Travel with Tobey and Sue: February 8, 2019 - Oberlin to Chicot State Park, Louisiana

Saturday, February 9, 2019

February 8, 2019 - Oberlin to Chicot State Park, Louisiana

Day 39 Cross Country Bike Trip

What a difference 24 hour makes! Last night the rain caught up to us and the wind brought in the front. Yesterday was 70 degrees when Tobey started off … today, it was 38 with 20-25 mph winds from the north/northeast. Wind chill was HORRIBLE so he bundled up in his winter gear again!We also started the morning with some mix-up leaving Oberlin. Tobey found a different route on Google maps that was supposed to be on less-traveled roads, so he updated the RidewithGPS app. I, unfortunately, opened the wrong route when we started off, so I was on Highway 26 – the wrong road on the OLD route. It was REALLY windy and I expected to catch up to Tobey within 5 miles after he took off but he was nowhere to be seen! We were on different roads! Fortunately, we had cell service and after a phone call I was able to locate him on Google maps. I meandered on the backroads until I caught up with him! Crazy.

The road was DEFINITELY less-traveled and the tall pines helped block the wind a little. We do have some issues with Google maps, however. I was following Tobey when we arrived at the end of the pavement and it turned to gravel. THEN, this sign … and neither of us wanted to take the chance that it was wrong!We loaded the bike and backtracked to a road that would connect with Highway 104.

Tobey rode about 20 miles before we stopped for lunch. It was a hard morning!All along the way we passed rice fields that are also used to harvest crawfish. In one field, a man was walking through the shallow water emptying his traps into buckets. In the fields with deeper water, they were in a boat harvesting. This is crawfish season, so we hope to enjoy some one of these nights soon!Coming into Mamou were these happy pigs. We thought they were the three little pigs, but no one was huffing and puffing to blow their house down. They just looked like they were having a good time! And the people of Mamou must know how to have a good time – they even have a drive-thru daiquiris store! After Tobey’s ride today, he probably wishes I would have stopped for some!I passed this cemetery during the drive. You might notice that all of the graves have concrete over them, or are raised above the ground. I read somewhere they do that because of flooding and caskets floating away if they don’t put the concrete above them. We are camping about six miles north of Ville Platte at Chicot State Park tonight . The sites have electricity and water for $36 a night. It is a shame the weather is so awful because the park is located on Lake Chicot. There are several hiking trails, boat and kayaking, and an arboretum. Perhaps on another trip!