Day 16: Pippa Passes, KY to Buckhorn, KY (59 miles, 736 total)

After such a long day yesterday, waking up early this morning was really hard to do. We reset the alarm twice just to get a few more minutes of rest. What finally dragged me out of bed was the desire to avoid the afternoon headwinds and heat as much as possible. The hostel kitties helped us get things in order and the little black one kept biting at my toes when I neglected my petting duties for too long. (Note from Jeff: The plump kitty runs funny.) We finally pushed off around 7:45. It was time to face the steep hill we'd accidentally done the day before.

As Jeff was waiting for me at the top, a truck pulled over and a man got out. It was Mr. Ed Madden, our host for the night whom we'd never gotten the chance to meet. (He and his wife, Charlotte, were out late at a wedding and just left the house open for us.) He told us to stop by the Dairy Queen a few miles up the road and breakfast would be on him. What a treat! It seemed that this DQ was the local Sunday morning hangout for many of the members in the community. (Note from Jeff: In the parking lot there was a war memorial for the members of the community that had been killed in action in every war since WWI up to Vietnam. Remember Mr. Slone? Well 5 Slones were killed in WWII and 1 was killed in WWI.)

After breakfast, we enjoyed miles and miles of very gentle rollers - a welcomed change of pace from the steep climbs of the day before. The air was fragrant with honeysuckle (I love that smell), but the roads were full of dogs. These weren't strays, but they came charging whenever they could. I unholstered the Halt many times again but never used it. Jeff did though and it worked! At this particular house, there were three dogs hellbent on charging with teeth bared. Jeff sprayed one dead on in the face and stopped it in its tracks (you have to spray them in the face or it doesn't work). When I came through a little while later, only two dogs charged and this time we were able to out run them. The third had learned its lesson. When there is a house with a potential dog problem, Jeff always circles back to make sure I make it through ok. It helps me be on the lookout when I see him circling ahead and it gives me peace of mind knowing he is there if something should go wrong.

We made another wrong turn today. Funny how the lack of the 76 signs and any road signs whatever can do that to you. (Note from Jeff: All througout VA, signs with a bike and the number 76 regularly marked the route, but there are none in KY.) Fortunatley, we figured it out within a few miles and corrected it. Thank goodness we hadn't gone up any steep climbs for no reason!

Back on track, we headed for the town of Dwarf, KY. Jeff was looking forward to it all morning. He wanted a picture by the town sign. Not only was there no sign, but there were no dwarfs around either and he was really bummed about it. (From Jeff: I went to Dwarf, and I didn't see a single one!)

Oh, crikey! The evening is starting to cool down and I just realized that I must have left my long-sleeved sweatshirt thing at the hostel this morning. That is a double blow because I also use it as my pillow. I swear, when I get tired, I would lose my head if it weren't attached. Well, the wallet was recovered but the sweatshirt may be a loss. Maybe I can find something else to replace it soon.

Anyway, the simple pedaling of the morning had to give way at some point. Soon we were back to giant rollers and slower paces. They were made even harder because, though there was a shoulder, it was adorned with rumble strips. These groves cut into the pavement are a great way to let the driver of a car know that he/she is running off the road, but they are a bone shaking nuisance for bikers. We had to work hard to avoid them, the gravel and coal on the shoulder, and the cars wizzing past. We were thankful many times over that we have hit this coal rich land on the long weekend that the giant coal trucks are not running. By tomorrow night, we should be almost out of their range. That will be a relief!

Finding somewhere to stop for lunch was the worst. We pulled into a huge Walmart/strip mall and I was amazed that there wasn't a single place to eat there. Several miles later, and closing in on our big climb of the day, we finally saw a small country store on the right. It boasted of sandwiches and pizza on its sign but there were none to be found inside. We settled for hot pockets and cereal sitting on my opened Crazy Creek chair in the parking lot. This has become the picnic lunch routine in the last few days. Raid the grocery/convenience store, pull out the Creek, eat in the parking lot, rest for a few minutes to digest, reapply sunscreen and get back on the road. What a life. (Note from Jeff: Remeber those country stores in VA I mentioned? Well they have similar ones here, but remove the kitchen and replace it with a tanning bed! I am not kidding. In this state, you can pump gas, get a tan and snap into a Slim-Jim all at the same store. At one of these tanning salons I !
also tried a soda from Kentucy. It is called Ale-81 as in "a late one" (not sure why). Anyway, it tastes simliar to ginger-ale and is better than the Cheerwine I had back in Glendale.)

Our major climb of the day was last and it was a long one. I clocked it at just over 7 miles with a few drops in between. It was a brow wiper for sure. The rumble strips also continued. After our descent, while we were searching with peeled eyes for our campground (no more getting lost or wrong turns!), we came across a small roadside ice cream shop. I asked for directions and Jeff eyed the menu. He settled in on a milkshake and sucked it down fast. I did have a taste and it was good stuff!

Our campground arrival was next and it is the nicest we've been to so far! It is called the Buckhorn Dam Campground. The family that runs it is extremely gracious and even invited us over to partake in their Memorial Day feast. I love Sundays in campgrounds! For the last three Sundays, we have eaten until the popping point because of generous people who take us in. This route is full of wonderful people all along the way. (Note to bikers: Stay here! It is very nice. Ask to be put in overflow, $10 for soft grass)

Jeff has been working hard on bike maintenance while I type this and now it is time to hit the sack. We don't know where we're going tomorrow night, but we are planning to stay in a motel wherever we end up. After only one rest day in 16 days, my sore legs need a soak in a hot bath. We also really, really need to do some laundry. We're almost as smelly as the through-hikers, minus the boots though.

AKB