Fullerton Lake

Larry and I spent 5 days and 4 nights at Fullerton Lake Campground in central Louisiana. It was a beautiful place and cost only $2.50 per night with our national park senior pass. Larry called it a ‘gem’. Sitting around outside in the evening, with hats and coats on, we talked about what makes a place a ‘gem’. We didn’t come up with anything definitive but here are a few characteristics; quiet, lots of bird song, animals, bright stars or moon, water, restful, clean, tall trees, fresh air, meandering paths, rich history. It’s harder to come up with descriptors than we thought it would be. I suppose that makes sense. I mean, how can you really reduce such a thing to its component parts without losing its essence? It was also funny how the campground stayed a gem for us over the days even as it revealed itself in other ways such as the sound of artillery salvos from nearby Fort Polk or the smoke from a controlled burn.

The camp’s host and her husband told us a story about a 12 to 13 foot alligator that followed her and her tidbit (I mean, small dog) last year when they had their daily walk around the lake. The dog had a small bell on it’s collar that attracted the gator like a dinner bell. Alas, the alligator became such a menace that it had to be put down. The Rangers lured him in by shaking a set of keys on a key ring.

A nearby camper, Curtis, brought us a load of fire wood and wouldn’t take a penny for it. He told us that the guy we saw fishing every day always said that he never caught any fish.

Fullerton was a mill town that was in existence from 1907 until the wood was gone in 1927. In the woods, you can see the cement remains of the mill. We got to see one of the wild horses in the area.

This is a hunting permit from a nearby station. We had to look up what some of the animals were. Do you know them all?

Yikes!

Here’s an audio clip of drumming by the lake’s edge in the morning. The bird song is a delight! Click here then click on Fullerton Lake tab.