Day 7 - April 18 - Lake Jeff Davis Campground, MS to Brandon, MS - Crossing the T.....Part One

April 18, 2024

Day 7 - April 18 - Lake Jeff Davis Campground, MS to Brandon, MS

Road Problems

Ed’s Story

I went to bed early again last night at 8:00 because it was dark. As I tried to go to sleep another camper pulled in, and there was lots of banging and shouting as they tried to set up the camper for the night.

Needless to say I got up early again. I took a walk around the small campground and saw a homemade camper.

The ride started out on fairly smooth roads. Once we went through Prentiss, MS, we ran into a large stretch of road that was chip and seal. Needless to say it’s slowed us down quite a bit.

At times, this was a teeth jarring ride.

After about 15 miles we got to Old Hebron. This used to be just Hebron, but when the trains came through, this became Old Hebron and the town of New Hebron was born.

Picked up some snacks and OJ here. The owners have a Pomeranian but it was camera shy.

This church has been around over 200 years.

We passed by Mendenhall on our way to D’Lo but found the road closed due to a bridge out. John was unable to talk our way past the construction, so we had to backtrack and make a 2 mile detour.

We eventually got through D’Lo where are we stopped at a small store for lunch. It turns out there was another bridge closed further down our route. We opted to get on US 49 again and rode it for about 7 miles before we got back on route.

The road started out nice but then….

We were on this road for about 6 miles and were thinking about turning around. A passing motorist told us the road became paved about a quarter of a mile later. I wasn’t sure I believed him but he was correct. Everything was much nicer after that.

We continued riding and got to Brandon about 3 PM. We are staying overnight at John’s nephew’s house.

Today was a 69 mile day with a little over 2000’ of climbing (or 2600’) depending on what app you’re looking at.

Tomorrow we are headed to Kosciusko, MS, with most of the riding being on the Natchez Trace, about 71 miles.

Right now, the weather for tomorrow is unknown so we’ll just find out then.

Until then, happy biking!

John’s Story

I find it interesting that as humid as it has been, that our tents and tent flies have been totally free from dew each night we’ve camped. Go figure.

The humidity when we started out this morning was 97%. If the moisture gets any thicker we’ll have to switch from bikes to kayaks.

These small flowers are about 1/2” across. There were two blooms on each individual plant. No more. No less.

We’ve seen these before, but they were too pretty not to photograph.

I don’t recall if I took a picture of these flowers a few days ago.

The bridge not crossed was behind these barriers. Or should I say, it was not behind these barriers. Missing. Ergo, the detour.

This sign was by the rusting pumpjack. NORM = Naturally Occurring Radioactive Materials. A big problem in oil and gas fields. Trace amounts of radioactive minerals in the produced water plate out in the tubing, casing, pipes and vessels used for production, until enough has accumulated to create an environmental threat. It makes abandonment of a depleted well problematic.

The light at the end of the tunnel. Or the pavement at the end of the gravel. Our first Road Angel Award is given to the anonymous motorist who informed us that we would find pavement just a short distance ahead. Had it not been for him, we might have backtracked 6 miles of gravel, not knowing what lay just ahead. Whew!

Today was our longest day so far. Tomorrow and the next day will be even a bit longer. Due to the threat of rain we may weenie out tomorrow and find a motel in Kosciusko. Time will tell.

But for tonight we are at the home of my nephew Adam and his wife Michelle in Brandon. The red beans and rice for dinner was delicious! And Adam gave us advice about a better way to get from his house to the Natchez Trace tomorrow. Bonus!

Today's ride: 69 miles (111 km)
Total: 357 miles (575 km)

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Jane ChimahuskyBe careful on the Natchez Trace! Jake and I were on it years (okay decades) ago and we stopped to climb up one of the Indian Mounds and got attacked by fire ants. They are probably still out there waiting to chew on unsuspecting toes!
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3 weeks ago

Ed ChimahuskyTo Jane ChimahuskyWe try not to walk through ant hills in sandals.
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3 weeks ago