We
had not been able to find a spot in Baton Rouge to get water and resupply, so
we stopped at Plaquemine the next day.
When we woke up, however, there was a dense blanket of fog and we couldn’t
have left if we wanted to.
Instead, we read a paper, hung out and waited until 10:30 to push
off. When it finally cleared, in a
quick burn off by the sun, it was sunny and warm and we were feeling much
better after days of dreary weather.
As we approached the small town, we got our first glimpse of one of the
large ocean ships in action.
Honestly, the ship was so large, towering over the trees and buildings
along the banks, that it looked ridiculous. For the first time since Minneapolis, the Mississippi River
looked small in comparison. After
the ship passed us, heading south to sea, we crossed to the Plaquemine landing,
dogging construction and barges and walked into town.
It
was a tiny place and it took a few tries to find supplies, but we managed to
get cereal, eggs, bread, some snacks and some much needed adult
refreshments. There was a small
church just on the other side of the levy where a nice man, one of the pastors,
let us fill up our water. We
pushed off into the sunshine and finished the day at the Bayou Goula Towhead
around 196. We paddled into a
lagoon-ish area on the bank side of the island and climbed out onto a broad
shelf of sand. The vegetation was
thick and creepy farther inland and the cove was filled with dead trees that
made the camp look even more unsettling.
We
had a pleasant evening, until Aaron spotted something swimming back and forth just
in front of our fire. We tried to
convince ourselves it was just a curious beaver, but its persistence had us
thinking scary alligator thoughts all evening. We kept a close eye on Lilly and Aaron even through a few
burning branches at our assailant.
Whenever he did, it would dive under water with a splash and disappear
for a while. Just as we’d begin to
relax, one of us would spot the dark bump in the water trailing a wake as it
swam back and forth. I finally
made a break for the tent with images of man-eating monsters clawing their way
in to get at us and the dog and slept fitfully, to say the least.
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