Ancient Tree Bike and Hike

The Ancient Tree Bike & Hike is just what it sounds like...a bike and hike around New Iberia, Louisiana, in search of ancient trees. Our tour guide, the Maestro aka BT aka Possum Jim, starts the tour in downtown New Iberia, known locally at the City of Live Oaks. There are dozens of remarkable live oaks over 100 years old and registered with the Live Oak Society.

The day of our tour started out overcast and slightly cool, kind of unusual for Louisiana in May. The Maestro led us through the streets of New Iberia to a couple of trees along a major thoroughfare, Main Street. He explains to us that the age of the live oaks are determined by measuring their girth at four feet from the ground. Growth rings are not really reliable with live oaks as they grow very quickly when they are young then growth slows.

Maestro pointed out that this particular tree has a large bump at about four feet above the ground so it was hard to accurately measure the age.

We continued our ride along Main Street to find the Steamboat House. The house was built in 1882 and is accented by a very old live oak in the front yard. The tree is called Annie-Laurie.

The next tree we came across was both beautiful and sad. Maestro told us one day while driving through town he noticed that the tree didn't look quite right. As a tree lover, he was concerned and notified the homeowner that he thought someone had sprayed an herbicide/defoliant near the ancient tree. Remediation was started and saved the tree but it is now damaged. In spite of the damage, it is still a very impressive tree.

Then Maestro took us to his favorite spot, the "Green Cathedral". I can't explain the feeling you get when you walk into the Cathedral. There are several live oaks in the same area but there is one especially large one closer to the Bayou Teche.

Sometime in the tree's past, a cable was attached, most likely to help it support the massive limbs. The cable was never removed and has grown into the trunk of the tree. You can see the turnbuckle at the top of this photo.

The last tree-related stop on our bike ride was this beautiful scene of a live oak along the Bayou Teche.

On a totally unrelated note, if you happen to be in downtown New Iberia around lunchtime, Victor's Cafeteria has an amazing plate lunch. For those not familiar with what a plate lunch is, it is typically a meat dish with two sides and a bread. Do yourself a favor and stop by at Victor's. Victor's Cafeteria

The Beginning

Earlier this year, I went on the Ancient Tree Bike and Hike with a good friend. He is a professor of Plant Science, an arborist and just a generally cool guy. Among other nicknames, I call him the Maestro. He conducts a bike/hike around New Iberia, Louisiana. As a tree lover, I had been wanting to attend one of his tours but the timing was never quite right. Well, one day he offered to do a private tour for my husband and I. We immediately jumped at the chance. It was a wonderful tour! I learned for the first time about the Live Oak Society (http://www.lgcfinc.org/live-oak-society.html) whose members are all old trees with one human chairperson.

The live oak society was founded in 1934 by Dr. Edwin Louis Stephens, who was the first president of Southwestern Louisiana Institute (now University of Louisiana at Lafayette). It's purpose is to "promote the culture, distribution, preservation and appreciation of the live oak tree, scientifically known as Quercus virginiana."

During our tour, we got to see many very old live oak trees around the city of New Iberia. While they were all amazing, one in particular was my favorite. Our tour guide calls it the "Green Cathedral".

So anyway, to get to the point, this tour inspired my husband and I to seek out old and unique trees around South Louisiana. We have found several members of the Live Oak Society both accidentally and on purpose. It has been very educational and spiritual. Some of these trees are hundreds of years old. It is very humbling to stand in their presence and to imagine the things they have seen during their lifetime. This blog will be a collection of our adventures and quest for ancient and awesome trees.