Down on the Mississippi Bayou

I must go down to the sea again, to the lonely sea and sky,

And all I ask is a tall ship and a star to steer her by,

And the wheel's kick, and the wind's song and the white sail's shaking,

And a gray mist on the sea's face, and a gray dawn breaking.

I must go down to the sea again, for the call of the running tide

Is a wild call and a clear call which may not be denied.

And all I ask is a windy day with white clouds flying,

And flung spray and blown spume, and the seagulls crying.

I must go down to the sea again, to the vagrant gypsy life,

To the gull's way, and the whale's way, where the wind's like a whetted knife.

And all I ask is a merry yarn from a laughing fellow rover,

And a quite sleep and a sweet dream when the long trek's over.

"Sea Fever," by John Masefield (1878-1967)

- Displayed in the Davis Bayou Visitor Center at Gulf Islands National Seashore

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What is a bayou? 

A body of water typically found in flat, low-lying area, and can refer either to an extremely slow-moving stream or river (often with a poorly defined shoreline), or to a marshy lake or wetland.

The word was first used by the English in Louisiana and is thought to originate from the Choctaw word "bayuk", which means "small stream". The first settlements of Acadians in southern Louisiana were near Bayou Teche and other bayous, which led to a close association of the bayou with Cajun culture.

Now, to get you in the mood for this blog: "Born on the Bayou," by Creedence Clearwater Revival.

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Hi Blog! The sun finally came out today. We decided to celebrate with a bike ride over to the Davis Bayou Visitor Center in Ocean Springs, Mississippi, about 12 miles away.  Davis Bayou is part of of the Gulf Islands National Seashore.  In fact, while portions are accessible by car in Florida, the Davis Bayou Area is the only portion of the National Seashore in Mississippi that is accessible by automobile.  The barrier islands of Petit Bois, Horn, East Ship, West Ship, and Cat Island are accessible only by boat. Unfortunately, the ferry service shuts down during the winter months and doesn't start up again until March 15th.  We're leaving for Alabama on Sunday, March 9th, so it looks like we've missed the boat.  It's enough to make you feel blue down on the bayou. "Blue Bayou," by Roy Orbison or "Blue Bayou," by Linda Ronstadt.  But don't worry, we'll be back this way someday.

Our campground is right off Beach Boulevard, so once we crossed the busy four line highway, we were able to bike all the way to Ocean Springs along the old sea wall.

Here is a photo of the most famous landmark in Biloxi, perhaps even all of Mississippi - The Biloxi Light.  Throughout its 159 years, it has survived a score of hurricanes, including the great storms of 1947 and 1969. And, on August 29, 2005, it stood defiant against the wind and surge of Katrina. Inside the lighthouse, blue lines are painted on the wall to mark historic storm surges above 'mean sea level' (msl). Hurricanes of 1855 and 1906 reached 14.0 feet above msl, a 1909 hurricane crested at 15.0 feet msl, and Hurricane Camille's record of 17.5 feet was broken by Hurricane Katrina, which crested at 21.5 feet msl. The lighthouse has been kept by female keepers for more years than any other lighthouse in the United States.  You go, lighthouse girls!

We stopped to stroll out on the pier across from the lighthouse. We noticed a plaque commemorating the Biloxi Wade-Ins.  The Biloxi Wade-Ins were protests that occurred on the beaches of Biloxi, Mississippi between 1959 and 1963.

The demonstrations were led by Gilbert Mason, Sr. in an effort to desegregate the beaches of the Mississippi Gulf Coast. On May 17, 1960, after two wade-ins, the U.S. Justice Department sued the city of Biloxi for denying African-Americans access to the publicly funded beaches. The city repeated delayed the hearing forcing protesters to stage a third wade-in. It was not until 1967 that the Justice Department won its case, and in 1968 the entire beachfront was opened to all races for the first time.

