Thursday, December 2, 2010
Last night was a good one, and not as cold as a few days back. Trains ran throughout the night, but I was able to sleep pretty well. I was up and packed by 645, and noticed the pine trees kept the frost off the cart and gear I leave outside. My goal for today is to reach Tallulah, but that's about 20+ miles away, and not sure if I can do that with the shorter days. If I get there today, then can probably make Vicksburg late Friday instead of Saturday.
I walked the 4-5 miles to Delhi pretty quickly. I asked around about a place for breakfast. A couple of people mentioned Boomers, so I headed there. It was several blocks south of Hwy 80, and I soon found it. Inquired about a place to plug in the computer to charge the battery, and they had a table with an outlet on the wall nearby. While I was waiting for breakfast, 3 guys at another table asked about my walk, and we talked a while about that. One of them gave me some money for the trip, and that was a nice gesture. (I have quit mentioning the amount in case the IRS is following this blog!) Breakfast was good and the normal southern fare: eggs, grits, bacon, toast, soda. I ate, worked on the computer for a while, and headed out for Tallulah. On the walk back to Hwy 80, I passed a church that was playing music on their bells, and it rang across the small town....a really nice touch.
Before long I crossed over Bayou Macon, and wondered exactly what "bayou" means. I have seen it both on water, and on towns (Bee Bayou). Most of the area I'm walking through this morning is marshy, with submerged trees and green water. A car pulled alongside me, and the woman asked if I had seen a girl carrying a cross. I hadn't, but told her I thought she was somewhere in Delhi. The woman told me that her church had found a place for Morgan to stay last night, so that worked out well for her. I soon came to Waverly, the only place between Delhi and Tallulah. I was told there was a store, but if so, it wasn't visible from hwy 80......so I kept walking.
It's a beautiful day today, and the road's straight and flat with almost no traffic. Hwy 80 has redeemed itself somewhat, by being nicely paved....although no shoulders. The 13 or so miles between Waverly and Tallulah is primarily farming country. Plowed fields that are flat and extend forever. Because they had been plowed. it was impossible to tell what had been planted there. I also passed large, modern looking grain silos along the way. I crossed the Tensas River, and passed through a place named Quebec......a place that wouldn't be a place without the sign. I didn't see anything there. I passed a flooded field......it wasn't deep enough for fish, so I assumed maybe rice? If rice, it's the first I've seen around here.
I was taking a picture of the grain silos, and noticed a guy working around the area, so walked over to find out what was in the silos. He introduced himself as John Hilderbrand, a local farmer. The silos were his and were full of feed corn. The corn was already sold, waiting to be delivered. It will be trucked to the Mississippi River, loaded on barges for a trip to New Orleans, then loaded on ocean freighters to be shipped to some foreign country. John told me there's lots of cotton, soybeans, and corn grown in this area. John also told me there is some rice grown in this area.
While we were talking, John's Dad drove up, and we talked a while. He was in the army in France in 1960, and was chosen to be part of a ceremony when John Kennedy placed a wreath on the tomb of the unknown soldier in Paris at the Arc de Triomphe. What's the odds of meeting someone with that background? An editorial here: farming is such a wholesome, healthy, and honest lifestyle.....it's a shame that most of the small farmers have been driven out of the business.
I headed out with maybe 4-5 miles left to Tallulah. A car approached, blowing the horn, and two people in the front seat waving. I figured they wanted me off the road, but saw it was Kristi Lawson who I met yesterday in Rayville, and a co-worker. They had told me they would be working in this area today, and would look for me. Nice to see them. They went up the road a ways, turned around, and came back to take a picture. Kristi told me I was only 5 minutes from Tallulah (30 maybe), but I was happy it was close. It was getting late, and I had already passed up a couple of nice camping sites.
