hppants
Well-known member
Many of my family and friends still struggle with my decision to ride. Why, they ask, would I not just take the car on the adventure instead of the motorcycle? There are many answers to this question. But one important explanation, at least for me, is quite simple:
Because the cage obstructs the view.
The glass clouds things. The metal and plastic destroy any depth of field. Even the other senses are blanketed. The cage stinks with the majority of the air just recirculated farts and fumes. Sounds are muffled. It is a completely uneventful experience.
A drive in the cage is virtual reality. A ride on the motorcycle is reality.
My first adventure for 2016 was very enjoyable. As a Louisiana State employees, MikeP1300 and I are given the third Monday of every January off to celebrate Martin Luther King Day. As we always close at 12:30 on Fridays, that gave us a three and a half day weekend, plenty of time for a ride.
We lucked out with the weather. Our El Nino winter is challenging me, but we managed to ride the entire weekend on dry pavement. Temperatures ranged from around 30 in the early morning to the mid-50s in the afternoon. Good mid-winter weather for the deep south.
We camped on the Natchez Trace Friday night. On Saturday, we struggled to find a campground to our liking, so we opted for a cheap motel instead. That turned out to be a blessing. A cold front passed through us on Saturday night, but it didn’t start raining until we were off the road. We camped again on Sunday night in the Homochitto National Forest.
There was no plan, no agenda, no schedule, and absolutely no worries. It ended up right at 1,000 miles of unobstructed views.
I hope you enjoy the pics.
Day One: Lafayette, LA to Rocky Springs Campground, Approximately 225 miles.
I packed up the bike on Thursday evening. I’m getting more efficient at packing. Years ago, it would take me many hours sometimes over several days to pack for a bike trip. I think it was mostly worrying that I would forget something, and not really knowing what I need to bring. Last week, I threw everything together in about an hour.
On Friday, I rode my horse to the office. She was buttoned up and rearing to go.
Excited to get going, I snuck out the office about 11:00 and soon thereafter, Mike and I are heading north. We pulled into Simmsport, Louisiana for a late lunch.
Looks like I caught Mike in deep thoughts.
Good shrimp salads for lunch. I got grilled, Mike chose his fried.
I wanted to see how bad the Mississippi River was flooding, so after lunch, Mike and I head further north to the Old River Control Structure. Geologist and Engineers think that the Mississippi River is trying to take over the Atchafalaya River and change course. If that were to happen, dozens of smaller communities in the south central portion of our State would be lost immediately through a massive and permanent flood. But perhaps equally troublesome would be that both Baton Rouge and New Orleans would be left high and dry. All of the shipping from the ports would cease to exist. The huge petrochemical industry that uses the river for transportation and heat exchange water would be devastated.
So the control structure was put in place to divert up to 30% of the Mississippi River flow to the Atchafalaya River. You can read more about it here:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_River_Control_Structure
Today, the water is flowing wide open. This is what 500,000 cubic feet per second looks like. I’ve never seen it this strong.
That structure in the background is a lock that vessels can use to move from one river to the other.
Thankfully, the river has since crested and we were spared from horrific flooding. Now we need the water to recede quickly before the Yankee snow starts to melt.
We continue north, cross Old Man River, and enter Natchez, Mississippi. This is a wonderful town full of history, culture, and plenty to see and do. If you are ever in this part of the country, I highly recommend an overnight at one of the beautiful Bed and Breakfast homes.
We poke around in the woods along the river north of Natchez, ride through Port Gibson (another great MS town), and then hop on the Natchez Trace to our first stop. This is Rocky Springs campground and someone unknown hero has left us a ton of firewood.
First things first……
The campground is virtually empty and there is plenty of room to spread out.
Once the camp was set up, it was time to get down to some serious business.
After eating that huge salad relatively late in the afternoon, we decided just to pick up a subway sandwich and call it dinner instead of cooking. After dinner, I grabbed another beer, sat down to the fire, and thought about how damm lucky I am. Life is good.
Day Two – Rocky Springs Campground to Forest, Mississippi. Approximately 250
During the winter, the nights here are dead quiet. Without a little white noise, it is sometimes harder for me to fall asleep. Not last night. My head hit the pillow and the next thing I know, daylight has returned and I am fresh as a daisy.
We have coffee and breakfast first. There were plenty of hot coals left on the fire, and stoking up some flames was a piece of cake. After breakfast, we pack up the camp and by 8:30 am, we are taxing out of the park at about 42 degrees. I plugged in the heated jacket, but didn’t turn it on. My heated grips are making my hands very toasty.
Our first stop was this unnamed waterfall on the Big Sand Creek about 20 minutes from the campground. Mike and I stopped here last year on our way home, but we wanted to go back and explore more.
While I walked down to the fall for a closer look, Mike is still busy taking pictures from the bridge.
The view closer up is just as nice. I believe this is some kind of soft sandstone.
Mike strikes his signature pose!
Back on the bridge, the horses are being patient.
We ride for a while and at our next gas stop, I took a peek at the map. An attraction caught my eye and I asked Mike if he was interested in something unusual. So we took off for this place.
Near the town of Flora, Mississippi, this is the only known Petrified Forest in the country east of the Mississippi River.
