Day 28: Pilot Knob, MO to Owls Bend, MO (59 miles, 1404 total)

Waking up early in a motel on this trip is always hard to do. Actually, waking up at any time is always hard for me to do. Jeff gets up first and the only reason I drag my bag of bones out of the comfy pillow and sheet land is because I feel guilty about making us leave later. I always feel ok after I move around for a bit, but ugh, those 1st few minutes are the worst. (Note from Jeff: Anne Katherine can be rather grumpy in the morning. You best tip-toe if you know what is good for you.)

We ate oatmeal in the room before rolling out around 7:30. Our first stop was Elephant Rocks State Park. It was just 1 mile off route so it made the cut. Anything further than that gets passed by. When you pile on miles like we have been lately, side trips lose all appeal.
If you can't tell from the name, Elephant Rocks St. Pk. is full of giant rocks. These rocks are made of granite so they weather slowly. As the park opens at 8:00, we were almost the only people there. After about an hour (and tons of photos), we got back to the business of the day. The park was cool because it was marked with braille signs and various aids for the visually impaired. How fitting for our trip supporting the FFB! (Note from Jeff: We also cruised right through Johnson's Shut-Ins State Park. It is supposed to have some cool stuff to check out, but we had to keep moving.)

The terrain remained rolling throughout the day. Though I do use my low gears frequently to take some pressure off my knees, I only really needed them a few times. So far, the Ozarks are definitley doable. The hot temps and humidity are what make them difficult. I mop my face frequently during the day.

Traffic was light on our way into Centerville where we stopped for a snack. We scored a very detailed and FREE Missouri map while there. It even has the backroads that we are traveling on marked on it. No state we've been through so far has had that available at the tiny-town gas stations we frequent.

After Centerville, we were traveling on SR 21. Not to offend anyone from this state, but we encountered more hostile drivers on 21 (and later on 106) than either of us has dealt with on this trip or any other EVER. From 18-wheelers, to trucks dragging giant horse trailers, to small cars, they all honked and some shook their fists at us. God forbid they have to move over a few feet or slow down for a minute. You'd think we were ruining their entire day.

Anyway, we stopped for lunch in the town of Ellington. Just as we were cresting the last few hills before town, the sky took on the ominous steel-grey color of a thunderstorm.
Our lunch stop was perfectly timed. We covered up the bikes and headed into the local restaurant for a great lunch complete with steamed veggies. It rained for a bit, then cleared, then went back to looking threatening. We had no choice but to move on. Our campground was another 15 miles down the road, and our late and dawdling lunch stop had kept us lagging around until 4:00. (We usually try not to stop for lunch until the majority of miles are behind us. This helps with the after lunch slump as well as the general psyche for the day.) (Note from Jeff: Halls Resturant, the place we stopped for lunch, featured one urinal in the men's room that, oddly enough, had its own stall with a door and a lock. All I could think of was that this must cause some confusion for the guy that had a bad plate of fried catfish and needs a place to blow chunks. No urinal-cake could mask that smell.)

Just a few miles into our dash out of town, the skies opened up and started to dump on us. The worst part is that those same horse trailer um, people, continued harrassing us with their horns. Please, we're the ones getting soaked out here!

After a steep, wet descent in which both of us were camped out on our brake levers (visions of my dad's accident was running through my head), we arrived wet and thankful at our campsite. The Powder Mill campground just outside of Owls Bend is directly next to the Current River. This river is fed by several springs and it runs clear and is perfect for wading. We can hear the sound of the water rushing by from our tent. The only drawback is that there aren't any showers to be had. Baby wipes shower it is, oh, and a brief walk into the river too. We didn't swim because we knew our suits wouldn't dry out.

After our river dip, we started getting ready for dinner. Jeff, who calls himself the Swedish Chef, is in charge of the camp stove. Tonight's special was Chicken Helper, made with canned chicken, and little peas. We've been lugging this meal around since before arriving in Sebree so it is about time we ate it. With a little pepper added it isn't so bad. We can see how Jessica Simpson was a little confused about whether she was eating chicken or tuna from the can because they don't taste too differently. Still, the chicken helper wins over the tuna helper. (Note from Jeff: Hands down, the Chicken Helper is ten times better than the Tuna Helper.)

Now, Jeff is looking for fire-flies/lightening bugs outside the tent and I am very thankful it isn't still raining. I'm sure we'll still put on wet gloves, helmets, shoes, and clothes in the morning but they hopefully won't be any more wet.

(Note from Jeff: Today I saw my first armadillo. Actually I saw several. I didn't have to worry about sneaking up on them and scaring them off as they all had tire treads down their backs. By the way, did you know that Combos are the official cheese fillled snack of NASCAR?)

AKB