Beside the scene of the wade-in protests, and seaward of the Biloxi Light, the city rebuilt a pier, known as the "Lighthouse Pier," and reopened it to the public in 2010, about 5 years after it had been damaged by Katrina.  It gives people a chance to enjoy the water, sun and sky somewhat removed from the traffic on Beach Boulevard:

As we continued our adventure, we came upon a giant flock of pigeons hanging out on the beach.  Dave just couldn't resist running over to them and encouraging them to take flight:

Here is the old harbor light which marked the entrance to the old Beau Rivage Casino. The casino was located on a series of floating barges as required by local law confining all casinos to mobile marine vessels at the time of the resort's construction. The casino barges were destroyed and the first three floors of the hotel were washed out.

After Katrina, new highways were built connecting Beach Boulevard to I-110.  Luckily for us, the new construction included a walking/biking boardwalk that loops around the over/under passes.

Here is the front of the newly removed Beau Rivage Hotel and Casino.  The term 'Beau Rivage' is French for 'beautiful shore'.  It reminded us of several casinos in Las Vegas.  Turns out, it is owned and operated by MGM Resorts. In the weeks following Hurricane Katrina and in the wake of the catastrophic damage to the coast's casinos in the hurricane, the Mississippi state legislature changed its laws regarding the placement of casinos. Instead of having to be on barges on the water, casinos may now be built on land as long as they are within 800 feet of the shore.

As we biked toward Biloxi Bay, we stopped to check out a fleet of shrimp boats. We checked out each boat, but could not find the Jenny.  As we passed the boats, a tourist boat was beginning an ocean cruise to educate its passengers about shrimping in the Mississippi Sound.

In order to get to Ocean Springs, we had to cross the Biloxi Bay Bridge.  Luckily, the bridge includes a 12-foot wide path for pedestrians and bicyclists.  However, it was quite a climb getting up and over the shipping lanes.

We found Ocean Springs to be the cutest community.  The town has a reputation as an arts community. Its historic and secluded downtown area, with streets lined by live oak trees, is home to several art galleries and shops. If we were going to snowbird in Mississippi, Ocean Springs would be the place. As soon as we arrived at the Visitor Center, we found a picnic table and proceeded to snarf down our turkey and cheese sandwiches. After our repast, we went inside and watched a great video on the Gulf Islands.  With trail maps in hand, we ventured forth. Here is our first look at the Davis Bayou.

Reading the trail guide, we learned that much of this property was owned by the Stark family. (And I thought all the Starks are in the north.) In 1890, Ellen Stark sold some of her family's land to the state with the condition that the land must be used for a park.  It took until 1937 for the park to come to fruition.  With the help of the Civilian Conservation Corp, Magnolia State Park was created.  In 1971, the state park became part of the larger Gulf Islands National Seashore. As we strolled along the trail, we kept our eyes out for the local wildlife. We never did see any gators, but you can keep yourself entertained by trying to find all the turtles in this photo.

The park road crossed the bayou in several places.  At one point, we could hear voices coming from below the road. Kathy started signing Row, Row, Row Your Boat and suddenly a chorus of voices joined in. Here is the only wild life we saw today.

In April 2010, the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig in the Gulf of Mexico exploded.  The massive oil spill resulting from the explosion and fire dramatically affected the beaches and waters of Gulf Islands National Seashore, just as it did the entire Mississippi Gulf Coast.  The National Park Service played an integral role in the cleanup, and, to date, has removed 4.75 million pounds of petroleum from its beaches.  Today, cleanup efforts continue, although the beaches we saw looked pristine.  The cleanup schedule has to accommodate shorebird and sea turtle nesting seasons and therefore requires careful coordination within the national seashore territory.

We have no photos of our ride back to camp.  While the sun came out in full force, it also brought with it a very chilly southwesterly wind.  We had to bike the 10 miles back in a very strong head wind.  We just put our heads down and pedaled and didn't stop until we reached camp.  Fortunately, we had put a crockpot on before we left.  We saved you two servings:  "Jambalaya (On the Bayou)," by Hank Williams and "Jambalaya (On the Bayou)," by Creedence Clearwater Revival.