Wednesday, May 13, 2009

day three: Loo-ziana to Texas





We’re back. Day three is now “in the books.” Mike and I woke up a little late this morning since we got in late last night from our over 500 mile marathon down the Natchez Trace. Mary Edwards, the proprietor of the hotel we stayed in last night, took good care of us and gave Michael a hug to send us on our way. The morning looked a little foreboding with sullen, gray rain clouds covering eastern Louisiana. Mike and I had already scripted our best ending of the day and the details of our plan did not include rain. As it turned out, we experienced some high winds which can be very tiring and, combined with passing 18-wheelers, can be dangerous. We traveled highway 84 west all day. Louisiana was as expected after a great deal of recent rain. The fields were flat and covered with water. The bayous were full and the rivers overflowing. We drove through Cajun country although the locals called them “Coonasses .” I’m not kidding! Western Louisiana and eastern Texas were unimpressive accounting for the scarcity of pictures from the area. As we got further into Texas hill country I began to see how I might be able to live here- you know, have about 10,000 acres to run my cattle and horses on just like J.R. on South Fork! Mike and I ate lunch today in Timpson, Texas. It sounds like Clemson in that, although Clemson has no “p” it is often pronounced that way. We went through some pretty Texas towns. Two of our favorites were Palestine and Fairfield. Both towns were small but very clean. Our total distance today is not as impressive as yesterday’s 554 miles, having traveled a mere 361 miles but it was enough in the Texas heat. The heat and humidity combined to cause a recurrence of a condition which my ophthalmologist diagnosed as “allergic episcleritis.” I prefer to call it by its more common name, “Satan eyes.” It looks like conjunctivitis but is not contagious. It’s hard to explain this to local people who shake hands with you and run to the nearest bathroom to wash. Michael and I continue to work through our various maladies and are actually getting conditioned to the daily pounding. That’s about all for today. We’re planning another long one tomorrow trying to make it to Carlsbad, New Mexico. We’ll let you know if we make it!

1 comment:

  1. Some highlights:

    1) Taking the gas pump out of my tank to see how full it was getting...while I was still pumping! Covered the front of my bike, my hands and jacket in gas...good thing I like the smell because I don't think it's going anywhere anytime soon!

    2) Dad's kickstand sinking through the asphalt in Texas when we stopped for a smoke. Never in my life have I seen anything like it...apparently asphalt is a lot like cookie-dough when it gets really hot. Luckily we caught it in time and didn't have to deadlift dad's bike off of the ground (again!)

    3) DR Pepper Icee in 'nowhere' Louisianna.

    4) Cold Beer and Nachos in Waco, Texas!

    -M

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