We stayed a third night at Poverty Point. The whole time that we were there we had our eye on a well-shaded site across from us (our site was pretty exposed). We had tried to see about moving over there, but it appears someone had paid for it and for some reason didn't show up. So for our last day, once it started heating up we packed up the chairs and the dog and moved the van on to that site, figuring we could move in a hurry if the real owners eventually showed up. It was nice not having to chase shade all day long (the heat index was at least 103 that day). But it is probably best that we didn't get that site, as there was a wasp nest in one of the trees next to where the camper would have been parked.
Since we won't be on Adventure Cycling routes for the next two weeks, we spent time over the weekend creating daily cue sheets (written turn-by-turn instructions) for the next several days of our route. They are an important necessity, given that we can't always count on internet access in the rural areas where we spend most of our time. This way we can stay on the same route and not get separated from one another.
We also decided to get caught up on chores. The filter on our air conditioner was pretty well clogged, and our new A/C diffuser was full of mold (a casualty of all the warm, damp weather), so we've taken it down and probably won't reinstall it (it is too porous, making it easy for mold to get established). It does allow the cabin to cool off much faster, but we don't need a mold magnet in our cabin. We also took apart our Fantastic Fan, which was also getting somewhat mildewed and moldy. It looks like new now, and was very easy to clean.
On Monday we headed north early, hoping that we might be off the road by the time all the fifth wheels at Poverty Point were on the road. It was a nice enough ride, with light traffic and/or good shoulders for most of it. The route was mainly through farm country, with the bulk of it being planted in corn and soybeans. Pleasant scenery, but nothing worth writing home about.
The first 43 miles were flat as a pancake, then we hit a short hill. Then it stayed mostly flat for the remaining 13 miles. When we got to the campground where we had intended to stay, we found that they were full (it didn't quite look that way: we suspect it wasn't worth someone's effort to check us in for the night). So our only option was to load up the bikes and go about 20 miles south, to Monroe, LA.
We are staying at Ouachita RV Park ($33.30, power, water, showers, free wi-fi), which is a former KOA that is located right off of I-20. After finding a sign on the bathroom doors that they are closed between 10 pm and 8 am, we had to have a talk with the managers. That simply wasn't going to work for us, as we would both being needing the facilities prior to 8 am. It took a while to convince them that it was better to leave at least one bathroom open than to deal with the consequences in the morning. But they did relent.
The upside of having to go out of our way to Monroe is that we are camping two miles from a Lowes, where I got all of the materials that I will need to fashion a means of mounting an ARB awning to the roof of the van (on the curbside). Now the challenge is finding someone with a table saw to make a few simple cuts in the wood.
Since a big thunderstorm was bearing down on us, we decided to try a local Greek restaurant, Athena. Not so good. It is actually run by Lebanese immigrants, not Greek. The spanakopita was awesome, but the kefta and stuffed grape leaves left a lot to be desired. And the pita bread was tough and chewy. And they didn't offer a single bottle of Greek wine! Any Mexican restaurant in town was sure to have been orders of magnitude better.
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