003 Mardi Gras Indians (ENHANCED)

003 Mardi Gras Indians (ENHANCED)
Every year, on Fat Tuesday, Mardi Gras Indians wake with the sun and begin their parades through the streets of New Orleans. Clad in beaded and brightly feathered full-body costumes, they travel in small “tribes”, accompanied by bass drums, tambourines, and traditional chanting. The procession snowballs as onlookers become participants and join the pageant.

On this particular Mardi Gras morning, a couple of friends and I stumbled upon a small group of Mardi Gras Indians congregated at The Porch 7th Ward Cultural Center. From there, we ditched our bikes and joined the parade. Special thanks to Elijah Chong for the beautiful photography that accompanies this podcast.



ENHANCED!!!
This version of the podcast is ENHANCED. Upload the podcast to your player of choice, open up the album cover art, and follow along with the photograph slide show as you listen.

- iTunes users click on the triangle button in the lower left hand corner.
- iPod users click the center button until you see photos.

Stumbled Upon Pelicans

Last Sunday I took a bike ride down the river - left my house in the Bywater, headed southeast to Arabie, Chalmette, Meraux, Violet, curled back around the river to Braithwaite, crossed the Mississippi at Belle Chase, bounced all around in the English Turn area, crossed the intracoastal canal, back to the river, through the town of Cutoff, crossed the river again at Algiers Point, and made my way through the Mardi Gras hoards to 13 Restaurant on Frenchman street. One thing I learned on this trip - it is a lot easier to stay along the river on the east side than it is on the west bank. The English Turn area is no place to attempt an extended ride. Anyone interested in cycling around New Orleans should give Hwy 46 a try. At 5 miles you come to the Chalmette Battlefield and National Cemetary, and by mile 11 you're surrounded by cows.

The highlight of the trip came at approximately mile 20 in a small canal near Braithwaite, LA. It's not that difficult to stumble across a few pelicans in and around New Orleans, but to find a large group of them feeding is a rare discovery. I sat there for probably close to a half hour watching and photographing these beautiful American White Pelicans. The canal ran under the road and gushed out onto the other side. The pelicans had figured out that this constant rush of water meant a sustained influx of fish, so here they waited, treading water, vying for the best angle of attack on the next unsuspecting fish.