Safety Tips in Louisiana

The rules for the Cane River is that it is illegal to operate a watercraft unless you have completed a boating safety course which is certified by either the Board of Commissioners of the Cane River Waterway District or the National Association of State Boating Law Administrators, the Coast Guard Auxiliary or the State of Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries Commission. Fines can be levied at $50 to $150.

There are two kinds of insects here...those that are small enough to go through a screen door, and those that are big enough to open it. :-)

The insect pictured here is a Texas Lubber grasshopper, commonly known as a Devil's Horse. Mostly in south Louisiana.

Mosquitos are the main problem; however, most cities have tried to prevent encephalitis, so they've invested in mosquito foggers, so mosquitos haven't been nearly as bad as in the past.

If you're fishing anywhere in south Louisiana, you might attract more to your bait than fish. This gator and his friends seemed to be attracted to the cork, or anything moving in the water. Yikes! They especially like labrador retrievers for lunch, so be careful taking your dog for a swim. Even around in the bayou around our neighborhood, in the northern part of the state, there have been several occasions where gators have made a meal out of pets.

While we were driving in Louisiana, we saw alligator roadkill! It must have been hit by a truck or something. First we saw the tail and two legs in one bit, then about 200 metres later, we saw the head on the side of the road and the front bit of the body in the middle. It was pretty gross.

If you're driving at night you may not be able to see them properly so take extra care when driving.

If planning to come to Louisiana, beware of the very Hot summers we have, people that are not use to the heat, Louisiana is a killer during summer times especially June- Oct. If you choose to come during these months don't say you wasn't warned...lol

Don't relax while waiting for a bus, if they see you with your eyes closed, you may be arrestred. If you stumble, and they don't like you, you may be arrested. If their pissed off, and you look like their mother in law, you might be arrested. If you step one foot into New Orleans, you MIGHT be arrested.

Since I wasn't cuffed, I thought I would take the liberty to snap myself a little momento to remember our time shared together. Of course I turned the flash off ;-) Still having fun, no matter what the cause - Fuk'm :)

..and I saw quite a few right on the middle of the highway!

I was told that in the US, if the tyres treads of commerical trucks got worn down, it is not illegal to put a layer of new tyre tread without actually having to change the entire tyre itself. The problem is that in hot dry weather, like in the southern US, it causes the tread layer to peel off as you can see in the photo. I saw a number of these on the highways. I really got nervous riding behind these big trucks, not knowing what could fly off from them.

Be careful walking around any lawn areas in Louisiana. Certainly don't walk around barefooted. Fire Ants are a big problem in LA (well not just in this State). Their mounds look like just a clump of earth and not necessarily big. The ants are tiny but with one hell of a bit that can itch for up to 2 weeks. You sure don't want to disturb them. If you do get bitten, a cortisone cream will help, but really what I found really helpful (found it on a website), is running hot water (as hot as you can take it) over the bite for a few minutes. The histamine from the ant bite will apparently rise to the surface of the bite and get washed away. It sure helps with the itch and when it starts to itch again, just repeat. The itch will eventually disappear.