I was soon in Tallulah, and asked a police officer about a camping place. He suggested I go to the Sheriff's office and ask them, so I went there. They had no specific places, but suggested I go toward I-20 and the truckstop there. Said it had some land around it, so I headed there. I was walking around McDonald's looking for a field or something, and a woman pulled up and asked if I was the man walking across America. She introduced herself as Clara Senigar, and said she worked with Kristi from Rayville, and they had told her to watch for me and try to find a camping spot. Well, she found me, but had no suggestions about a place to stay. But it's really nice these people are watching out for me.
In my effort to make Tallulah, I stayed out too late, and was unable to find a good site. So, ended up at the Day's Inn near I-20. The nice person at the desk gave me the WAA (Walking Across America) discount, so that helped. Soon I was in the room, getting clean and warm, and charging all the electronic stuff. It's about 18-20 miles to Vicksburg, maybe I'll cross the river tomorrow. Or maybe, I'll spend one more night on this side, and leave that for Saturday.
About the pictures:
John Hilderbrand's grain silos.
The only thing that makes Quebec a thing.
Last night was a good one, and not as cold as a few days back. Trains ran throughout the night, but I was able to sleep pretty well. I was up and packed by 645, and noticed the pine trees kept the frost off the cart and gear I leave outside. My goal for today is to reach Tallulah, but that's about 20+ miles away, and not sure if I can do that with the shorter days. If I get there today, then can probably make Vicksburg late Friday instead of Saturday.
I walked the 4-5 miles to Delhi pretty quickly. I asked around about a place for breakfast. A couple of people mentioned Boomers, so I headed there. It was several blocks south of Hwy 80, and I soon found it. Inquired about a place to plug in the computer to charge the battery, and they had a table with an outlet on the wall nearby. While I was waiting for breakfast, 3 guys at another table asked about my walk, and we talked a while about that. One of them gave me some money for the trip, and that was a nice gesture. (I have quit mentioning the amount in case the IRS is following this blog!) Breakfast was good and the normal southern fare: eggs, grits, bacon, toast, soda. I ate, worked on the computer for a while, and headed out for Tallulah. On the walk back to Hwy 80, I passed a church that was playing music on their bells, and it rang across the small town....a really nice touch.
Before long I crossed over Bayou Macon, and wondered exactly what "bayou" means. I have seen it both on water, and on towns (Bee Bayou). Most of the area I'm walking through this morning is marshy, with submerged trees and green water. A car pulled alongside me, and the woman asked if I had seen a girl carrying a cross. I hadn't, but told her I thought she was somewhere in Delhi. The woman told me that her church had found a place for Morgan to stay last night, so that worked out well for her. I soon came to Waverly, the only place between Delhi and Tallulah. I was told there was a store, but if so, it wasn't visible from hwy 80......so I kept walking.
It's a beautiful day today, and the road's straight and flat with almost no traffic. Hwy 80 has redeemed itself somewhat, by being nicely paved....although no shoulders. The 13 or so miles between Waverly and Tallulah is primarily farming country. Plowed fields that are flat and extend forever. Because they had been plowed. it was impossible to tell what had been planted there. I also passed large, modern looking grain silos along the way. I crossed the Tensas River, and passed through a place named Quebec......a place that wouldn't be a place without the sign. I didn't see anything there. I passed a flooded field......it wasn't deep enough for fish, so I assumed maybe rice? If rice, it's the first I've seen around here.
I was taking a picture of the grain silos, and noticed a guy working around the area, so walked over to find out what was in the silos. He introduced himself as John Hilderbrand, a local farmer. The silos were his and were full of feed corn. The corn was already sold, waiting to be delivered. It will be trucked to the Mississippi River, loaded on barges for a trip to New Orleans, then loaded on ocean freighters to be shipped to some foreign country. John told me there's lots of cotton, soybeans, and corn grown in this area. John also told me there is some rice grown in this area.
While we were talking, John's Dad drove up, and we talked a while. He was in the army in France in 1960, and was chosen to be part of a ceremony when John Kennedy placed a wreath on the tomb of the unknown soldier in Paris at the Arc de Triomphe. What's the odds of meeting someone with that background? An editorial here: farming is such a wholesome, healthy, and honest lifestyle.....it's a shame that most of the small farmers have been driven out of the business.
