11/5 Poverty Point State Park, Delhi, Louisiana

This state park was a very pleasant surprise.  Not only was it fairly new with paved roads and camping sites, but the cost was only $23 for a very large, full hookup site.

Unfortunately, I stepped on a nest of fire ants while hooking up, so I had another surprise of several bites. Those tiny ants do not like to be disturbed and are very fast at letting you know.  You notice immediately because it really does feel like fire when they sting or bite or whatever it is they do.  In addition, you almost never get bit by just one ant because they immediately swarm any intruder. 

I jumped back, started brushing them off my feet, and then ended up loosening the straps on my sandals to get them out from under them.  Yikes!  I do keep some borax for ants, so I dropped everything and got the box out from my underneath storage and sprinkled it around.  Next step was to make sure I was not carrying any hitch-hikers and jumped into my motorhome to grab my prescription bug stuff to put on the red spots and then take a Benadryl.  Over the last year, I have gotten very sensitive to insect bites--not to the point of having a severe reaction, but still getting big red welts.  So I keep Benadryl tablets with me at all times.

That was a lot of excitement at the end of a tiring driving day!  I managed to get the electric and water hooked up, and stayed inside the rest of the evening.


The next day was sunny and hot, so I was off for a bike ride.  And the borax did work on the ants. By this morning, the nest was gone.  

At first, I thought this might be a tree full of roosting vultures, but they were actually cormorants.  Makes sense because this tree is right on the lake.

 

Also, a fishing pier and some interesting rental camping cabins belonging to the state park.

This is a big lake, but with some very interesting differences from the other lake-type state parks I had been to.  See those houses in the distance?

This is a map of Poverty Point Lake as seen on Google maps.  Those strange loops into the lake on the right are parts of a housing development.

 

 

A close-up in satellite view.

And even closer. 

This is really an excellent way to make more shoreline!  Obviously, not all lots are sold, but all have a terrific view. Note how many of the houses have boat houses with decks hanging out over the water.



 

 

I rode three miles down this side of the lake, going in and out of all of the loops. 

One of the original residents.

And the nearby swimming beach.  Note, however, that the sheet they give you when you check into the campground tells you NOT to feed or harass the alligators in the lake!!  I did not see any, but somehow the idea makes the swimming beach less inviting.  Not sure I would want to go waterskiing either.