Mile 13.2 - RBD Porcupine Point

13.2 RBD Porcupine Point

A high bluff of sand with an inlet behind it is found at Lone Tree Point, making a beautiful campsite at all water levels, with good protection from winds or storms. There is a wetlands behind Porcupine Point, which becomes connected to the river around 30SG. Mark River reported on this location: “ We arrived at a high bluff full of green grass and decide this is the place for the evening. We quickly realize the deep green of the grass is from a herd of cows frequenting the area. We pay no mind, but marvel at the small runnel of water feeding the small pond filled with beautiful yellow rockets. The river is still on the rise and the rate of the water is increasing in the small stream. These small creeks play a huge role in the beginning of the spawn and the reproduction of reptiles, amphibians and mammals. The small pond will be full of frog eggs, which is a treat for spawning fish fattening up for the spring reproduction. They provide plentiful water supply for young mammals. The morning came quickly as I was serenaded by frogs and the sound of turkeys. I've never heard turkeys call at night, and I figured some local was practicing his call. I paid no mind and slept like a newborn. The stream had increased its velocity and fish were starting to enter the small pond that turned to a lake. The canoe was tied in the stream and a spotted gar used the canoe to take a break from the current. Gail, one of our teammates, lunged out to successfully catch it. We admired its beautiful pattern of spots and released it unharmed. I take a walk to explore the terrain and noticed a unusual hump on a exposed tree branch. Looking closer, I realize, it's a tree frog. After further research, I learned it was a Mexican Tree Frog. Usually this frog ranges throughout the southwest states, but to see it in northern Louisiana could bring up the argument about global warming.” (Mark River)

From John Ruskey Journals Tuesday, March 17, 2015: “I am on a red-cliff cutbank with a five foot drop into the river. Some of it is collapsing, but the red sand/mud layering seems to be more stable than the black/grey/sand layering of the Mississippi, a steady water roaring white noise feature created by an offshore buoy fills the ambient sonic environment completely overpowering all other sound sources including sporadic highway traffic (over the levee), bird’s songs, and the chorus of frogs behind camp in the slough. The slough in the middle of our camp is filling up faster and faster as the river rises. The thinnest sliver of moon is visible pre-dawn, the last night of the old moon, the 28-day cycle of the new, old and none, the never-ending circle of birth and death and rebirth, the story of life forever revolving over our heads and reminding those who pause, look, and take a moment to reflect in the beautiful recurring pattern of it all and our own lonely lives exemplified in the heavens. Turbulent waters roaring underneath the Simmesport Railroad Swing Bridge, a large dune of sand bank left below, the only sand seen in the first fifteen miles of the Atchafalaya.”