Day 26 - Monday April 13: Kountze, TX to Mamou, Louisiana

Miles Today: 144 Total Miles: 1,984 Terrain: Flat
Temp: 69 - 75 f. Time on the Road: 9 hrs 15 min

After the unexpected partial rest day yesterday, we awoke to bright skies, light humidity, cool temps, and again a good wind at Don's back. We were optimistic for a good day's riding, and anticipating finally leaving Texas and entering Louisiana.

At precisely 11:26 AM, we bade farewell to Texas, after 13 days, 2hrs 34 mins, having ridden 1,043 miles through the Lone Star State! No official border marker greeted us, so we improvised with the photo below.

Four States Down, Four States to Go!!

Our lunch break was at the town of DeRidder, LA in front of a splendid courthouse and derelict jail. Note the heavy iron bars over the windows.


After Don left, Penny struck up a conversation with an attorney by the name of Bull Mitchell, who was most interested in the ride and Young Life. He also knew a great deal more about European history than she did! It was a most enjoyable and unexpected encounter.

While Penny was inside the courthouse, she encountered a column of about 15 handcuffed and chained prisoners in orange and white jumpsuits, on their way to an upstairs courtroom. She found this rather unsettling!

Most of the route today was through lush, dense vegetation and woodland. By late afternoon, the landscape gave way to extensive flooded rice fields and acres of crawfish ponds, with hundreds of traps visible on the surface. We will make a point of sampling this local specialty before leaving the area.

Crawfish Field with Traps in Water

Crawfish Harvesting Boat. Note Strange propulsion at Rear

We learned that the fields are flooded for crawfish farming to a depth of 18". The traps are set in rows, which the farmer then empties each morning. The boat is flat bottomed, with a rear caterpillar type drive, and wheels on each side to enable riding over the dikes between fields. At intervals, the fields are drained and converted to rice fields. The crawfish meanwhile burrow into the mud below, and remain until the fields are reflooded the next season.

With the ideal riding conditions, we progressed further than anticipated, before checking into a small, comfortable inn.

Yours on the Road,

Don and Penny