Day 78

Hunters
I'm pretty sure there was a four wheelers or two that took the trail at night. I'm also pretty sure people were waking around. Maybe they saw my tent but couldn't figure out what it was until they got closer- I don't know. No one shot me though! My route took me through some of the scariest places so far. The road had a giant spider in its web every 20 feet. Part of me wanted to ride on the side if the road to avoid the cars. The other part of me wanted to ride in the middle to avoid the spiders. Eventually I made it to a town. This was my last day in Lousiana and I still needed a post card. I checked several places, and every place gave me a new place to search. One person suggested a cafe and a pizza place. I thought it was a silly idea and I didn't want to waste time, so I didn't even try. I realized quickly that it's unlikely they suggested those places if they hadn't been there and seen postcards there. Luckily the drugstore in the next town had a few- obviously inherited from an older store. They were just randomly there. The lady was so nice that she let me have the postcard for free. She even gave me a stamp for it! Mississippi has some nice people! I guess they have to make up for the crazy spiders somehow. I stopped at a gas station before going over a big bridge over the river Mississippi and into the state Mississippi. Everything totaled to $6.66. I couldn't help but laugh at that. The devil must be watching me. I crossed over the bridge and the huge river. Right on the other side was a visitors center. They've gotta have post cards! I asked one of the many people working there. The bookstore had them, but they were closed. Drats. Another woman was looking through her drawer. She found a post card of the Mississippi River, as viewed from Mississippi state. Perfect! She said I could just have it. Fantastic! Two in one day! I continued on through the city. I should have looked fe the post office, but I knew I'd be in the state for several days. There would be more. The sidewalks were terrible- tons of steps. I finally gave up and biked in the road- there were 3 lanes and it was a one way. Plenty of ways to pass me. Finally I made it out. The rest of the day was my own personal version of hell. The roads were paved, but they were more like backroads than highways. There was only the occasional spider in its web- until I looked up. Occasionally there was a spiderweb that hung above the road- the trees would often span this, but sometimes they left just enough room for a web. Then there were the power lines. There were two cords, running one above the other. It apparently was the perfect distance for a web. A huge spider hung in the middle of its four foot web with only inches of space between the next one. They were far away, yet I could still see how massive each spider was. These lyrics kept going through my head: "if your goin through hell, keep on goin. Don't slow down, if you're scared don't show it. You might get out before the devil even knows you're there." Unfortunately, if you'll remember, I bought stuff that totaled to exactly $6.66. He already knows I'm here. I spent too long going through this nastiness but I finally made it to the freeway. I think I technically missed a turn but I was happy to get in the freeway sooner rather than later. I quickly found out that the freeway wasn't ideal. There was just barley enough shoulder to ride on. I found the next turn off and took it. It was starting to get dark- I needed to find camp soon. The road had a while community along it. There weren't many opportunities for camp, and I wanted to get away from people if possible. It really started getting dark. The road was longer than I thought it was. I stopped when I passed by a church. Perhaps this would work- I would have to worry about spiders and maybe worry less about ants than usual. There weren't any fantastic hiding places nearby, but I hoped that if someone owned a church, they wouldn't mind offering their lawn for a night. I was just about to get my tent when a dog started barking. From like 50 feet away. Through all that walking around it slept, but I guess I finally woke it up. I pushed my bike to the other side of the church, hoping that would shut it up. It didn't. I realized the only wag to get it to stop was to leave. It was stupidly dark by now, but I had no choice but to pedal away. I looked around wildly for a spot, but I still had my sights on the freeway- at least I know there wouldn't be houses there. I finally got to the freeway and saw accross it a lamppost and sign. Good- I will be able to see around me so that I don't walk into spider webs, and I will be able to check the ground for ants. I knew I'd be visible, but oh well. I didn't have much choice. I headed up there and found I could go a bit further than I expected- I was kinda hidden. I could see that if I kept going. I was run into spiders. I sprayed the Raid and set up my tent. I can't wait to finally get past hell.