We finally got some storm action; not the hurricane forecast but a tropical storm. Instead of flooding in the campground, we awoke to a beautifully dry and warm day, calm, with overcast skies. Many options were discussed at the morning map meeting, but the one which gave us the best protection from the storm and the most onward options was the city of Mobile, Alabama (pron. Moe-BEE-ill). So we packed up paying extra attention to water resistance and set off into the path of the developing storm.
The first half of the ride was warm and dry. We passed through the Pascagoula River Wildlife Management Area with classic southern bayou/swamp views and ancient trees hung heavy with moss. There were fairly strong head winds and the roads were narrow with no shoulder. As usual, most drivers were very courteous, and others darn-right scary. Then the rain started. It was light at first and built steadily until it was raining heavily.
So on we rode battling the wind and being stung in the face by wind driven rain. With no room on the edge of the road we tracked straight down the white line, driving hard through wind and water. Getting closer into the city the street grew to two lanes of traffic each way, then three, then three with a 2 lane service road on each side of the main road. 10 lanes of traffic in wind and pouring rain can be a bit much even for the adventurous, so while the 50 mile ride was fun, arriving at a well appointed Days Inn also had its appeal.
Tonight there is not much wind but steady heavy rain. If it is particularly wet and windy tomorrow, we'll take a layover day and stay in the hotel. If the storm subsides, we'll move on towards south and east.
We saw lots of cotton in New Mexico, but haven't in the southern states, with the exception of today.
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