I headed out with maybe 4-5 miles left to Tallulah. A car approached, blowing the horn, and two people in the front seat waving. I figured they wanted me off the road, but saw it was Kristi Lawson who I met yesterday in Rayville, and a co-worker. They had told me they would be working in this area today, and would look for me. Nice to see them. They went up the road a ways, turned around, and came back to take a picture. Kristi told me I was only 5 minutes from Tallulah (30 maybe), but I was happy it was close. It was getting late, and I had already passed up a couple of nice camping sites.
I was soon in Tallulah, and asked a police officer about a camping place. He suggested I go to the Sheriff's office and ask them, so I went there. They had no specific places, but suggested I go toward I-20 and the truckstop there. Said it had some land around it, so I headed there. I was walking around McDonald's looking for a field or something, and a woman pulled up and asked if I was the man walking across America. She introduced herself as Clara Senigar, and said she worked with Kristi from Rayville, and they had told her to watch for me and try to find a camping spot. Well, she found me, but had no suggestions about a place to stay. But it's really nice these people are watching out for me.
In my effort to make Tallulah, I stayed out too late, and was unable to find a good site. So, ended up at the Day's Inn near I-20. The nice person at the desk gave me the WAA (Walking Across America) discount, so that helped. Soon I was in the room, getting clean and warm, and charging all the electronic stuff. It's about 18-20 miles to Vicksburg, maybe I'll cross the river tomorrow. Or maybe, I'll spend one more night on this side, and leave that for Saturday.
About the pictures:
John Hilderbrand's grain silos.
The only thing that makes Quebec a thing.
So glad you made it to Tallulah and are staying in a hotel. Kristi has been keeping us updated on your whereabouts. Thank you for having lunch with us yesterday. It was such a joy to talk with you. I look forward to keeping up with your travels. Be safe!
ReplyDeleteBrooke
Ps. A bayou is a slow moving river :)
Morning Jeff, I am so glad to see your progress, safe and much more "learned" about our state and culture !! We are pretty laid back, down here, I reckon you have noticed that. Golly, we don't even repair our roads (grin). Those nice new silos are all over N.E. La since the Ethanol became so demanding. Many farmers have almost totally given up growing cotton for the Golden stuff. If you happen to wonder why corn is so high priced, just think about the 10 % ethanol we burn in our autos. This has really taken a toll on the ranchers that depend so much on feed corn !! If you wonder about the price of a Rib Eye, now you know why ! Those flooded fields are RICE FIELDS !! Of course, this time of year they are used to " SHOOT THEM DUCK " Cajun slang for duck hunting . Grin... Did you know that our Government pays the rice landowners to flood the rice fields to (cough) feed the migrating ducks and geese ? (cough, cough ) Of course, they allow them to lease Duck hunting rights to their lands too . ( cough, cough, cough ) Yep, feed the ducks with taxpayer money then shoot them when their bellies are full !This is done in the name of keeping our migrating waterfowl fed and healthy !! No doubt, you have heard many gunshots on your trip through this Sportsman's Paradise . Hunting seasons are in full swing !! Now, back to those Bayous, in Yankee Land, they might call them Creeks or CRICKS. Much like the Creeks or Cricks, they vary in size due to the rainfall, but ours got lots more MUD in them, HA !! Down here, we call those Yankee Creeks, a " SLOUGH " "GRINING again"! Back up the road, you mentioned Bee Bayou, that is a small community, named after Bayou Bee.
ReplyDeleteAt Tallulah, you were about 80 ft above sea level and just before you get to the Mississippi River, you will drop back into the 60 ft level then immediately back up to 90 ft before crossing the Bridge !! You will be closer to Heaven when you get into Vicksburg !!
You take care and stay safe,
Later Mick
Awesome post Jeff! Excited about you meeting John's dad...what an experience. Happy you didn't decide to climb up into one of those silos...you would have seen more corn than you've ever seen, LOL! Be safe!
ReplyDelete