Friday began wet. It had rained through the night and into the morning but by the time we had breakfast it had eased. It seemed like the best chance to go to the Mississippi Sandhill Crane National Wildlife Refuge, which was abut ten miles away and look for cranes. The Mississippi Sandhill Cranes are an endangered sub-species of Sandhill Cranes. They are a non-migratory bird and exist only here. There are less than 150 left. Actually, that is a significant number having recovered from a population of about 30 that existed before the refuge was formed.
It was an interesting place to visit and the visitor center staff was helpful, but sort of circumspect as to where they could be seen. Maybe they didn't know, but they were certainly ambiguous. We walked the two developed trails but they only cover a tiny part of the 19,000-acre refuge. Needless to say, we didn't see any cranes. We were told that there was only about a half percent chance we'd spot one. Needless to say, Ellen was heartbroken.
As a consolation, the visitor center gave away free transfer tattoos of flying sandhill cranes. Ellen got one on her wrist and Sally on her leg. Then, the "girls" applied one to Harry's head and Nina's armpit. Steve, however, was above all that and refrained.
The tattoos were appropriate as we stopped at The Shed BBQ and Blues Joint for lunch. Although we did not know it, it is a local Biloxi institution, even featured on the Food Network (although they didn't mention it). We chose it because it sounded good and was on our way. It was a collection of sheds not far from I-10 at the Ocean Springs exit. Our first impression was that they were gone. It seems a fire in February had burned most of the place to the ground.
But not all was lost. Within four days, friends in the BBQ world loaned smoker trailers and lumber to build a temporary set of sheds and tents and they were back serving ribs and chicken and pulled pork and brisket and blues on the weekends.
The brisket and pulled pork were both good, although the sauce needed more spice for my taste. The ambiance was unique as we sat on a porch under a tent along side a bayou. They expect to be rebuilt in 45 days. I don't think we'll be here for the grand re-opening, but we might pass by in the future (or maybe Saturday night for the music).
After lunch it was off to another area of the refuge and the second walking trail—still no cranes, with a final stop at Fusion Coffee for a late afternoon cuppa (latte in my case) and two enormous pieces of Italian Cream Cake, not one I'd heard of but it seemed to be a moist cake with bit of coconut in it with a cream cheese and walnut frosting. Sort of a coconut version of a carrot cake. It was wonderful and none of us could face dinner that night.
Some Davis Bayou Photos
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