Across Bayou Country to the Mighty Mississippi

This entry of for Thursday, 19 May 2011:

Today's ride took us 380 miles across the state of Louisiana from Shreveport, LA to Natchez, MS at the Mississippi River. The plan was to follow the Red River to the southeast from I-20 and then generally west on Rt. 84 all the way to Natchez. Passing through through Kisatchie National Forest on Rt. 84 reminded me of riding in Vermont and western Massachusetts (i.e., single lane roads, trees on both sides and rolling hills). Over the course of the day we saw farm land, bayous, rivers, forests and Mississippi River plain farmland with corn and wheat crops.

We added three loops to the basic route to allow us to see some back areas in LA and what is going on with river flooding first hand at Vicksburg and Natchez, MS.

The first loop took us to the Russell B. Long Lock & Dam on the Red River. This river was not experiencing flooding conditions (see photo).

The second loop took us off Rt. 84 at the Town of Whitehall to the northeast to Rt. 20. We took I-20 to get us into Vicksburg. Along this route we needed fuel at the Town of Winnsboro, LA, stopping at what seemed like a normal convenience mart-type gas station. Were we ever wrong. This place was also "Big Boy's Bar-B-Que" so we decided to have lunch at this stop. The pulled pork barbecue and baked beans were "out of this world." The local people, curious about our peculiar accents, were very friendly and helpful...a memorable lunch for sure. During this lunch conversation we were coached on the proper "local" pronunciation of Natchez (rimes with matches).

Because of tarface23's comment about drive-thru daiquiri establishments in Louisiana, I was on the look out for one all day. Saw one sign for a Daiquiri Shack but never encountered it on the routes taken. I did see two more drive-thru packies but it was not at the end of the ride and we did not stop today for any refreshments. I saw the opposite of a Road Runner today crossing the road...a 12-inch black turtle. No, I did not run over it.

Record river levels were indeed being experienced and we saw first hand conditions at Vicksburg, MS today. The photos posted show the situation. Low areas adjacent to river were flooded and the river level was almost at the bridge approach deck level for the I-20/Rt. 80 bridge on the LA side. Most of the city of Vicksburg sits on a hill so was not impacted by the river flooding. However, the Yazoo & Mississippi Railroad Station close to the river at Vicksburg was inundated as you can see in the posted photo.

After Vicksburg, we went back over the Mississippi River on the I-20 bridge and took Rt. 65 south with the intent to get us back to Rt. 84 to take us into Natchez, MS. We took another detour loop in the area of Newellton, LA that let us see a Mississippi River backwater area. I posted a shot of the backwater area that we stopped at.

After the backwater loop we got back on Rt. 65 south to Rt. 84 and crossed the Mississippi River for the third time going into Natchez. The river level at the levee on the LA side, downstream of the Rt. 84 bridge, had very little to go to be overtopped. There could be some levee failures tomorrow as the cresting level at Natchez is expected to be a record tomorrow. We hope to be long gone up the Natchez Trace by the time peak river levels arrive. I posted two photos of conditions today at the Rt. 84 bridge at Natchez, one showing the LA side levee and the other showing the bridge itself as the sun was going down.

Tomorrow, we are heading to the northeast from Natchez on the Natchez Trace with an intended destination of Tupelo, MS. The Natchez Trace is a 440-mile road of historical significance that goes almost all the way to Nashville, TN. Check it out by Googling "Natchez Trace."