The Ends of the Earth

COCODRIE, LOUISIANA – Just to be in it, we wanted to drive south in Louisiana through the swamps then across the endless coastal wetlands dotted with oil and gas operations and finally to the end of the road where the land ends and the wetlands fade into the Gulf.

Shrimp boats where the road ends.

It so happens that our friend Joe has soon-to-be in-laws who have a fishing camp high on pilings in a place called Cocodrie which is at the end of just such a road. All we can say is get a map and check it out! The camp is typical of many here—basically a mobile home about 20 feet off the ground with a very useful screen porch added on and lots of room underneath for boats and other things.

Typical fishing camps.

Joe and Emily were kind and thoughtful to arrange for us to use the camp. We thank them! We made the trip down to Cocodrie in the middle of a powerful rainstorm with low clouds and high winds. The water was right at the road level and waves were smashing on the rock rip rap protecting the road. It made for an exciting, atmospheric trip. Cece is not only a great driver but also an intrepid one.

View of vast wetlands from a road. The road that McConaughey and Harrelson took looking for bad guys in "True Detective."

Cocodrie is fascinating—a place for serious work and even more serious fishing, both commercial and recreational. As you might expect, much of the construction here looks a little weather-beaten, and we saw several roofs being repaired. Indeed, we suspect that a good bit of time is spent down here keeping Cocodrie’s exposed structures in shape.

Down near the end of Rt. 56 some folks are opting to go upscale with their vacation homes. It will be interesting to see how they fare. In addition to the climate prediction of more fierce hurricanes, Louisiana’s coastal wetlands face the triple threat of subsidence due partly to drilling, low rates of sediment and soil replenishment due to re-channelization, and sea level rise. Eighty percent of the loss of coastal wetlands in the continental US has occurred in Louisiana. For a really good, and very graphic, presentation of all this, see https://projects.propublica.org/louisiana/?utm_campaign=sprout&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook&utm_content=1409236967)

Upscale in Cocodrie.

The fishing camp is near a very good restaurant, Sportsmen’s Paradise. Last evening (Saturday), we split a giant fried seafood platter—oysters, shrimp, fish, and soft shell crabs. It was so tasty and light, Cece inquired with the cook, who reports that after a very light coating with corn flour, she cooks it quickly in fresh oil.

Sunset from the fishing camp porch.