During my Great River Road tour, it is safe to say that the highlight of the trip was the adventure that took us to the South Pass Lighthouse.  Located some 35 miles south of Venice, LA, the southern most point in Louisiana, it is only accessible by boat on the Mississippi River.  It is a mere half mile from the Gulf of Mexico. 

While researching the area prior to our trip, I noticed a 5 star difficulty and 5 star terrain rated geocache sitting out there in the river delta not yet having been found called The Guiding Light  (GC1V92T).  I thought about that geocache for days half heartedly thinking to myself, it would be a blast to find this cache and possibly be the first to find it as well.  In order to get to the lighthouse, chartering a boat would be necessary.  After researching charter services available in the area, I initially concluded that it would not be economically feasible to pull off this adventure.  But after many hours of contemplative thought and discussion, we would chalked this up as being a "once in a lifetime event" and booked the charter with Captain Dan of MLC Charters. 

During the 36 mile boat ride down river, Captain Dan provided a great history of the area.  He pointed out several historical locations and was explaining the geology and hydrological behavior of the river.  When we approached the lighthouse, it was clear the storms over the years had removed nearly all evidence of a previous civilization I had seen in pictures.  Including the dock and piers for we couldn't land the boat on shore.  I had to wade through the last 15' of gator infested waters.  I managed to make it to the lighthouse without being eaten alive and after a short search, I had found my 3000th geocache, and was first to find to boot.

Enjoy the photographs (click the thumbnails for larger view)..

The end of the Great River Road	Approaching the lighthouse	Pulling into the lighthouse
Wading up to the lighthouse	The stairs leading up to the lighthouse	Bart is FTF on his 3000th geocache find
Standing on the upper deck	Looking down from the upper deck	Looking up from the upper deck
Wading back to the boat	Grandma Norvina, Molly and Bart	Group photo with our boat captain