A while back I sent out an e-mail with some pictures from these rides as a little teaser for the big article which was to come soon. Then my Civil War interest interrupted everything and I got involved in doing pages which were mostly comprised of links and bountiful information, yea right. You know, when you get interested in something then there is no way the whole world can't be interested in it, also. Everything you discover has to be a revelation to everyone. I finally realized, after finding several hundred pages which were done better than I could ever do on the CW stuff, that maybe a return to my  wanderings, pic-popping, and jotting down my  simple observations might be the route to which I should return. Low and behold, I even had pictures "in the bank", the forgotten "Two Day Ride".  Just how forgotten you'll never know.
     I just received a note from a fellow who lives over on La.40, east of Bush,  pretty much one of the best places to live in La. except for the occassional life altering monster hurricanes. The note reminded me of the forgotten trips which started very close to Bush. So, instead of sending it to just him, here it is. The route on the map looks like I might have been lost, confused or looking for something. It's been a while, so any or all of that could have been possible. This one is not a ride into an unknown area but a recombing of the labyrinth of lanes and roads that web across Louisiana's Florida Parishes and southwest Mississippi. The fact that I previously missed stuff in a town as small as Osyka, Mississippi, can perpetuate the material supply, well, forever. As far as a planned route goes for you to follow, here it is. Jeoffry, it is all well paved. But don't just go out there following my blue lines. Do your own wanderings. Print out my map and if your anxious passenger or riding partner ask where you are, just show them the map and point to some spot on it. If you see something I took a picture of, write me and let me know where you saw it so we'll both know where it is. Tell ya what, send me 4 matches and I'll send you a year's subcription to the "magazine".
    Done deal?
    Study the map and then read below for total confusion. Day One is in red and Day Two is in black.
   The article starts on Day 2.
     The rides were taken in January of this year (06). The weather must have been pretty good. Down here fronts come through in the winter and we get that Colorado Rocky Mountain High blue sky. The cool fronts weakens and gradually we start resembling Venus's  humidisized sky, courtesy of the Gulf of Mexico, so close on our south. I have some of the house pictures mixed up but due to different skies, I have placed them correctly with the day they were taken. The first day I had  gray sky, the second the sky was blue. Well we'll see if my theory works. If not I'll look at the dates on the pictures. 
       Here goes. I'm starting with the second day first because it doesn't matter and the first day has the high-point finds of the two days within it. If I showed you the really good stuff first, you'd feel let down at the end and I wouldn't want to be responcible for any ending letdowns.

       The Black Dot Route
        From Folsom, my base camp, I went north on La.25 for a few miles and then veered off to the north on a really good road (La.450) for getting to Mississippi with great scenery and increasing relief. The road surface is good to great. I shot the American Gas sign at Bolivar. I then took 1061 further north, crossing La. 38, and then went west on La.1055, back-tracking because the bridge was out and continued north on McElveen Rd. It hit Stateline Road which ran into good old Osyka-Progress Road which is not named for the progress in Osyka as previously mentioned.  It goes to Osyka, as did I where I took these pictures of a previously unpictured part of Osyka.










    I think the locals are now laughing their heads off as there are not really "parts" of Osyka like in big towns. Ok, maybe there's the "downtown" and the houses across US.51 and north of downtown and south of downtown, etc. Ok, I'm wrong, there are "parts" of Osyka. The part I'd missed was this part of Downtown. I guess even the Downtown has parts so.    
      Maybe the locals aren't laughing.
      You really should make Osyka one of your weekend stops. I'd go on Saturday morning. I was there on aWednesday. Osyka is unspoiled. You see stuff like Moms pushing their babies down the road. Yes, in strollers.
The Two Day Ride
   Like every other old town in MS, there's a Masonic Temple.
    Didn't catch the denomination. I should look closer as I've found some "different" ones. You can't paint Mississippi out of the same can.
      Does that make sense?
  The bank was right next to the jail, very convenient for escapees. I guess one too many withdrawals was made. The jail is still in business able to change colors to a museum.  Check it out, it might be open on weekends.
    Bank's not.
    I just wanted to show you that this was not a dead place. Businesses were doing business. Ceiling fans are above the sidewalk, Bubba, you're in the South.
   After the pictures have opened, click that >>> on the ad column and it will fold back out of the way. The price of Cheap.
Bolivar was in the storm zone. Buildings not in the best shape got worse, fast.
Once in a while I find an old house that has been saved beautifully. That's one.