumbo, which tasted like campfire smoke, crawfish etouffe (boiled crawfish in a cream sauce).