Lake Village, AK to Memphis, TN
Day 4 (946 miles covered [1,513 kilometers. Gotta love the kilometers])
|
Today was supposed to be a landmark day. One of the premises on which this trip's route had been planned. The crossing of the Mississippi river using the wonderful hanging bridge at Greenville. I had seen the pictures on the Internet. My photos would be infinitely better. What an ego trip.
I was packed and ready to go by 9 am, including a new break light, which had seeming blown somewhere along the way, and that I detected during my morning bike walk-around inspection. Tank-bag, tail-pack, and saddlebags were all securely mounted. The proper routing was punched into the GPS, and the camera was easily accessible to capture the moment. I said my good-byes to the B&B owners, and headed out towards the bridge. I could see it right in front over the fields and rooftops. As I approached the bridge though, I noticed the road started veering left ever so slightly. A bit further down the road I started to accept what was becoming painfully obvious, I was going to cross over the river over an old bridge. The hanging bridge was not complete and no traffic was allowed over it. I was crossing over the river, seeing the new bridge on my right, but with no chance to stop and snap any shots. I could see the water underneath, the barges lazily floating down the deep waters, and the trees on the river banks. Once I got to the other side, the road turned right and by the time there was any semblance of a shoulder to get off the road on, the bridge had disappeared over the treeline. Eventually, though, I did manage to turn into a dirt road and grab a few photos from there. All was not lost after all. Furthermore, it would have been a terrible mistake to color this whole trip based on this incident alone. I was on my 4th day, and the memories of what I had seen were great.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Soon after crossing the river I rode into Greenville, with memories of Kap and his honeymoon anecdotes in my mind, envisioning an in-keeper playing pool in a seedy neighborhood. Greenville turned out to be a much bigger town than I had imagined, and yet, I was still thankful for having spent my time in Lake Village and having avoided what seemed to be more urban center.
I kept on heading north until I came to spot that offered a nice combination of photo opportunities, having the river on the left hand of the road and a cotton field on the right. I am always attracted to old agricultural buildings, especially those made of corrugated tin, so this was an opportunity I could not pass. The river side of the road, also offered some nice view, with is cypresses and their knees sticking out of the water. The air was full of the smell of rotting leaves and pesticides at the same time, and yet, you could still know that God was here too.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
