Route from Silsbee TX to Red Shoes RV Park Coushatta, LA
116 miles averaging 13.9 mph
Best Moment – It was certainly good news when I heard from Neita that everything on Ruby was fixable and she would be in Coushatta tonight. The repair folks came to us and found that there was junk like Styrofoam and wood in our grey water tank that was keeping the valve stuck open. They replaced the valve, which was no easy task due to very tight working spaces. It was a shitty job, but someone had to do it.
Worst Moment – I really hate when county/state highway departments let junk stay on the shoulder of the road things like tire parts, glass, trees and little tiny wires that caused the third flat of the trip. The roads in Louisiana do not seem quite as well maintained as those in Texas.
Just one road hazard & evidence of the logging industry
For about 30 miles going out of Silsbee, I had an amazing tail wind and was able to average about 16.3 mph for two hours. Well, you can guess that I also had to deal with a bit of head and cross winds, otherwise I would have been at Red Shoes before Neita.
The route was mainly through pine forests. Lots of logging and wood chip filled trucks passed me. The fragrance of freshly cut wood and honeysuckle permeated the air. There was an area around Mittie, Louisiana that seemed to have lots of tourism recreation centered on the Chitta River. There were two canoe companies where one could rent canoes and be picked up down river. I don’t know how anyone could canoe very far or fast. The river looked barely wet. It did make me think of Burke’s Canoes in Guerneville.
As I rolled into Red Shoes RV Park around 6:30, the carnival was going full swing. Pretty amazing to be here in the middle of nowhere and there was a huge RV park, several motels and a giant casino with a carnival.
In case you are interested in making a donation in my name to the Lance Armstrong Foundation, here is my link. I’ve raised $2500 so far over the two years of my campaign. http://grassroots2011.livestrong.org/billsbigride197
Enjoyed catching up on your progress this morning! I was concerned about your safety with all of the Texas fires that we were hearing about. Glad that you are safely in LA and hope trust that the weather in the South and southeastern part of the country will cooperate with you.
ReplyDeleteLove your blogs! Greetings to Neita from us!
I will continue praying you thru your journey!
Happy Easter!
Denny