Day 18, Wednesday, September 25

My mood improved tremendously today over that of the last few days. My PMA (Positive Mental Attitude) barometer swung up to a cautious five to seven today, whereas yesterday I was hovering in the dangerously low zero-to-two range, assuming a ten-point scale. You can tell I was having a really bad day yesterday because I didn't write much. I think I felt better today because we were sheltered by trees most of the day and were affected by the head winds much less than yesterday. We did get caught in Tropical Storm -- formerly Hurricane -- Isadore and got rained on and soaked through pretty much the entire day. The rain didn't bother me as much as a strong wind would have, though, mostly because I never got too cold. We did hit some heavy traffic during rush hour on the Natchez Trace Parkway, which has no shoulder, and that was pretty scary. We also had a ten-or-so mile stretch on back roads where we were making turns about every mile, which is more navigating than I had to do in all of Arizona and New Mexico combined. But for whatever reason, I seemed to get my sense of humor back, and I hope it stays for the rest of the trip, because my dark days have been pretty dark.

Another precious tandem paceline.

Despite the fact that the winds weren't too bad today, I did stay with some nice pace lines almost until lunch. Doreen and Josh demonstrated their "good cop, bad cop" routine with the chase dogs, with Doreen yelling at them sharply to scare them and Josh cooing, "Good boy." Later at the hotel, Josh entertained us some more by stepping out into the parking lot in the pouring rain wearing nothing but a towel, climbing in the back of the truck to get a drink of water, then sauntering back into his hotel room. Like the big fish that always gets away, the best photo opportunities on this trip have come when I've been out of film.

The landscape in Mississippi feels pretty much like that of Oklahoma and Arkansas to me, a cross between the Mid West and the North East. Often times I have looked up at a house or field and been reminded of visits to my cousins' house in Indiana. Little about the landscape feels Southern to me. I guess I was expecting big plantation-type houses surrounded by large porches, and swamps with 'gators and moss-covered trees. There is Kudzu, a broad-leafed vine imported from Japan that covers and smoothers everything in site. It's pretty even though it's deadly, carpeting all trees and bushes so that they look like they're bundled up from head to toe in their winter clothes. Someone said that Kudzu can grow up to a foot a day. We even saw fewer cemeteries today, and had fewer unfenced dog incidents than two days ago, although we did pass plenty of churches.

We spent about fifteen or so miles on the Natchez Trace, which I think is an historic trading route. I hope there's less traffic tomorrow, because we're going to be on it for another 120 mi, through Alabama and Tennessee. It will be exciting to exit two states in one day. Tomorrow has 129 miles and 4,500 feet of climbing. Someone said the hurricane will be bringing thirty- to forty-mile-per-hour head winds tomorrow, but the stretch of the Parkway that we were on today was lined with trees so I'm hoping that we'll be somewhat sheltered. And if the rain holds, it won't even matter if my rain jacket doesn't dry out tonight, because I'll be soaked soon anyway. The day after tomorrow will be short, but we may have to contend with this weather system for the rest of the trip, so I think I'll be better off not letting my guard down too much and expecting it to be easy.