Brrrrr! Hard time sleeping because it was so cold, even though I have a very nice down sleeping bag. It was still 32 degrees at 0700, but we were able to go inside and have breakfast, and stall for time until it warmed up. Although there was frost on the inside and outside of my rain fly when I got up at 0615, it was thawed out by the time I struck camp at 0900, although my tent was now very wet. No worries, I will dry it out at the hotel tonight!
I was on the road at about 0930, when. It warmed up to 42 degrees. I rode with Tom R and Joe all day, from the time we left Simmesport until we arrived in Saint Francisville. We crossed the Atchafalaya River right outside Simmesport, then turned right, off of LA 1 onto a little used road along the Atchalafaya River levee. At the crossroad, we stopped to turn over our maps, and a gentlemen crossed LA 1 to come talk to us. As it turns out, he is the pastor of the church at the crossroad, and he wanted to let us know that LA 1 would be the shorter route to Saint Francisville. We thanked him, and replied that although LA 1 was shorter, our maps routed us along this levee road, off the highway, and that we were in no rush to get to Saint Francisville. He then shared with us that he lived on the levee road, just past the train trestle, where the flock of sheep were grazing. I commented that he must be the shepherd who watched over his flock! His son-in-law is the Associate Pastor, and was preaching today, so the pastor told us that he was not in is suit today, butt in his regular farming gear. You gotta love this place! He also told us that we would soon come to a plantation house, and that if we told the owner that Pastor Glenn sent us, that we might get a tour.
We came to the White Hall Plantation House, circa 1849, but did not knock on the door and ask for the tour. Instead, we merely took photographs, and talked nicely to the dogs! Moving on, we passed multitudes of sugar cane fields and a few small churches, each with its own cemetery.
The levee road was on the outboard side of the river, and not on the top of the levee. At one point, we came across a service road to the top, where a conveyor crossed the levee and road. We rode to the top, and saw a multitude of pick-up trucks at the river barge headquarters. These barges carried gravel and other building materials up the river, and the conveyor passed them across to the landing zone. It was all quite interesting as we tried to figure out the operations, and which way the materials were being transported (upriver? downriver? inshore? offshore?)
We continued through the town of Innes, and back onto LA 1, where we rode on top of a Mississippi River flood control levee and spillway for several miles. This levee brought us into the small town of Morganza, where we stopped for lunch at the Spillway Cafe. Being that it was Sunday, we were unsure if it was open for business. As we were mulling our options, a local person walked up to the three of us, and asked where we were from, how long we were riding, where we are headed, were we doing this for a fundraiser or a cause, and so on. We engaged in lengthy conversation, as our bikes and gear are always a conversation piece. After our conversation, she left, but quickly returned, and asked if she could pray with us. So, she prayed with us for our safety and well being during the remainder of our travels. This is the second time someone has done this with me on this trip - both in the south, the Bible Belt!
The Spillway Cafe was open, much to our surprise, and was a very nice local place for lunch. I had a the crawfish etoufee and a salad. Wow, that etoufee was spicy, but that is the Cajun way! Moving on, we skirted around New Roads, and came to the relatively new John James Audubon Bridge, over the Mississippi River. Strange, there were no signs indicating that this was the Mississippi! I guess it is obvious, but there were signs over the Rio Grande, which was also obvious. A sign would have made a great photo opportunity. Instead, there are many photos of the bridge, from different angles. The bridge was long, and steep, at least the steepest climb since we left Texas! Once across the great Mississippi, we were in rolling hills, again the first since Texas. Only a few miles to Saint Francisville, where we will have a day off to rest our legs!
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