It's a Tough Job....

My wife’s been a school teacher for 21 years. As long as I can remember, she’s used Labor Day as a way to get caught up on the beginning of the school year. I tried to convince her to come and play with me, but she was not having any of it. Rather, she wanted the house to herself so she could work and practically begged me to get out. In the interest of “Happy Wife, Happy Life”, I was only too happy to oblige.

Now then, what pray tell shall I do with myself?

I texted a few riding buddies, but predictably I was too late in my planning and they were all committed otherwise. Then I texted my nephew Jacob, who just got started with riding:

(Pants) “Goin ridin tomorow, wanna go?” (I’m text-challenged and I have 4 thumbs)

(Jacob) “Can we b back by 1:30?”

(Pants) “yep”

(Jacob) “Ok – where r we goin?”

(Pants) “It’s a surprise – pack a swimsuit and walking shoes. Pick u up at 6:30 am”

(Jacob) “kewl”

And there you have it – One adventure, cooked well done. Hope you enjoy the pics.

The dog days of summer relent on here on the Gulf Coast. The air is heavy and it weighs on you like a water-logged coat. Frankly, I’m more than ready for some North wind, but it ain’t gonna happen for at least another 3-4 weeks, so I might as well quit crying about it. I soak the T-shirt in the garden hose and at 6:15 am, I fire up the big blue beast and head to Jacob’s. He’s ready right on time. We throw his stuff in my top box and head out.

We filled up the fuel tanks and hit the I-10 slab for about 35 miles of “let’s get the heck out of here fast”. Exiting just East of the Atchafayla Basin, we turned North on Hwy 3000, and stopped promptly for a snack at a roadside church with mature like old oak trees abound.

Jacob’s 250 nighthawk is running like a top.



The cemetery next to the church utilizes above ground tombs because the water table here is extremely shallow.



I strap the camera on and shoot some riding shots. I forgot to move the setting from aperture priority to “auto”, so these are not very good.



Jacob’s riding has improved vastly in short order.



Very rural here – we are in the fertile farm land just West of the Mississippi River.



Jacob seems quite content to hang with his old Uncle Pants.



We turn left on Hwy 1, and ride along an oxbow lake called False River. It’s a playground for rich Baton Rouge peeps.



Great views of the lake between the camps and houses.



After a short stint on the river road, we crossed Ole Man River on Hwy 10. This is a brand new cable stayed bridge that is gorgeous (I have a thing for bridges).



Jacob’s ready to get right to it.



I’m shooting right into the sun and dealing with traffic and it’s not working out too well.



This one’s decent…



Much better with the sun to my back.



We turn left (north) on Hwy 61, and then left again on the Tunica Trace Scenic Highway. That SUV up ahead is an unmarked Sherriff’s Deputy. Better put the camera down for a minute…

https://heartlandtrails.com/blog/blog/2011/05/13/scenic-drive-tunica-trace-scenic-byway/



I planned our first stop at the Cat Island National Wildlife Refuge.

https://www.fws.gov/refuge/cat_island/

It’s home to the Grand National Champion Bald Cypress tree – this thing is supposed to be massive and I’ve tried to get to this place unsuccessfully twice. Located within the flood plain, the refuge is only open when the Mississippi River level at Baton Rouge is below 18 feet. With today’s level at around 10 feet, I was hopeful.

Uh – make that 0 for 3. At the entrance, there was a sign that said “Refuge Temporarily Closed”. We ignored it and tried to press on, but as you can see the road was just a bit too tough for the FJR. When my front end wiggled in a mud rut, I threw the anchor out and declared “done”.



I’m beginning to think I may never see that beautiful tree. Oh well, better luck next time.

We doubled back to the Scenic Byway and pressed onward north. A nice quiet sandy creek along the highway.



I turned East on the Pickneyville Road (hwy 969) and we wandered to the village of Pond, Mississippi – which is home of the old Pond store.



A hundred yards past the store is this place.



We changed into our swimming trunks and walked down the trail.



Beautiful area here.

I caught Jacob exploring…





Very unusual to find a waterfall this large with the relatively flat topography.



Jacob seems ready to cool off.



So was Pants. Holy cow, that water was refreshing – it must be spring fed.



I’d give it thumbs up too, Jacob.



Making memories….



We hopped around the rocks at the waterfall for a short while, occasionally re-dipping ourselves in the cool water. Then we walked back up the hill to the bikes and changed back into our riding gear.

My trip meter is saying 120 miles. I’m not sure what Jacob’s range is, so I checked the GPS and learned that fuel is only about 15 miles away in Woodville, MS. So we rode there and filled up.

2.85 gallons for Pants (A very respectable 47 mpg)

1.89 gallons for Jacob (71 mpg – wow)

With 4.0 gallon capacity (including reserve), that puts Jacob’s range fairly close to mine!

The morning hike has Pants’ stomach growling, so I walked into the country store to see what the hell was smelling so good.

Pork Riblets. Yes ma’am – we’ll have some of that, please.



And 3-4 minutes later…..



Now the day is getting longer, so I tell the GPS “Home” and we start heading south. We picked up 3 or 4 popcorn showers, which brought welcome relief from the heat. But we rode the 105-ish miles straight through, getting Jacob home at his prescribed 1:30.

