Cache contains a log book, pen, several trade items (including a small first aid kit), and 2 travel bugs (to be moved).
Please use stealth as it can be a busy area at times, and replace cache where you found it
and hidden as well or better than found to ensure the integrity for future cachers. The difficulty rating could be higher at certain times.
After locating Gatorview Inn Travel Bug Hotel, stop and take a picture with Saint, a 50-foot bonfire alligator, designed by Garyville’s bonfire builders “Blood, Sweat, and Bonfires" and celebrates the history and traditions of Bonfires on the Levee.
Bonfires on the Levee, often called Christmas Eve Bonfires by the locals, is a centuries-old holiday tradition just a short drive from New Orleans in Louisiana’s River Parishes. During the weeks that follow Thanksgiving, families and friends come together atop the Mississippi River levees to construct nearly two hundred 20-foot-high wooden bonfires that celebrate and honor the region’s storied past. Parades, festivals and open houses during Bonfire Season build anticipation for the spectacular Bonfires on the Levee on Christmas Eve.
Each year, Bonfires on the Levee is hailed by international newspapers, magazines and television newscasters as one of the most unusual and breathtaking holiday traditions in the world.
Depending on who you ask, the story of the Christmas Bonfires can wind and twist like the Mississippi River itself.
A holiday tradition older than any local can remember, it is speculated that Bonfires on the Levee was a celebratory practice brought over by the French-German settlers of Louisiana’s River Parishes in the early 1700s. Some say the bonfires were originally used to guide ships along the river. Some say the enslaved built them at the end of harvest season to celebrate. Still, others claim the fires were used to light the way for the faithful to attend the Midnight Mass.
Ask any of the local kids, however, and they will tell you the bonfires light the way for Papa Nöel (Santa Claus) to find all the good boys and girls of the River Parishes.
Scan the QR code below for our contact information. If you have any issues and need to contact us, you can TEXT Shane or Email Garnet. We will try to respond as soon as we can. Texting will get you the quickest response, but feel free to email any time. When contacting us, please be sure to let us know which hide you are asking us about.
We will be placing stickers with these QR codes on some of our cache hides as well as the cache pages, so be sure to look for them. If you get stuck and need some help, or if your see any issues with our cache feel free to reach out!
Thanks and happy caching!
💚 points welcome!
Congrats to airhare, CAR2010, RougarouKrewe, rabbitjr, and jsc009 for the FTF!!!