Buggin' out on the bayou

After a fantastic extended weekend in Austin, we headed east towards New Orleans. We decided to break up the 8 hour drive and camp at Sea Rim state park, just south of Port Arthur, at the border of Texas and Louisiana. As we pulled up to our campsite on the beach, overlooking the Gulf of Mexico with the bayou and marshlands behind us, we congratulated ourselves on finding such an epic spot. This was truly the goal of our whole adventure: the discovery of these magical, out of the way spots that we would otherwise have no reason to visit. As the sun drifted lower in the sky, we set up our beach chairs, waded in the warm gulf waters, and watched the various seabirds catching fish around us.

And then came the bugs....

Shortly after sunset we noticed the advent of mosquitos. We started putting on bug spray until it became clear it was doing little to deter the swarms. We finally gave up and ran for shelter in the van. Inside the van we were greeted by a swarm of mosquitos that had snuck in and the next 45 minutes were spent in a frenzied bug massacre. Afterwards we huddled against the window with our headlamps, staring at the swarms of bugs that reached biblical proportions and cheering for the occasional grasshopper that showed up for the feast. Bugs were hitting the side of the van tent with such fervor that it sounded like it was raining. 

This morning we hustled away from the state park, swerving to narrowly miss the 8 foot alligator that decided to cross the road. The lady at the gas station said the alligators were normal, but admitted the bugs were a bit more aggressive then usual. Onward to New Orleans!