Greetings from the fun-loving city of New Orleans!
I have survived the rains of Texas! My last few days cycling in Texas were pretty okay. I decided to take a slight detour to check out Big Thicket National Preserve and it was totally worth it. The preserve is made up of different environments; the one I visited was mid-slope something or other. The trees, bushes, and vines intertwined to make a confusing jumble of vegetation. I hike some of the trails and due to the recent rains much of the hiking was thru waist deep water. As I was wading thru the thicket the thought came to mind that I had forgotten to ask the ranger about alligators. After that every small sound became an alligator coming for a naive desert rat. I did survive and a side benefit is that the cool water really helped my sore knee. That night was spent amid the sounds of insects in another portion of the preserve.
The next day I did laundry, finally patched up my sleeping pad (it's been flat for 3 weeks), and then crossed the border into Louisiana. It's a brand new state for me and it has a lot of wetlands, besides using parishes instead of counties. I have since discovered that if it's dry land there's usually a house there. Thus my camping sites have been unique; outside the DeRidder fairgrounds, a police dispatcher's backyard, a city park, the parking lot of a library, and then peoples' houses. It's been an experience! Plus the people can't really seem to wrap their heads around the fact that I've chosen to ride my bike. Along the way I also had the good fortune to meet up with Diana and Dave, who are going coast-to-coast on the Southern Tier route. Unlike me their tour is a fundraising campaign the "Navajo United Methodist Center’s New Beginnings Program which is a transitional shelter for women and their children who are survivors of domestic violence or homelessness" (for more great info check out their blog at http://wheelingcoast2coast.blogspot.com/). It was awesome to have some folks to ride with a talk to after 3 weeks of riding alone.
They were also kind enough to take me to Port Allen, where I picked up my first resupply package of the trip. It is also the spot where I survived a truly torrential downpour. That afternoon I cycling South to Donaldsonville and had the wonderful fortune to run into the cycling club there out on a ride. Within in a short span of time I had a shower, place to stay, and some exquisite Louisiana fare. It was truly incredible!! The next day I cycled South eventually crossing the Mississippi River, finally, and cycled atop the levee to my house via a cycling network website. After meeting my three wonderful hosts we spend the night talking touring, poring over maps, and just talking over good food.
The following day I headed, like many a tourist to the French Quarter. I spent hours walking among the beautiful old buildings. Eventually I burned out on all the walking and tourist vibe and headed for Louis Armstrong Park. There I saw a wonderful demonstration of Brazilian instruments, plus the maddest tambourine fancy work I'll ever see, followed by a Congo-like band performance. It was so gone! Found some good bookstores, including William Faulkner's old haunt. Then I toured the National Park historic sites, listening to some soulful jazz and blues. After that it was onto more grand local book hideouts. To get back to the house I hopped the St Charles street car (the oldest continually operating in the U.S.). After a quick snack I walked around the Ferret Street Market, gazing at all the local crafts and good Louisiana cooking. I finally ate some crawfish, which takes a lot of work. From there I listened to an awesome band perform; the crowd really jiving with the tunes. No ban on open alcohol containers in this town! Before this busy day was done I watched "Black Orpheus" back at the house.
Today was spent along the River, visiting the local gear shop, and just lounging around eating lot of food. More fun to be had. Tomorrow I continue East and will soon be in Mississippi. If all this sound remotely exciting, my poor writing really doesn’t compare to the full experience. And so it goes...
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