ramblinChet
Drinks Alone
- Joined
- Dec 24, 2020
- Messages
- 477
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- 1,956
Let's start off with another heavy thunderstorm in the middle of the night. I have been resting well so staying awake for a few minutes to take some pictures sounded fun. On the left is just a regular picture with a very slight amount of lightening far off in the distance while on the right is a strike nearby. The red glow originates from the temperature reading on my National Luna refrigerator and it is really not as bright as it appears in the pictures. These exposures were for several seconds.
Here is the final section of the East Texas 450 Loop which required me to stop the vehicle and take a walk to assess the conditions ahead. This is County Road 265 just east of Chester, Texas. This section was so slippery and mushy it required four wheel drive. I walked ahead and followed a slight downgrade for several hundred yards which was followed by an equally slippery upgrade. I set my pride aside with a big smile and selected a short go around.
There is a tire in there somewhere. Much like an earlier section of the loop, this was a mixture of mud, clay, and pine straw that was heavy and very slippery. I could have easily made it down to the bottom but climbing the slight incline on the other side for a few hundred yards may have turned into a prolonged winching exercise. Electric winches are great for short pulls but not long duration ones. Decades ago I ran in an area that required continuous winching at times for several hours in duration. For that vehicle I specifically selected a Mile Marker hydraulic winch which never stopped running and ran cool.
After completing the East Texas 450 Loop I turned my ship towards the east and roamed through the backroads of Louisiana and ended up on the eastern shore of the Mississippi River deep in the Mississippi Delta. I slept at a boat launch one night and was amazed watching the tug boats and barges moving up and down river. In the photo below, this ship held fast facing into the current in the same place for over an hour while waiting for other traffic to pass in the opposite direction. What amazing skill. It felt good to sleep by the water and listen to those working boats.
Here I am on a levee road that follows the Mighty Mississippi for countless miles. Instead of driving normal paved roads through the many small towns I decided to follow this road for fifty or so miles. It was really cool following a maintenance road on top of a levee and I look forward to doing it again sometime.
Does anyone have an idea where I stopped for a few days to relaxed? I will give you a hint, the Delta Blues Museum is located there and just south of this city are the "crossroads" where Highways 49 and 61 intersect. Rumor has it, that is where some of the finest blues singers in history sold their souls to the devil. They would show up alone at the intersection with their guitar and bottle of whiskey. None were the same once they left. Take a moment to listen to some Muddy Waters or John Lee Hooker.
Here is Muddy Water's childhood home on display inside the Delta Blues Museum. Credit for saving this home goes to ZZ Top.
Nearby is the Ground Zero Blues Club in Clarksdale, Mississippi. You can always hear live music on the weekends and seeing how Clarksdale is the home of Delta Blues, I think the name is appropriate.
Back home in Memphis, Tennessee, which is just a few miles up the road from Clarksdale, Mississippi. Of course, I made my customary visit to Marlowe's for a full rack of ribs. If you meet me someday and we are sitting around a campfire, ask me to tell you the story of Marlowe's which nearly defies explanation. And yes, you are seeing a Bass Pro shop shaped like a pyramid in Memphis. Life is so damn cool so get out an adventure.
Here is the final section of the East Texas 450 Loop which required me to stop the vehicle and take a walk to assess the conditions ahead. This is County Road 265 just east of Chester, Texas. This section was so slippery and mushy it required four wheel drive. I walked ahead and followed a slight downgrade for several hundred yards which was followed by an equally slippery upgrade. I set my pride aside with a big smile and selected a short go around.
There is a tire in there somewhere. Much like an earlier section of the loop, this was a mixture of mud, clay, and pine straw that was heavy and very slippery. I could have easily made it down to the bottom but climbing the slight incline on the other side for a few hundred yards may have turned into a prolonged winching exercise. Electric winches are great for short pulls but not long duration ones. Decades ago I ran in an area that required continuous winching at times for several hours in duration. For that vehicle I specifically selected a Mile Marker hydraulic winch which never stopped running and ran cool.
After completing the East Texas 450 Loop I turned my ship towards the east and roamed through the backroads of Louisiana and ended up on the eastern shore of the Mississippi River deep in the Mississippi Delta. I slept at a boat launch one night and was amazed watching the tug boats and barges moving up and down river. In the photo below, this ship held fast facing into the current in the same place for over an hour while waiting for other traffic to pass in the opposite direction. What amazing skill. It felt good to sleep by the water and listen to those working boats.
Here I am on a levee road that follows the Mighty Mississippi for countless miles. Instead of driving normal paved roads through the many small towns I decided to follow this road for fifty or so miles. It was really cool following a maintenance road on top of a levee and I look forward to doing it again sometime.
Does anyone have an idea where I stopped for a few days to relaxed? I will give you a hint, the Delta Blues Museum is located there and just south of this city are the "crossroads" where Highways 49 and 61 intersect. Rumor has it, that is where some of the finest blues singers in history sold their souls to the devil. They would show up alone at the intersection with their guitar and bottle of whiskey. None were the same once they left. Take a moment to listen to some Muddy Waters or John Lee Hooker.
Here is Muddy Water's childhood home on display inside the Delta Blues Museum. Credit for saving this home goes to ZZ Top.
Nearby is the Ground Zero Blues Club in Clarksdale, Mississippi. You can always hear live music on the weekends and seeing how Clarksdale is the home of Delta Blues, I think the name is appropriate.
Back home in Memphis, Tennessee, which is just a few miles up the road from Clarksdale, Mississippi. Of course, I made my customary visit to Marlowe's for a full rack of ribs. If you meet me someday and we are sitting around a campfire, ask me to tell you the story of Marlowe's which nearly defies explanation. And yes, you are seeing a Bass Pro shop shaped like a pyramid in Memphis. Life is so damn cool so get out an adventure.
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