"Didjer GPS malfunction?"

"What are you doing in Jackson?"

Good question. At the very least, I'm getting an oil change. I was waaay overdue. (Sorry Mark).

Everything checked out and I filled up my tank with 87 at $2.65. This is great for my budget - I'd initially price-checked my gas expenditures with a conservative $3.50/gal. I haven't hit those highs since before Virginia. Maybe in Florida...

So here I am, at a reststop in Texas that supplies free wi-fi. I am loving this state.

So, the Bayou was pretty cool. I liked Alabama for one of the reasons I love Vermont; the people there know what work is. Cotton fields, Pecan shellers, and Lord knows what I didn't see. And for the first time of many to come, (if you don't count my side-trip to Kentucky), I was driving into the sunset.

No, the GPS didn't malfunction; I was aiming for Jackson. The GPS did sustain a hefty crack on the screen that prevents me from hitting certain buttons; actually it's a lot worse than that, it hits buttons I didn't press, so I can spend 5 minutes trying to see the map and only ending up with Settings or Volume controls. Yippy. Could we make driving any more unsafe? It's still a useful little bugger, and with a little patience and a parking spot I can plug in routes, shops, fuel, etc.; but then as I'm driving if I dare hit the screen there's a 50-50 chance that the current route would be cancelled. That's okay, I'll just go to my "Recently Found" folder... no small task. A fully-functional GPS will be missed.

Meanwhile, it did take me to Jackson... although its choice of routes had been a bit questionable when I reached the boonies. This was a fun one:

Yeah, I was a bit concerned the road would just end. But it didn't. Brought me right into farm country.

So, New Orleans was a pretty neat town; cozy even. Driving in it was a nightmare, when I found myself smack in the middle of the French Quarter; and no less stressful when a bride and groom ride by on a "Just Married" bike, the wrong way down a one way, and my knuckles are white from clutching the steering wheel. Driving around downtown in the morning was a breeze - I've found that the most monstrous of cities become kittens on a Sunday morning... Except that, for a significant portion of the road, the traffic lights were off. I had to drive through a few accidents on my way to the I-10W ramp. Freaky.

If you look closely you can see an example of such an impending accident - this one was averted by cautious drivers in the SUV and van. Good on'ya.

Louisiana is a state under water. Well, I-10 is underwater. With brown, bubbling water at the bse of each of the tresses, I only became concerned when the traffic screeched to a hault. I was stuck in limbo, atop the swamps, for the better part of an hour. I also noticed a lot of dragon-flies buzzing about...only half of them were'nt dragon-flies at all, but strings of ash falling from the sky. Long, strandy bits, so I was quite certain that this wasn't a tell-tale sign of some fatal accident ahead, but more likely indicative of a burnpile, like some of the brush management I'd seen throughout the south so far. But there was no brush, no median, and no properties anywhere in sight. So basically I still don't know 'what the hell.' But I had time to think about it. And watch the bubbly waters below for signs of crocs - certainly something was creating a ripple down below, and constantly; but I reasoned that it was caused by some ancient lunkers, fooled into rising by the large ash that was falling and floating above them.

(A closer look at the trusses - did you see that ripple??)

So, I'm bound for San Antonio. Like I said, I'm liking this state - haven't seen any live armadillos yet, but I'll be at a National Forest, Rec Area or State Park tonight; I'll try and dig something up. No sight of rattlers or vicious-looking spiders either, so I'll be watching my step. I'll get more in depth on the wonders of Texas when I get a cup of coffee in front of me.

Goodbye to the Beautiful Bayou

And Greetings to the Warmth of Texas!