Kaps tickfaw 200 poker run review

[KAP]

TICKFAW 200 POKER RUN

Preface: As is customary I always do a post Poker Run review of events I attend. The goal is to provide a participants viewpoint rather than the traditional industry review.

Intro:

The Tickfaw 200 [hereinafter Tickfaw] was founded by Crazy Charlie Albert in 1996. The event is held at the Blood River Marina in Livingston Parish, Springfield Louisiana. The year [2009] I was going to attend my first Tickfaw...Crazy Charlie passed away and the event was put on hiatus. The marina was purchased by Joey Fontenot. Joey and Vice President Casey Harrison decided to bring back the event to it’s former glory.

The schedule for the event is spread out over two days and all stops are open throughout the event. There is no group starts and everyone can complete the event at their leisure. The more stops you went to the more cards you were dealt at the end of the day. This motivates boaters to visit every venue during the event. A format which should be adopted by all event promoters and organizers.

The Tickfaw event covers an enormous area of water and provides both river and lake boating for the poker run attendee. The areas include Lake Maurepas and Lake Pontchartrain fed by fresh water rivers which include the Tickfaw, Tangipahoa, Amite, Tchefuncte, and Bogue Falaya.

I found out that both lakes are extremely rough when the wind picks up. This is due to the shallow nature of the lakes which can whip up some seriously rough conditions. The swells have no rhyme or rhythm they are simply enormous peaks and valleys. This makes for some very severe conditions if you doubt this talk to any local who will confirm my conclusions.

Event

I started from San Diego being 8 miles from the Mexican border. I knew it was going to be a long drive and certain preparations needed to be addressed. Note: If your new to traveling with a boat and trailer you need to draft a good list of essential items before you leave, otherwise you will encounter obstacles that will leave you stranded for days. I drove solo both to and from the event [1,900 miles one way]. So I know what to expect and the various requirements of cross country travel. It is best to allow plenty of travel time going to the event so it there is an issue you won’t be pressed for time to make the event.

Registration is simple and very reasonable [Cost $200] it allows you access to the event and includes one poker run hand. You can buy as many poker run hands as you want thereafter. The event headquarters is at the Blood River Marina a private gated access controlled area. The Marina has a boat shaped bar with all your favorite drinks and the staff is amazing. Unlike some poker runs the staff and organizers are friendly and will introduce you to what Southern hospitality is all about i.e... making sure your well taken care of and answer all of your questions.

It is important to note that Livingston Parish Police Chief Tony set up his command trailer on site and gave me a tour of the first responders post. The overall safety of the boaters and the equipment used to assure boating safety was of paramount importance. Water patrol boats and helicopter with dive personnel were available. I was from California and it was reassuring to know all of these police resources were here for the boaters and poker run participants.

The Tickfaw organizers Joey and Casey publish and provide an amazing map of the all the card stops for every poker run captain. It includes visual description of the card stops and the GPS coordinates of each stop. Thus, if your new to the area you simply input the GPS coordinates into your onboard GPS or a handheld unit and off you went. This is a first for me but was extremely helpful in navigating the huge area with ease. I was fortunate to have a local boater in my boat Jeff Ford and Robin Gilmore who were are guides on Saturday. We did all the stops on Friday by ourselves and had a great time at the “Prop Stop” with many of our local friends. The map is also a great souvenir and shop poster for those of you that collect such items.

Boating:

This poker run has all the stops open throughout the day. Therefore, you can decide at your leisure which card stops your going to visit. We opted for doing the poker run in two segments the Lake Maurepas and the rivers on Friday and Lake Ponchatrain on Saturday. It was the right choice because Saturday was extremely busy on Lake Maurepas and all of the stops from Blind River Bar to the Prop Stop were insanely busy with hundreds of boats tied up and many more anchored and rafted up enjoying the scene.

The rivers have unique no wake zones with flags or signs on the sides of the river posted on trees. I had never seen navigational zones with signs indicating “No Wake” zones. The zones mean you must be off plane way before you arrive at the marker something to be aware of in different boating environments.

