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A chance to see a small private rice mill in operation? How could we turn that down? Jamie Gayle, of Duck Capital Computers and Patti’s Book Nook, managed to arrange a private tour for us of Stansel Rice Mill, and on Chelsea’s birthday, no less. Located only a mile north of Gueydan, the rice mill is set among rice fields, tucked back off a quiet road in a small community of a few houses and the rice mill.

Travis Richard now runs the rice mill that was started by his grandfather just over 50 years ago. It’s a low-key place, neat and clean and straightforward. The rice processing is in one building; the rice dryer is in another; and the office, silk-screening room, and packaging are in a third. We started out in the rice processing area, with Travis getting the machinery going for the day’s run.
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July 20th, 2008

Since we were still in the area, we talked Fred into coming to visit us in the ultralight so we could get another flight – not knowing how long we’d be there. There was quite a bit of searching as we tried to find someplace he could land. The local crop dusters said no because of insurance reasons, and we still didn’t know the area well enough to know what to do. If only we’d known Pat Hair then! We finally heard that there was an old strip near the “parish barn” just outside Gueydan. We described it to Fred as best we could, and after church on a very hot Sunday, we headed out to find it on our bicycles. We thought it was only a mile away. Sure enough, just outside town, there sat Fred in his ultralight, in a field right next to the highway.
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White Lake

In July 2002 the oil company BP-Amoco donated a 71,000-acre wildlife preserve known as the White Lake Property to the State of Louisiana. White Lake is managed by the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries. Used as a hunting preserve by BP-Amoco, it’s an area of freshwater marshes, some pastureland, and cropland suitable for growing rice and crawfish. Every winter there are huge numbers of ducks, geese and other water birds in the marsh. The marshes are flooded and drained seasonally, providing food and water for the birds, and the residual rice from rice farming also provides food. The area is known as the finest duck hunting area in North America – Gueydan is the gateway to White Lake and identifies itself as the Duck Capital of America.

An Advisory Board has been assigned the task of setting out the longer term plans for managing the area, requiring a good balance between conserving the natural beauty of the area and opening it to the public. Currently there are plans for increased fishing, bird watching, sightseeing, and for a beautiful pavilion with nature walks and conservation education. BP Amoco provides money each year for maintenance and improvements, and the state collects fees for hunting, trapping, farming leases, alligator trapping, and the collection of alligator eggs.
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We told Max about the resident mouse in the house, and on Sunday (after attending church services next door) he took us to Dollar General to buy cleaning supplies and mousetraps. He bought bleach, scrub pads and toilet bowl cleaner. We supplied some pieces of old cheddar cheese and Max set the mousetraps before he left. We didn’t have to wait long. Within two hours – snap!… went the mousetrap. We disposed of the mouse immediately, leaving all the other traps out – certain that we’d be catching more. But as it turned out, there was only one very happy mouse making a lot of mess.
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Our ceremony in Gueydan to become honorary citizens was brief and to the point. We posed for a photo with the mayor, Bob Hensgens, while he handed us our Gueydan lapel pins and our honorary citizens certificates. We had a few minutes to chat with Bob, and before he left he let us know that he’d arranged for us to have a mudboat ride with Wildlife and Fisheries down at White Lake. We were definitely excited about that idea!
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July 9th, 2008

Getting Here

Our day of arrival in Gueydan was really memorable. We awakened by 5:30 or before, as we had to load Lee’s truck and be on our way with Lee to meet Elray for breakfast at CCs at 6:30. We had stayed up much too late, as usual, getting things done, so we were really tired. We were completely packed except for last minute things, and I finished off cleaning the bathroom while Chelsea vacuumed the front room. I will never forget seeing Lee’s face as he asked “What she doin’ in there?” When I replied that she was vacuuming (at 6 a.m.), he rolled his eyes in exasperation, and told me that she should quit that. I assured him there was no chance of that, as we were going to leave them with a clean house. 🙂
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July 6th, 2008

With our preparations for leaving Abbeville pretty complete, we hung out with Fred on Sunday, watching him do our famous kickstands, and add a GPS to his ultralight. Kevin came by with a buddy, and they went up for several flights. Chelsea went up with Fred to take photos of Kevin’s plane from the air. Chelsea and Fred covered quite a distance in their time in the air – they went all the way to Vermilion Bay and saw the menhaden factory from the air. The photos are great – check out the photo gallery. They also saw a huge flock of roseate spoonbills in flight, so Chelsea was on cloud nine. My flight with Fred was really uneventful, but it was so perfect that I felt melancholic almost the entire flight, thinking this would be my last flight with Fred. The winds were really calm for the first ever for us, and it was heaven. Neither Chelsea nor I will forget the peacefulness and the beauty of our flights.

July 6th, 2008

As always, the bikes and trailers are an integral part of our experience. They are our lifeline to our adventures. And just like our adventures, the experience with the bikes is always unfolding.

Bikes

We are getting more and more comfortable with our REI Safari bikes. The best part about them is how much easier it is to ride with them, especially given how truly awful is the condition of most of the roads here in Louisiana. The wider tires and sturdy feel of the bikes, and the shocks in the seat posts, make our riding lives a lot easier and more comfortable. We are finally getting brave enough to jump curbs, head through deeper patches of gravel, ride over grass, and tackle difficult dirt roads – things we would never have done with our Dolces. Our bike handling skills are improving noticeably for this type of environment, which is a good thing, considering how much we will need those skills south of the border. We both really like the disc brakes so far, and Chelsea finds them infinitely easier to adjust and to keep adjusted.
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Sheila’s family

Sheila’s extended family held a big family party for the 4th of July out at one cousin’s house just outside Rayne LA. They had an awesome set-up – an above-ground swimming pool, a separate tent for the barbecuing, a covered car port for the food and chairs, out of the sun, and a huge industrial fan under the carport to keep the hot humid air moving. There was a big lawn for the kids, and a small climbing structure, with hunting camouflage hung in streamers on it. There must have been several dozen people there, not counting all the kids, and Sheila assured me that this year was a small gathering – they have been known to have up to 50-60 people and more, all related!
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After all the wandering, and after saying our farewells to Melissa, Ernesto gave us a ride back to Abbeville. We took that opportunity to quiz him about Peru. He told us that his sister, much to his amazement, had recently chosen to go to Colombia on holiday. He couldn’t understand why she would want to, given the current conditions in the country. Again much to his amazement, she came back enthused about her experience. She told him that the country is beautiful and that everyone was extremely friendly – it was clean, quiet, she felt safe, and she wants to go again. We were delighted to hear that, as it matched exactly what we had read recently on a cyclist’s blog. Now we are more excited than ever to visit Colombia.
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