Day 6: August 1, 2014
To NOLA

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Here's something completely different: The BACK side of a stop sign beneath an Old Spanish Trail sign. This particular sign is near the east end of a stretch of Old Spanish Trail that begins near the town of Gautier, Mississippi, on the west bank of the Pascagoula River. There are nearly ten miles of OST signs before the name changes to Government Street.

It's always sad to see a lame pony on any trail. Adding to the sadness of the scene is the pitiful picture itself. It seems that, shortly after taking the picture of that stop sign back side, I accidentally switched autofocus off. It went unnoticed as I shot several one-handed drive-by style shots and I only realized it when I was stopped and put the camera to my eye for a shot. Focus will reappear in a couple of panels. The overhead sign is at Hanshaw Road near the western end of the signed segment.


I have driven US-90 through here before although I wasn't chasing the Old Spanish Trail at the time. That drive was in December of 2007 just two years after Hurricane Katrina had devastated the area. The two bridges pictured here, the Biloxi Bay Bridge and the Saint Louis Bay Bridge, were among her victims. At the time of that 2007 drive, one side of each bridge had been rebuilt which allowed one lane of traffic in each direction as can be seen here and here. Today both bridges are complete even if they are out of focus.

Finally, after cruising a signed section of Old Spanish Trail in Bay Saint Louis, Mississippi, I discovered the focusing issue and turned autofocus back on. Another excuse for bad pictures gone.

Construction of a replacement for the 1930 Rigolets Bridge started in 2004 but was delayed by Katrina. It opened about three weeks after I was here in 2007. Even though the old Rigolets bridge was still in service in 2007, the bridge in the second picture, the Chef Menteur Pass Bridge, was closed for repairs so that New Orleans was not reachable on US-90. I don't think I really understood that the old bridge was open so I turned back without even crossing it. The third picture is of the Danziger Bridge over the Inner Harbor Navigation Canal.

I had raised the top in the morning when I encountered some light rain but it went back down as soon as that had passed and the top dried. Maybe that kept things a little cool because I was quite comfortable into the afternoon and into the city. That changed when I reached the slow moving traffic on Canal Street. The third picture was taken shortly after the turn onto Saint Charles where heavy traffic and long stops continued. Without airflow, it did get hot but, having made it this far, I opted to tough it out and made it to my destination with top lowered.

That destination was the house my oldest son and his girlfriend are temporarily renting. After years in San Francisco, they are moving to New Orleans where she will be attending school. With a sort of precision that just can't be planned, Crispian arrived on Wednesday, Lucie arrived on Thursday, and I arrived on Friday. A great visit and I skipped a motel bill.

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