I dumped the extra half gallon of water I was carrying, but retained the container. With the spacing of towns now, I’m fully confident that I won’t be needing extra water. Lately, I’ve been going full days without even touching my 3rd water bottle.I expected the road to be flat, but it was more rolling than the previous day. Long distance would be more difficult than expected.The long, straight sections reminded me of Texas, except for the grass and trees.I took this picture from a bridge. This is a common view – water encroaching on where trees grow. I saw entire woods with swampy floors today.Mamou at last. I found Ohana lemonade in one of the convenience stores.Joanne was running the Exxon convenience store. She was local, and able to tell me a lot about the surrounding towns, including that Ville Platte has two motels, and probably would have been a better place to stay, that Bunkie is a decent place to stay, and that Simmesport is really a fishing levee without many services. Joanne, if I spelled your name wrong, please correct me!
I checked in at the only lodging in town – Hotel Cazan. It was more like a Bed and Breakfast, with individually decorated boutique rooms. The hotel was built in 1950, on top of a historical 1911 building. At $122 including tax, it was far more than I needed.
Hotel Cazan
If things had been different, I might have made it to Ville Platte, but dwelling on might-have-been is a waste of time. I must assume that I was put in Mamou for a reason, to see something, or meet someone.
There weren’t any restaurants open by the time I checked in (almost 6), only grocery stores without deli sections. I got some peaches, but as the room had no microwave, there was nothing I could prepare. I didn’t even have a hot water source to make my freeze-dried. Another alternative was bar food, but that didn’t appeal to me. I just ate some beef jerky, a peach, and some pecan swirls. It will be enough.
My original goal for tomorrow was going to be Simmesport, but on Joanne’s description, I’ll just head for Bunkie, which is about 35 miles away.
Miles today: 45 (estimate, cyclometer stopped recording at one point)
