Day 44
New Waverly to Shepard
Today was a pleasant surprise. I intended to double-down and do two days of riding but my legs wouldn’t allow it. Turns out to be a good thing, because tonight I’m staying in the weirdest place since the El Cosmico in Marfa. Very eclectic and completely off the normalcy chart. Small cabins, an open area for tents and a pavilion that is impossible to describe. Everything here is decorated for Halloween, in a big way. Just take a look at the photos on Instagram and you’ll get the idea.
The morning was cool and foggy. The fog didn’t start to lift until noon. I didn’t see any sunshine until 1:30pm. Very Seattle like. Today would not have been a good day to double-down on the mileage. Also, I thought doubling-down would mean 74 miles. When I looked more closely later in the morning, I realized it would have been a 94 mile day. It’s a good thing I didn’t attempt it. I would have made it, late in the day, but it would not have been fun.
It looks like I will be in Louisiana on Wednesday. When I got to Chilcot State Park I was planning to rent a cabin and stay an extra day or two. When I checked availability today, they were all rented. I’m planning to tent camp there, but just stay one night. At this point I don’t know when my next rest day will be. When I get to a place that is cool, I’ll make that my rest day location. It will be a surprise.
I’m excited to get to Louisiana. I’m very curious to see what the terrain will be like. East Texas is gradually becoming more forested and flatter. I expect that to continue. Based on the maps that I’m using, it looks like I will also be passing through areas of swampy lowland in Louisiana (not a surprise). I am quite eager to see what that will look like.
Miles: 43
The “Shepard Sanctuary” is a weird but very cool place.
