Day 215 March 2, 2017 New Orleans to Raceland, LA

I woke up at 6AM and thought I would read until 7 or 7:30 so that John could sleep in. Next thing I knew John was reading next to me and it was 8:00. He was letting me sleep in. Hours later when I commented to a staff member that we usually get on the road a lot earlier, he replied, "This is New Orleans. Nothing here happens on time."  True enough, it was almost 11:00 by the time we pulled away from the hotel.

Our first destination was the canal street ferry. At some point before we get to Austin Tx, we have to cross the Mississippi. John, always keen to ride on a ferry and even more keen to skip riding over long heavily traveled bridges, suggested we cross today.

The website for the ferry left a lot to be desired. It listed fees for people and scooters, but never mentioned bikes. In reading the reviews, someone mentioned how fun it was to take their bike across the Mississippi this way, so I assumed bikes were allowed. I have to admit, I was relieved to see the Walk bikes on the ramp sign, since I had told John that of course the ferry allowed bikes. I needn't have worried, the ferry could easily accommodate all the bikes in New Orleans. Apparently, bikes are not listed because they cross for free. Our fees added up to a whopping three bucks. Such a deal!

Between the strong wind and the river's current, John and I were quite impressed with the captain's docking skills.

It was a bit nippy this morning so John opted to head inside while I enjoyed the view from the bow.

The river is only a quarter of a mile wide so the trip was quick, but it felt good to stand in the wind and watch as we approached the other side.

We had been told to check out River Street for the scenic views. There is a dike next to the river, so I suspect the person was referring to the bike path on top of the levy.

The path wound its way along the south side of the river and did provide some spectacular views.  We took it for the better part of  13 miles.

I knew the Mississippi was a major transportation hub, but it was surprising how busy it was. There were few spots not occupied by freighters, tug or barges. I tried to photograph a tug pushing a looong line of barges but they did not turn out. I have no idea how the tug boat captains manage it.

We saw at least one paddle boat and this steamboat. More common was the working freighter. Barges were everywhere.

On the land side, there were a number of commercial marinas and at least one shipyard.

Manufacturing of bio material was being processed and transfered out through pipes that ran across the road to waiting ships. Neither John nor I are sure what the bio products were but one smelled a lot like wood pulp and the other mature.

Wind continued to be a factor as we road. it was strong today 12 to 14 miles per hour from the north east. That meant that the first 30 miles of out trip would be slowed as we followed the serpentine path of the Mississippi. Luckily, the last 20 miles were with the wind and we made great time with little effort.

Louisiana, like Florida and Mississippi, is full of wetlands, which means lots of bridges. We've ridden over countless draw bridges but have never seen one open. Today broke that pattern. As we  pulled off of the path, we had to stop to wait for a boat to pass. Even trains have to wait their turn. I continue to marvel when entire road ways are moved to let ships pass.





On a different note, we saw an alligator today! We were riding past this ditch in the road when John started yodeling, Here gater, gater, gater! We were both laughing and pitying the poor creature that had to live in such trash filled and nasty looking water when I noticed turtles sunning themselves on a log. As I yelled for John to look a 3 foot alligator splashed into the water! Neither of us could imagine a large gater in such a shallow ditch (stream?), but it had to come from somewhere.

Tomorrow we head to Morgan City and more wetlands. Who knows, we may see another alligator.