Mrs. Zippy

Today we had an interesting experience with a dog.  We've encountered a lot more dogs as we've gotten into Louisiana, and the normal method of dealing with them is just to hit the accelerator and outrun the dog.  On a tandem this works really well, at least with smooth flat roads, since we can really cruise.  This morning as we rode along the Atchafalaya River levee, we encountered a dog that wanted to run.  So we ratcheted up the speed to about 22mph and this dog was matching us leap for leap.  We first weren't too concerned except that the dog kept running right in front of us.  As we got up to 25mph, the dog took to the grass along the side of the road and was running for all it was worth.  We figured it would give up as we left its territory, but it kept matching our speed.  We soon nicknamed the dog, "Mrs. Zippy".  We couldn't go faster than the dog, nor could we beat it with endurance!

After about two miles of this our tongues were hanging out and we had to stop to take a rest.  The dog just stopped next to us, looking expectantly for the next challenge.  We asked Paul C. if he had room in his truck for a new pet, but when that proposal got met with a sarcastic comment, we started to get desperate.  Fortunately, the dog got distracted by an older gentleman digging weeds from his driveway and left us for more interesting human interactions.

Anyway......today we crossed another milestone in our American continent trip - namely the Mississippi River.  The first thing we noticed was the long stretch of grass-covered ridges next to the road.  We rode for miles and there was always this 30' high ridge of dirt next to the road.

After making a wrong turn and asking a local what it was, he explained that this was the river levee - basically the man-made riverbank that confines the river within a fixed channel and keeps it (more-or-less) from flooding towns, cities, and farm fields close to the Mississippi River.  In turn it makes the river a giant canal and keeps it from depositing its sediment into the alluvial basin as the river flows to the sea.  Not that the levee's are a bad thing - but there are a lot of unintended consequences that have to be dealt with.

We knew that something big was about to happen when we saw two giant towers rising above the distant treeline.

As we approached the bridge over the Mississippi, the bridge towers rose above us and the giant cables beckoned us to ride up and over the span.

And then just as we approached the midpoint, the clouds parted and the sun shone on the gleaming white towers as if we were passing through the Taj Mahal.

So now we are officially in the eastern US - East of the Mississippi.  In the next couple of weeks we'll deal with the more crowded eastern seaboard and possibly see the hurricane damage to Florida.