The bridge over the Mississippi was over a mile long and we actually rode downhill to reach it. The shoulder was good and there weren't many cars so this may rate as our favorite crossing since Minnesota. Then we turned south onto a Louisiana State highway and rode the bumps for 65 miles before we came to a town. It's a pretty area with trees off in the distance and crops all around. We saw sugarcane growing here and a little rice as well as some corn that is already being harvested. The roads are always near water but sometimes it's a creek or a lake or a diverted river and sometimes it's actually the Mississippi. We were even on the levee at times between two bodies of water. I know some of this water must have alligators but we haven't seen any yet.
The Corp of Engineers has been very busy in this area protecting Baton Rouge and New Orleans from floods. They also had to reroute the Red River and Atchafalya River because the Mississippi River was getting lazy and started to change course to flow down those rivers. It is a major engineering feat but ensures that New Orleans will remain a port town.
Craig wanted to stop and learn more about it but everything interesting was locked up with no trespassing signs everywhere.
Just as we reached Innis, the stop at mile 65, the sky opened up and we had a major thunderstorm. We had some great chicken and lots of drinks. We also got to talking to some of the locals. They said we shouldn't ride the next 7 miles because there was a real dangerous stretch. It was finally agreed that one of them would take us to where it was safe. We tied our bikes up inside his cattle truck and off we went. He told us a lot about the area. He's a retired rodeo rider and penitentiary worker so he had some good stories. When we saw the dangerous stretch we were glad we had accepted the ride.
We then continued to New Roads in a light rain and ended up with 75 miles for the day.
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