Yesterday we crossed the Mississippi River by ferry. We are now in the eastern US, which is good because we only have 16 more days to make our way to St. Augustine.
These are long riding days--88.5 mi. into Lafayette (I took a couple side trips.) and 86 mi. to St. Francisville. Today is a rest day to be followed tomorrow by an 88 mi. day. The good news is that it is quite flat in Louisiana, although less so here on the eastern side of the Mississippi River. The bad news is that on the ride to Lafayette we were dealing with a 20 mph wind--mostly a crosswind, and only occasionally a headwind or tailwind, and who knows what tomorrow will bring. The other good news is that with 70% of the ride behind us, we still have not been rained on. It rained last evening, but not until well after all of us had reached the Butler-Greenwood Plantation where we are staying, in the outbuildings--the old kitchen, cook's cottage, gazebo, dove cote, treehouse, etc. This plantation has been in the same family since 1796. Unfortunately, it is way out of town, with no WiFi, no place to eat, and a long way to walk to get to anything.
So, this morning I rode my bike into town to visit the Rosedown Plantation which has 28 acres of gardens. The house with its two-story columns and porches was impressive, just what one imagines of a southern plantation. The rose garden has lots of heirloom varieties which have such wonderful fragrance. And the live oak trees, which are nearly 200 years old, are just magnificent. What I really wanted to see were the azaleas in bloom (hundreds of them, most well over my head), but I'm too late. They've already been here and gone, hastened no doubt by the record setting heat wave in this part of the country. In Lafayette the temperature was 89 degrees the day we rode in, and the record for that day is 89 degrees.
On the ride to Lafayette, we passed thru Crowley, which claims to be the rice capital of the world, and we did see a number of rice paddies around there as well as a number of crawfish farms, which I suspect were once rice paddies. Lots of water and lots of water birds. I was riding along a deep ditch when a great white heron flew up and flew alongside me for awhile--that was great! Road kill has changed--we now see lots of armadillos, skunks, and possums as well as snakes, frogs, and other little things that live around water. I'm still waiting to see a live armadillo.
Honeysuckle is everywhere--we ride to the fragrance. Also hundreds of spider lilies along yesterday's ride. As we headed towards the ferry, we rode along the levee for miles, and I was surprised to see that they graze cattle on the levee, and bail hay, and who knows what else. The last few days have reminded me how much earlier things mature here than back home in DC. Mulberries are ripe, strawbery festivals are happening, roses and Southern Magnolia are in bloom, corn is already 12-15 inches high in the fields.
I'm writing this on the computer in the St. Francisville public library and am about to take a walking tour of the historic part of town. St. Francisville was once the capital of the West Florida Republic, a short-lived declaration of independence from Spain which led to the US taking over this area.
I am so glad that in spite of the heat you are enjoying Louisiana. It is a world of its own and one of my favorite places to visit. I could go for the flat roads, I live in the middle of a roller coaster.
ReplyDeleteSo nice that you spent part of your rest day getting to know the local area - and than goodness for libraries.