Day Seventy-two, Date Monday, May 11, 2009
Time in Saddle: 8:03
Distance for the Day: 82.97 miles From Lafayette To Pierre Part (Hwy 70)
Accumulated Trip Distance: 3207.0 miles
Altitudes: Starting/Ending 301’/308’, Highest: 358’ Accumulated: 492’
Speeds: Avg: 10.2 mph, Max: 26.8 mph
Weather: 75° and somewhat humid
Expenditures: $4
Got wakeup call at 5:45, so I got a good 1.5 hours of sleep (woo-hoo!) Got up and prepped for departure, packing things up and setting up my trike. Becky and John were also doing final packing for their fishing trip, and fixed me some eggs and toast. We said our goodbyes and went our separate ways at 6:30am. What an incredibly nice couple, with an amazingly beautiful home. It makes me feel just a *little* inadequate, to be a part of Warmshowers.org – the most I could offer someone is the use of a bathroom/shower and a patch of lawn for a tent. I’ll have to see about improving this situation when I return home. I made it out of Lafayette without too much problems, thanks to the StreetAtlas recommended route for bicycles. The major streets in Lafayette are not designed very well for bicycle traffic, to say nothing for *tricycles*, which take up even more space, so it was nice to find less-traveled routes through and out of town.
When I hit the town of Jeanerette, I saw a sign that said, “Justin’s Observatory,” and saw a neat, small dome atop a small building to the side and rear of a small house. Intriguing! I stopped to take some pictures, and Jason himself came out to greet me. He gave me the grand tour, and invited me into his home for a chat. That dome of his was solidly built, and housed a 10” fork-mounted Celestron, which he used over the years to see deep-sky objects, and to show neighborhood kids the moon and planets. Unfortunately, Jeanerette is really a two-dog town, and pretty much no one else was interested
in astronomy. I encourage anyone who passes through Jeanerette to stop by and say ‘hi,’ and get the tour, and have a chat. It’s kind of lonely being the only person in the area interested in the wonders of the Universe; kind of like being the only sighted person in the Louvre, or worse: being the only person willing to take off their earmuffs at the concert.
Time in Saddle: 8:03
Distance for the Day: 82.97 miles From Lafayette To Pierre Part (Hwy 70)
Accumulated Trip Distance: 3207.0 miles
Altitudes: Starting/Ending 301’/308’, Highest: 358’ Accumulated: 492’
Speeds: Avg: 10.2 mph, Max: 26.8 mph
Weather: 75° and somewhat humid
Expenditures: $4
Got wakeup call at 5:45, so I got a good 1.5 hours of sleep (woo-hoo!) Got up and prepped for departure, packing things up and setting up my trike. Becky and John were also doing final packing for their fishing trip, and fixed me some eggs and toast. We said our goodbyes and went our separate ways at 6:30am. What an incredibly nice couple, with an amazingly beautiful home. It makes me feel just a *little* inadequate, to be a part of Warmshowers.org – the most I could offer someone is the use of a bathroom/shower and a patch of lawn for a tent. I’ll have to see about improving this situation when I return home. I made it out of Lafayette without too much problems, thanks to the StreetAtlas recommended route for bicycles. The major streets in Lafayette are not designed very well for bicycle traffic, to say nothing for *tricycles*, which take up even more space, so it was nice to find less-traveled routes through and out of town.