Over a hundred years ago, loggers clear cut this area. Wind and rain did their thing and washed away the top soil, revealing these specimens.
Because the cage obstructs the view.
The glass clouds things. The metal and plastic destroy any depth of field. Even the other senses are blanketed. The cage stinks with the majority of the air just recirculated farts and fumes. Sounds are muffled. It is a completely uneventful experience.
A drive in the cage is virtual reality. A ride on the motorcycle is reality.
My first adventure for 2016 was very enjoyable. As a Louisiana State employees, MikeP1300 and I are given the third Monday of every January off to celebrate Martin Luther King Day. As we always close at 12:30 on Fridays, that gave us a three and a half day weekend, plenty of time for a ride.
We lucked out with the weather. Our El Nino winter is challenging me, but we managed to ride the entire weekend on dry pavement. Temperatures ranged from around 30 in the early morning to the mid-50s in the afternoon. Good mid-winter weather for the deep south.
We camped on the Natchez Trace Friday night. On Saturday, we struggled to find a campground to our liking, so we opted for a cheap motel instead. That turned out to be a blessing. A cold front passed through us on Saturday night, but it didn’t start raining until we were off the road. We camped again on Sunday night in the Homochitto National Forest.
There was no plan, no agenda, no schedule, and absolutely no worries. It ended up right at 1,000 miles of unobstructed views.
I hope you enjoy the pics.
Day One: Lafayette, LA to Rocky Springs Campground, Approximately 225 miles.
I packed up the bike on Thursday evening. I’m getting more efficient at packing. Years ago, it would take me many hours sometimes over several days to pack for a bike trip. I think it was mostly worrying that I would forget something, and not really knowing what I need to bring. Last week, I threw everything together in about an hour.
On Friday, I rode my horse to the office. She was buttoned up and rearing to go.
Excited to get going, I snuck out the office about 11:00 and soon thereafter, Mike and I are heading north. We pulled into Simmsport, Louisiana for a late lunch.
Looks like I caught Mike in deep thoughts.
Good shrimp salads for lunch. I got grilled, Mike chose his fried.
I wanted to see how bad the Mississippi River was flooding, so after lunch, Mike and I head further north to the Old River Control Structure. Geologist and Engineers think that the Mississippi River is trying to take over the Atchafalaya River and change course. If that were to happen, dozens of smaller communities in the south central portion of our State would be lost immediately through a massive and permanent flood. But perhaps equally troublesome would be that both Baton Rouge and New Orleans would be left high and dry. All of the shipping from the ports would cease to exist. The huge petrochemical industry that uses the river for transportation and heat exchange water would be devastated.
So the control structure was put in place to divert up to 30% of the Mississippi River flow to the Atchafalaya River. You can read more about it here:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_River_Control_Structure
Today, the water is flowing wide open. This is what 500,000 cubic feet per second looks like. I’ve never seen it this strong.
That structure in the background is a lock that vessels can use to move from one river to the other.
Thankfully, the river has since crested and we were spared from horrific flooding. Now we need the water to recede quickly before the Yankee snow starts to melt.
We continue north, cross Old Man River, and enter Natchez, Mississippi. This is a wonderful town full of history, culture, and plenty to see and do. If you are ever in this part of the country, I highly recommend an overnight at one of the beautiful Bed and Breakfast homes.
We poke around in the woods along the river north of Natchez, ride through Port Gibson (another great MS town), and then hop on the Natchez Trace to our first stop. This is Rocky Springs campground and someone unknown hero has left us a ton of firewood.
First things first……
The campground is virtually empty and there is plenty of room to spread out.
Once the camp was set up, it was time to get down to some serious business.
After eating that huge salad relatively late in the afternoon, we decided just to pick up a subway sandwich and call it dinner instead of cooking. After dinner, I grabbed another beer, sat down to the fire, and thought about how damm lucky I am. Life is good.
Day Two – Rocky Springs Campground to Forest, Mississippi. Approximately 250
During the winter, the nights here are dead quiet. Without a little white noise, it is sometimes harder for me to fall asleep. Not last night. My head hit the pillow and the next thing I know, daylight has returned and I am fresh as a daisy.
We have coffee and breakfast first. There were plenty of hot coals left on the fire, and stoking up some flames was a piece of cake. After breakfast, we pack up the camp and by 8:30 am, we are taxing out of the park at about 42 degrees. I plugged in the heated jacket, but didn’t turn it on. My heated grips are making my hands very toasty.
Our first stop was this unnamed waterfall on the Big Sand Creek about 20 minutes from the campground. Mike and I stopped here last year on our way home, but we wanted to go back and explore more.
While I walked down to the fall for a closer look, Mike is still busy taking pictures from the bridge.
The view closer up is just as nice. I believe this is some kind of soft sandstone.
Mike strikes his signature pose!
Back on the bridge, the horses are being patient.
We ride for a while and at our next gas stop, I took a peek at the map. An attraction caught my eye and I asked Mike if he was interested in something unusual. So we took off for this place.
Near the town of Flora, Mississippi, this is the only known Petrified Forest in the country east of the Mississippi River.
Over a hundred years ago, loggers clear cut this area. Wind and rain did their thing and washed away the top soil, revealing these specimens.
and they know why a dog sticks his head out the window 
