Adventure or Bust

[hppants]

Left the house at about 6:30 am by myself with only 2 objectives

1.   Find some adventure
2.   Look out for any photo tag opportunity.

It only took about 200 miles, and I returned home safe under a 97 degree sun.  Bike ran flawless as usual, and I averaged about 46 mpg, as I was slabbing about 80 mph for a good bit of it.  Hope you enjoy the pics.

I headed southeast from the house and the sugar cane growth is stunted by lack of rain this year.



Before long, I found myself heading toward Cypremort Point (French translation is “Dead Cypress”) on the Gulf Coast.  To get there, I first have to cross the Intracoastal Canal



From the top, I can see Vermillion Bay.



And an off shore natural gas compressor station – good fishing there.



Once inside Cypremort Point State Park, I can see the results of some coastal restoration efforts.

[hppants]

Picked up the beach photo tag here



From the beach, I can see the nice camps at the Point.



I ride around a little, stopping to sit and enjoy the quiet marshland.



Then I decided to ride through the camps and look around.  These places are mucho expensive.  They are all elevated to protect themselves against storm surges from hurricanes.



I like the way this one looks.

[hppants]

Leaving the Point, I headed toward the Port of Iberia.



Here, oilfield construction companies build off shore oil rigs.



They have all shapes and sizes.



This stuff is big.



Here’s an anode, which is a sacrificial metal used as a corrosion inhibitor.

[hppants]

Back on the back roads, I am enjoying the still cool breeze as I head toward Patterson, Louisiana.  There, I stumbled upon the Wedell-Williams Aviation and Cypress Saw Mill Museum.

http://lsm.crt.state.la.us/wedellex.htm





A peculiar combination, these 2 gentlemen were airplane racers in the 1920’s and 1930’s.  Mr. Williams also came from a lumber tycoon family that worked the Louisiana swamps for 50 years.  I was the only patron there, and the curator gave me a personal tour.

She showed me this real cool movie that gave me a feeling of piloting these magnificent planes.



And I got to hear a lot of neat stories about each plane.  For example, Mr. Wedell was the first person to fly over 300 mph in this plane.



One of them was famous for flying with his pet Lion Cub in this plane.

[hppants]

Beautiful workmanship



One day, I’ll have to sit down and figure out how a radial engine works



Early Delta Airlines air mail plane



Outside, they have this beast on display



Here’s the business end of that baby

[hppants]

I walk over to the Cypress Sawmill side of the museum and learn a ton about the old logging industry.  This is a massive band saw at least 12 feet tall.



This is a 2-man chain saw that looks very dangerous.



This is a Bateau (French translation – Flat Boat) used by loggers



These are dugout Pirogues, which were also used by swampers.



This is a virgin cypress log about 48” in diameter and over 800 years old.  I’ve only seen 1 or 2 live ones this size in my whole life.


Look at the growth rings.  For being such a slow growth tree, the wood is very soft.

[hppants]

I head further down the highway to Morgan City.  The flooding should be cresting there, and I want to see how this area looks.  The Actafalaya River is very high.  This railroad is closed until further notice.



I have no problem following this sign.



The sea wall is doing a wonderful job of protecting the city.  That is no illusion – that water is about 5 feet higher than the street.



A little seepage in a floodgate.  I hope it continues to hold.



This will give you an idea of how high the water is right now.

[hppants]

I speak with some local people and they suggest a nice Cuban Restaurant near by.



I got some delicious bread to munch on while they make my lunch.


This Cuban Sandwich went down like an aspirin tablet!!



So, I’m chatting with the restaurant owner about the phototag game.  I tell him that I’m looking for a Bust.  To my pleasant surprise, he tells me that there’s one at a city park about ¼ mile away.  Who knew?



Now, it’s getting pretty hot, so I book it back to the house.  Now, let’s see:

1.   Adventure – check
2.   Photo-tags – check

All in a morning, courtesy of Ole Yella.

[Snoopy]

Wow. beautiful report pantsman. Jealous of all the scenery.. Nothing like that here.

[Mad_Marv]

Wow, great scenery.
Can't wait to shoot my own reports here in the Netherlands.

[fishball]

Nice ride Pants.  Love those airplane photos.

[hockeyhawk]

Outstanding Mr. Pants. Thanks for sharing your ride. Looks like you are getting along just fine since your off. Happy to see.  I toast one up for you. 

[fortyhourdays]

Great report!  Thanks for sharing.  I remember as a kid going to the National Air & Space museum in D.C.  and those pictures from the air museum brought all those memories flooding back.

[FearThis SC]

Great pictures Pantster~!  As always, was an excellent read....

Great to see Ole Yella treating you well...Ride Safe...

[Burgi]

Those planes are very cool. It was also interesting to see the flooding.
97 degrees!  We will be lucky to hit 70 a couple of times in the next 10 days.

[drdubb]

Once again a fantastic ride report. 

[luckylindy]

Great report Pants.  Love the air museum.

[JB1290]

As usual, great report, Pantsman. Thanks for sharing.

[roadrunner]

Great ride report and pics HP   

[tomb raider]

Like the Planes Hp....  

[tbante]

Pantsmeister had a great time. Thanks for taking us along.

[hppants]

Thanks for the warm replies.  Although fewer and farther between, I'm still finding local adventures that would not be possible without the Nighthawk.  I've passed that museum at least 100 times in the cage, and never even thought to look at the name of it, much less stop and see.

Can't wait to shoot my own reports here in the Netherlands

We can't wait for you to do that either.  So, get together with OhCrap and on with it, please.

Looks like you are getting along just fine since your off. Happy to see.

Much better now.  I'm leaning a litttle better in the curves, trusting the tires more.  I think about crashing, but I still can't wait to get on the bike again.  The ends justify the means.

Those planes are very cool. It was also interesting to see the flooding.

As I get a little older, I find myself with a thirst for any history, wishing I paid closer attention back in school.  My desire is not to "re-live the good 'ole days", but rather to tie where we have been to where we are now, and where we are going.  It helps to make things clearer for me.  30 years ago, I swore to the Heavens I would never be like my Dad.  Turns out, I'm just like him. 

Burgi - the flooding this year was not as bad as predicted.  Many say our drought helped absorb a lot of water, but I'm not so sure our clayish top soil can absorb that much.  I think we owe a lot of credit to the Army Corps of Engineers for helping us prepare, and using their flood control measures to mitigate the damage.  Sick as it sounds, I've always had an affection for natural disasters.  Standing on the top of that sea wall is surreal.  When you think about the weight of that water pushing on the wall, and the immediate consequences of a wall failure, it's mind boggling.

Day trippin on the Nighthawk is a blast.  Period.

[Burgi]

Standing on the top of that sea wall is surreal.  When you think about the weight of that water pushing on the wall, and the immediate consequences of a wall failure, it's mind boggling.

There's a ride report idea for our Dutch brethren. Let's see how the pros keep the water out. 

[Mad_Marv]

There's a ride report idea for our Dutch brethren. Let's see how the pros keep the water out. 

That's what I was thinking....

Some time this year......   

[pw363]

great job as usual. keep up the good work.