Travel “down the bayou” to towns where the slow-moving waterways were once the highways that connected communities and cities to the some of the nation’s most productive fishing grounds. Enjoy fresh caught shrimp, oysters, redfish and trout, or take a sightseeing tour into the swamps and bayous for an up close experience with alligators, wading birds and other wildlife.
Norway Northern Lights
Dave McNamara
It was a bucket list item for me, a trip to the Lofoten Islands of Norway for a chance to experience the Northern Lights. Not only was I rewarded with…
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Chauvin Sculpture Garden
Dave McNamara
You are likely to do a double-take if you drive south of the city of Houma on LA Highway 56 through the bayouside community of Chauvin. There, across the waterway,…
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Queen Bess Pelicans
Dave McNamara
The robust recovery of Queen Bess Island, a speck along the Louisiana coast, serves as a testament to the power of restoration efforts and the resiliency of nature. This tiny…
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Restore Grand Isle
Dave McNamara
To understand what residents of Grand Isle, Louisiana, want to restore, you need to drive a few blocks off the main highway to find the town’s oldest structures. These historic…
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Houma Indian Baskets
Dave McNamara
Members of the Houma Indian Nation are determined to preserve their style of baskets that are woven from strands of palmetto leaves. But one of the tribe’s unique styles of…
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Cheniere Caminada Hurricane
Dave McNamara
Residents of coastal Louisiana are marking the 130th anniversary of a monster Hurricane in 1893 that wiped out the community of Cheniere Caminada. The unnamed category 4 hurricane is considered…
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Grand Isle State Park Reopens
Dave McNamara
Nearly two years after category 4 Hurricane Ida pounded Louisiana’s only inhabited barrier island, Grand Isle State Park has reopened to visitors. The park opened June 1, 2023 for day…
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Duck Carving
Dave McNamara
Cajun Heritage festival Duck carving began out of necessity as a way to make wooden decoys for hunting. But in the last couple of generations, it has turned into works…
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Migratory Birds at Grand Isle
Dave McNamara
As many as two billion migratory birds make their annual flight across the Gulf of Mexico every Spring, and one popular place to see those colorful tropical birds is Grand…
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Cajun Collection
Dave McNamara
An avid fisherman and duck hunter from Galliano has created a massive Cajun collection of memorabilia that preserves his family’s history and culture. Coonie Lefort says that his collection is…
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Thibodeaux Cajun Music
Dave McNamara
You can listen, dance or even play along to Cajun music at a twice-monthly jam session in the southeastern Louisiana city of Thibodaux. Organizers say the musical gatherings are a…
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1893 Hurricane
Dave McNamara
Cheniere caminada survivor still standing The Curole family home was one of the few structures that survived the devastating 1893 Hurricane at Cheniere Caminada on the southeastern coast of Louisiana.…
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Dave McNamara
A world champion wood carver from Terrebonne Parish has a new masterpiece in the middle of his living room. Curtis Fabre has finished work on a life-sized bald eagle, a…
Louisiana Art
Dave McNamara
The paintings of the chief justice Louisiana art covers the walls in the office of the Louisiana Supreme Court’s Chief Justice. The paintings of marshes, moss-draped trees, century-old buildings and…
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U-boats in the Gulf
Dave McNamara
Did you know? More Allied ships were sunk by German submarines in the Gulf of Mexico during World War Two than were destroyed in the Japanese attack at Pearl Harbor.…
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One Afternoon in a Louisiana Swamp
Dave McNamara
I grabbed my camera and a long lens and joined a few other photographer friends for an afternoon cruise into a Louisiana swamp in western Terrebonne Parish. We wanted to…
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Hummingbird Nest
Dave McNamara
Finding a hummingbird nest in the wild is a nearly impossible task. The tiny camouflaged nests look like a small knot on a tree branch, often hidden by leaves. That’s…
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Cypress Trees to Louisiana Sawmill
Dave McNamara
The booming lumber industry of the early 20th century and its appetite for virgin cypress trees in Louisiana are featured in this state museum in the town that was once…
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Watching the Birds of Louisiana
Dave McNamara
I joined a dozen members of the Terrebonne Bird Club for a frosty early morning walk through the Mandalay National Wildlife Refuge in Houma, Louisiana. The scenic nature trail got…
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Bayou Air Force One
Dave McNamara
A small propeller-driven version of Air Force One used by President Dwight Eisenhower in the 1950s is on display at the Regional Military Museum in the bayou city of Houma.…
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