The scenary and beauty of the Bayou and Louisiana is without a doubt one of the best in the country. If you can imagine the Nature channel and Pirates of the Caribbean all rolled into one picture... that is what you will see. We were in awe with the scenery and the bridges including the “Causeway” the longest bridge over water in the world. [The bridge in China is longer but the “Causeway” has greater length over water.]

The food in this area is also exceptional and if you love seafood Louisiana is the King of such entree’s. You will be impressed with the food people and entertainment. We arrived early and squeezed two days of sight seeing in New Orleans before the Poker Run. Thus, if your planning on attending this poker run you can do a couple of days of tourist stuff in NOLA as well.

On Saturday we did 207 miles of boating in one day. Essentially running the entire Tickfaw 200 in one boating session. We did about 72 miles the day before on Lake Maurepas. So if you like to run your boat for long stretches this event is perfect. There is no shortage of places to go... see and experience from restaurants, bars and backwaters this run has it all. We now know our boat is easily capable of running 280 miles on 120 gallons of fuel at speeds of 80-109 MPH.

This poker run is not for minors we knew this to be the case and it became an adults only run. The bars on the rivers are 21 and over so this means anyone under 21 should either stay on the boat or you could opt to go to stops that were restaurants. I add this caveat for those reading who may contemplate attending this event with small children.

The boaters in Louisiana are extremely friendly and everyone is very laid back and easy going. I really enjoyed this aspect versus some areas where a lot of posturing and egos seem to diminish the appeal of the boating comaraderie. The local performance boaters were a big help in keeping me out of trouble and steering me to the right places. I was listening and pay attention as boating hazards such as stumps, rocks and other obstacles are typically not on charts. So it pays to ask questions and make mental if not written notes.

The event also has the famous “Chicken Drop” which involves blowing into a chickens rear and putting them down to see where it poops. Do not ask me details that is enough information to get you started. They use a square with numbers and if the chicken poops on the number you selected you win. Hence the name “Chicken Drop” I believe it is more nostalgic and tradition than anything else.

Lastly, we are making plans to come out next year because we loved it so much. From the food, boating and people this event was awesome. I hope and trust this event continues in the right direction [Joey/Casey make it happen]. To all the hard working volunteers at the “TICKFAW 200" who made the event possible...Thank you so much. To all our new Bayou friends we enjoyed your company, friendship and waterways. If I did not mention you by name sorry your still in my thoughts.

See you next time.



Footnote 1: Logistically this event is a challenge in terms of lodging. Unless you bring a diesel pusher or RV you will be miles from the marina. In addition, the hotels are few and far from the marina. The majority of the hotels in and around the area were booked solid and you had to pay a non-refundable hotel room rate. Therefore, I suggest you book your lodging early. If you have a large group rent a home on the lake or rivers it is very convenient.

Footnote 2: The trip meter in the truck said 3943.3 miles traveled and 367.1 gallons of diesel used in the truck. It was worth every penny.

[GotHalos]

Great review as always, thank you for sharing your experience.

It's always great to hear first impressions when exploring new places.

Someone posted this picture of your DW on the Tickfaw FB page, not sure if you've seen it.

[KAP]

[KAP]

[Stainless]

Great write up KAP, I love the swamp.


CH3NO2

[KAP]

Lined up at Blind River Bar.

I am trying to get the food photos up from my phone but its not working.

I will try later...kinda of exhausted after two and half days of driving.

Glad you guys liked the write up. It was an amazing place.

I feel so lucky to have experienced it.

KAP

[Chick]

What an awesome experience !! Someday.....


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[KAP]

Jeff Ford and Robin Gilmore were the best host's.

Jeff is a Crawfish Boil expert he has it down.

I forgot to say that we really loved the culture of Louisiana namely the insane seafood.

Words cannot describe it!

[HB Vic]

You just made me slam my finger in my door because we really wanted to do this. Now my finger will never be the same lol

Great write up, I suspect it was easy to write because your experience didn't suck.
Thanks for sharing with us Kap, I really appreciate it.

Tickfaw 2015 here we come


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[KAP]

Getting Ready for a 200+ mile day of boating!