Day 31 ( Bogalusa, LA, to La Rue, MS)

It was one stinky night, as the main industry in Bogalusa is the pulp (paper) mill. The aroma (read that as stench) from the mill permeates the whole town. Karen compared the smell to that of stale urine, while I  thought it smelled more like a backed up sewer. Regardless of that, we were up on time this morning, and since the motel didn't have a continental breakfast, we ate pastries and fruit that we carry in the truck. We took the truck to the Wal Mart, and while I got the bikes ready to go, Karen went in and got ice for the coolers. Finally about 8AM we were off.

The road out of Bogalusa  (route 10) is kind of rough, with a very limited shoulder. It was a little bit of a challenge, but once across the river and into Mississippi, the road changed to route 26 and was easier to travel. We deviated from the ACA route by staying on 26 from Bogalusa to Poplarville. It saved a few miles and was a relatively nice ride.

Out of Louisiana

And into Mississippi

Nice Rolling Roads and lots of Forest on all sides

Where do they put the rest of the body?

Nice Gate entries at the horse ranches

We road to Perkinston, where our first break was scheduled. On the way there I had another flat tire, after the 3 yesterday I changed it with no problems and we got on our way. I missed the turn onto "10 Mile Road" and we ended up with about 5 extra miles trying to retrace the route and find the right place. When we got there, father was waiting. Yeah! We got our snacks and I gave father the phone number for the only motel in Bayou La Batre, where we planned to spend the night. I asked him to call for rates and to make a reservation, as that is the only motel within 60 miles of the route in that area.

We then continued on the route, and as we got close to the Railroad Creek Bridge, we started seeing signs saying that the bridge was closed for repairs and to detour. Karen and I decided that however bad it was, we could walk across the partial bridge or wade across the creek, but we didn't want to detour. When we finally arrived at the bridge, it was obvious that it had been fully repaired and in use for some time, but the signs had not been removed. We continued to La Rue, where we stopped for the day and loaded the bikes on the truck for the shuttle to Bayou La Batre. As we started driving, I asked father if he had called and made a reservation. He said that he hadn't, that he thought we had done it. Right, we can call while we are riding 80 plus miles, with him sitting on his butt in the car. We were totally pissed off, but Karen called and got a reservation as we were driving the hour to town. What a crock!

Well, the motel is nice, Guest House Inn and Suites. We had dinner next door at the Chicken and Seafood take out restaurant, and it was actually really good.

So tomorrow we are planning to ride another 80 miles. This will put us within 30 miles of being one more day ahead of schedule. Karen and I plan to discuss it and see if we will make one more long day and get an extra day off, or just take one thirty mile day so we can have  a lot of rest that day.

Today's map and numbers are at:

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/236564414#.UIdZEA9xIXc.blogger