When I hit the town of Jeanerette, I saw a sign that said, “Justin’s Observatory,” and saw a neat, small dome atop a small building to the side and rear of a small house. Intriguing! I stopped to take some pictures, and Jason himself came out to greet me. He gave me the grand tour, and invited me into his home for a chat. That dome of his was solidly built, and housed a 10” fork-mounted Celestron, which he used over the years to see deep-sky objects, and to show neighborhood kids the moon and planets. Unfortunately, Jeanerette is really a two-dog town, and pretty much no one else was interested
in astronomy. I encourage anyone who passes through Jeanerette to stop by and say ‘hi,’ and get the tour, and have a chat. It’s kind of lonely being the only person in the area interested in the wonders of the Universe; kind of like being the only sighted person in the Louvre, or worse: being the only person willing to take off their earmuffs at the concert.I crossed the Atchafalaya River before entering Morgan City, and from there went north on Hwy 70 towards White Castle; I wanted to go along the Mississippi River for a ways, and this seemed like a good way to do that. It was a mistake, which will become evident in the telling of this day’s, and tomorrow’s tales. Got a cold soda and Gatorade along the way ($4). As the afternoon waned, and evening crept up, the sky became increasingly dark and cloudy. By evening, it looked downright stormy, with dark, roiling clouds, and lightning flashing in the very direction I was still headed. I tried to locate a stealth campsite to hang my hammock, but wasn’t finding anything. I asked a few of the homeowners
along the route for permission to overnight, but wasn’t getting any bites. This was unusual. The next house I approached didn’t look occupied, but I approached it anyways, just as I began to feel big drops of rain start to fall, and could hear the roar of rain hitting the north side of the large car/boat port behind the house. It was a curtain of rain that would hit me in seconds, so I ran back to my trike, and rolled it under the carport behind the house. Pow! The torrential rain engulfed the entire house, wind whipped around, lightning flashed, and the thunder crashed. For the moment, though, I was dry. This carport was huge; probably 30 x 90 feet, and attached to the
back of the house. Apparently, the homeowners weren’t home. I hung out, ate a couple of bananas and trailmix, napped a bit while still seated in my trike, as the elements raged. The storm moved off after about an hour, and a hazy moon came out, along with the mosquitoes. I didn’t want to ride out into the dark and wet, looking for some place to hang my hammock, but I didn’t want to repeat the bivvy sack torture trick, either. I was also a little worried that the owners would drive up and find me camping-out in their carport. Decisions, decisions! I finally decided to stay, but would only use my mattress and sleeping bag. It sort of didn’t work; the mosquitoes still got to me, and it was warm enough that a sleeping bag was too warm, so I couldn’t quite get to sleep; blaugh! I got up and moved from one spot to another to escape the mosquitoes, and watched the lightning that was still going on in the distance. Then I got an idea. I could put on my wet weather gear to keep the mosquitoes off everything from the neck down, wear my knit cap to protect my scalp, ears and face, and slather up any exposed skin
(neck and ankles) with DEET. I would then just lie on top of my sleeping bag. It worked, by golly, by gum! I was finally able to get some much needed sleep, especially since I’d only gotten a few hours the night before. Whew!
along the route for permission to overnight, but wasn’t getting any bites. This was unusual. The next house I approached didn’t look occupied, but I approached it anyways, just as I began to feel big drops of rain start to fall, and could hear the roar of rain hitting the north side of the large car/boat port behind the house. It was a curtain of rain that would hit me in seconds, so I ran back to my trike, and rolled it under the carport behind the house. Pow! The torrential rain engulfed the entire house, wind whipped around, lightning flashed, and the thunder crashed. For the moment, though, I was dry. This carport was huge; probably 30 x 90 feet, and attached to the
back of the house. Apparently, the homeowners weren’t home. I hung out, ate a couple of bananas and trailmix, napped a bit while still seated in my trike, as the elements raged. The storm moved off after about an hour, and a hazy moon came out, along with the mosquitoes. I didn’t want to ride out into the dark and wet, looking for some place to hang my hammock, but I didn’t want to repeat the bivvy sack torture trick, either. I was also a little worried that the owners would drive up and find me camping-out in their carport. Decisions, decisions! I finally decided to stay, but would only use my mattress and sleeping bag. It sort of didn’t work; the mosquitoes still got to me, and it was warm enough that a sleeping bag was too warm, so I couldn’t quite get to sleep; blaugh! I got up and moved from one spot to another to escape the mosquitoes, and watched the lightning that was still going on in the distance. Then I got an idea. I could put on my wet weather gear to keep the mosquitoes off everything from the neck down, wear my knit cap to protect my scalp, ears and face, and slather up any exposed skin
(neck and ankles) with DEET. I would then just lie on top of my sleeping bag. It worked, by golly, by gum! I was finally able to get some much needed sleep, especially since I’d only gotten a few hours the night before. Whew!.
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