I let my bike cool off and then threw a bucket of soap on it. Wifey was just wrapping up her work session as I walk into the house:

(Pants) “Sorry you had to work on Labor Day, Dear.”

(Wifey) “It was nice to have a quiet house all to myself, thanks for that.”

(Pants) “Well, it was a tough job, but somebody had to do it.”

Stay thirsty, my friends.

Yes, somebody had to do it. Sounds like you were the right man for the job.

Good times with your nephew. That's pretty darned cool.

Nice report pants, it's fun to see how life is near that end of the Mississippi. Someday you need to ride to Lake Itasca in Minnesota and walk over the head waters of the Mississippi river just like most kids from Minnesota have done, that would make a hell of a RR.



At this rate it won't be long before Jacob will be ready for a FZ09

Great RR Pants! You are one lucky Hombre to have family to ride with.

Nice RR. Someday I would like to visit the southern states. Did I see $3.19 gal for fuel? Yikes, $3.70 somtin around here.

Ah, 'Pants. Well done my friend. I did not enjoy my day at work and I enjoyed it less knowing that I had turned down yet another riding invitation from you. At least I was well compensated for being there.

Hwy 3000 and Hwy 77 North of there are always a humbling experience for me when I follow you. I have gone back to those roads by myself and practiced but I cannot match your riding there.

I hope young Jacob understands the gift he is receiving from you. I noted your influence in the Hi-Viz jacket and the full riding gear. You are awesome.

I made Pop hike along that Clark Creek area a few years ago when I installed his Power Commander V. He told me that if he had enough breath left he would have kicked my butt.

You must be taking it easy with Young Jacob. You sure as hell never get 47 mpg when I am following you. I can't even get that following you!

Thanks for the invite, thanks for the RR and thanks for teaching your nephew so well. And thanks for letting me and Pop tag along last Sunday. Pop gets more confidence following you than I could ever teach him.

Great ride report. Thanks.

Good shit man!

Very nice ride report!Thanks!

Great report, Pants, and I loved the waterfall pics.

Two years ago I drove through Lafayette, coming from TX and heading to New Orleans by way of New Iberia. I wanted to see that city, because it's the setting for many books by James Lee Burke, one of my favorite writers.

Many thanks for reading my report.

Bug - I'm thinking about a Mississippi River tour one day. I could just zig-zag up and down the river. Kind of a modern day "Huckleberry Finn" I'm also jonesing about doing a Bridge Tour as well. Maybe I'll combine the two, but I doubt it. No self-respecting Bridge Tour can leave our the covered bridges in the Northeast and that would end up being a 6000 mile tour. On second thought....

Greg - admittedly, Jacob and I were never very close. I'm making up for lost time quickly.

Glide - do plan a ride south. Do it between October 1 and December 31, or between March 15 and May 30. Otherwise, plan on heat stroke or bone-chilling cold. I know that sounds ridiculous but the wet winters down here can be brutal on the bike. Let me know when you are coming and I'll gladly show you around. Being next to the lake, that station was pricey. Fuel here is running very close to $3 bucks a gallon. I fear they are just playing with us, though. They drop it a penny or two per week, but will not think twice about raising it a dime or even more at once. It makes lots of jobs here, so I try not to complain, even though it pisses me off to no end.

RH - I'm definitely holding back. Jacob's 20 - as much as I tell him to "ride your own ride", I fear he will throw caution to the wind before it's time. So I'm hedging bets. On a stretch of Hwy 77, I neglected to check my mirrors for 3 or 4 curves and when he wasn't there, I stopped. 20 seconds pass and now I'm worried. I turn around and start putt-putting back. I got that tingle in my fingers - Holy Shit, I took off and the kid hurt himself. His mother is going to skin me alive! Imagine my rejoice when I found him pulled over. A bug flew in his helmet and he pulled over to a stop to deal with it rather than distract himself trying to mess with it while riding - just like I told him.

Teerex - I'm humbled that you know where I live, and have been here. Dr. Burke's work is very good and depicts a lot of the culture that exists in this part of the world. I'm an administrator at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette and I believe Dr. Burke is on our faculty in some capacity. Ironically, I visited Italy for the first time this summer. We went to Florence, Rome, and Sorrento - the Na pali coast is just wonderful. Expensive - but beautiful. On our next trip, we hope to explore the northern side (Venice, Milan, and head through the mountains to Austria, etc).

Rode with my uncle quite a bit when I first started out. A lot of good memories.

Wish he still had his bike now, but times got tough and was forced to sell it.

Looks like you had fun. great report.

I love thus ride report!

Great ride report, and thanks!! Very interesting re: above ground graves due to high water table!!??

Good times - that's awesome!

Thanks for the RR! Glad to hear you have a nephew who listens to and respects your experience...at least someone does since no one here does! ;-)

Nicely done 'pants. Thank you!

In about another month or 2, start sending some of that warmth up to us Yanks please

RPrice said:

Great ride report, and thanks!! Very interesting re: above ground graves due to high water table!!??

Click to expand...

Very common down here. If you ever see any pics of the cemeteries in New Orleans, almost everything is above ground. In fact, if you Google "St. Louis Cemetery" and look under images, you will see exactly what it looks like. I can say from personal and unpleasant experience that when flood waters come a sealed casket will pop up out of the ground like a huge cork. I have helped tie a group of caskets into a raft and tied them to a tree in a local cemetery here.