Day 89 - What A Difference A Day Makes

Friday, November 26, 2010

We all need a little rain in our lives to appreciate the sunshine.....and I had mine last night. It rained, the wind blew, trains rumbled by, and it turned cold. The only good thing I did is put the tent on high ground, otherwise I would have been floating. I dreaded the wake up call this morning, because I knew it would be a mess packing the wet stuff. And it was, but eventually everything was on the cart and I was moving out. A deputy from the local sheriff's department stopped alongside the road to make sure I was ok. The next town is Gibsland, about 4 miles away. It doesn't have much, but does have a store and a washateria (that's what some out here call a laundromat). So I headed out.

Fortunately, Gibsland was not 4 miles, seemed more like 2 or so. Gibsland is near the spot where Bonnie and Clyde were ambushed, and a sign advertised it as the jonquil capitol of Louisiana. I stopped in the store for breakfast, and then to the laundromat to dry some things. Most everything was wet to some degree, and soon it was all dry......even the rain suit. I used the time while waiting to charge some batteries, and do a little computer stuff. Then, packed the cart and headed east. The day was cloudy and cold, and before long I could hear something hitting my hat, but nothing wet on the backpack. Then I saw it bouncing off the backpack.....sleet. Not much, but some. It didn't last long, and that's about all it did.....no rain.

Hwy 80 east to Arcadia is about like it was yesterday......2 lane and no shoulder. But again, not much traffic. Around noon I was walking into Arcadia, and the sun was coming out. Arcadia has a small, but nice, downtown. One street in particular, Railroad Ave. is really nice. Arcadia has some Bonnie and Clyde history also. I asked the place to eat in town, and every one recommended Luigi's. I walked the couple of blocks there, and it was closed today.....a real bummer. Without walking a couple of miles toward I-20, there was nothing else in town. So I had a sandwich at the convenience store, got some ice, and headed east.

Hwy 80 east of Arcadia improves some, and has been repaved.....but no shoulders. The repaved stretch honors Korean War Veterans. I passed a large Weyerhauser plant along the way, but mostly just tree lined road. The next small town was Simsboro, and again not much there. It does have one of the prettiest water tanks with the town name, painted in the high school team colors. Not as much football "mania" in Louisiana it seems, but maybe the season is over. I had about another hour of walking, so headed out. Next town is Ruston, about 10 miles away. After a couple of miles I started looking for campsites. Found a private home with a big yard, and the owner agreed to let me camp there. It's getting cold, but dry. It was almost dark when I finally had the tent up, but much better than last evening.

I have a package being delivered in W. Monroe, LA, and need to get there by Sunday. Then think I will take a rest day on Monday, before heading east again.