Day 30: Houston, MO to Marshfield, MO (66 miles, 1528 total)

So get this, in Missouri there is a town called Kickapoo. I am not making this up! How awesome is that? I can only imagine what people do for fun there. Other amusing towns include Huggins and Lickings.

While pedaling, I often find my mind wandering and I start to wonder about random things. Lately, I question one big issue, do turtles have rib cages, or do their shells serve that purpose? Beyond that, during times of the military draft, did Uncle Sam want Amish boys too? Anyway, Anne Katherine wants to write the journal tonight, so here she goes. ---Jeff

It is true that your mind wanders. I can't even begin to recap my random thoughts, but lately I have been singing all kinds of random songs - Disney, parts of church hymns, techno, country (I don't even LIKE country)...maybe I do need a radio! One line of a song leads me right into another one. I don't always sing out loud, though. The hills/mountains have a way of stealing my breath away.

Anyway, today was just glorious! Today was the kind of day that I pictured in my head when we planned this trip. It has made the bruises, sore muscles, sore bum, and achy knees worth it. It has made not getting a paycheck all summer worth it. I wouldn't trade away one minute of today.

We woke up dry in our hotel room and we packed away dry gear. Glorious! When we looked out of the window, everything was shrouded in fog. Had we camped, we would still have been soggy, not glorious. The fog burned off quickly though, and by the time we left the motel, the skies were bright blue and the temperature was perfect for riding.

We stopped in at (gasp!) McDonalds for breakfast as it was the only place we saw. After leaving, we ran into a Westbounder named Sid. We'd heard of Sid the day before while talking to a WB'er named Dale, who we'd heard about a few days ago when we paused at a resort on a moutain top. The TransAm cycling world is a small one! We heard from Sid that the park last night was a full house. He, Dale, a young Dutch couple, and 4 Eastbounders all camped there together. Though I'm sure they had a great time, I don't regret our indoor stay.

Back on the road, we were treated to mostly moderate rolling hills. So far, the Ozark Mountains don't have much on the ones we crossed further east. I am so grateful for that!

The skies stayed blue and the temperature stayed mild all morning. We saved lots of turtles and Jeff sprayed a few dogs. One just laid down right in the road and started wiping at its face. I was worried it might be hit by a car so I started yelling at it. It looked up at me and then sulked away. For our readers, if you worry about these dogs, please understand that these are not your pampered pets that sit indoors by your feet. These dogs are outdoor, sometimes mangy-looking animals that seem terribly neglected. Riding through these very rural areas and seeing the conditions that so many of these animals live in has pained me over and over again. I can justify spraying the dogs because, though I am sorry for their temporary discomfort, I would be infinitely more sorry if a dog caused one of us to crash or if we sustained a bite. Our safety is more important to me by far. (Plus, after getting it in my own eyes a while back, it doesn't last that long.)

At our first rest stop in a town called Ben Davis, we finally met Paul and Annemieke (pronounced Ana-ME-ka), the Dutch couple we'd heard about. Hooray! They were going to the same place tonight so we knew we'd be seeing them again. This was the only stop until lunch so we rested for a bit and talked with the store owner, Chuck. Ben Davis was named after apples that used to be grown in the area. The apples are gone, but the name stayed.

At our lunch stop in Hartville, we waved to the Dutch couple as they headed out. They are riding a fully suspended tandem mountain bike so they can really move. As we were leaving, we ran into Dale again. He was heading to the same place too so we were getting excited for camping company tonight! After lunch, we had a stretch of 26 miles with no marked stops (i.e. no cold drinks). The heat had turned itself up too so I was preparing for a tough afternoon. Not so! It was hot but not overwhelming. There was a stop (though the selection was poor and the man that owned it was odd and very hard of hearing - he made up what we said and responded with whatever he chose). Then we arrived in town!

We are camping at the Marshfield City Park. Paul, Annemeika, Dale, and Sid have all arrived. We sat around and shared stories all afternoon. At one point I said "Holy Cow!" and Annemeika loved it. That was an expression she hadn't heard yet. We have rotated through showers, cooked dinner, and laughed a ton. We all ate sitting on the concrete floor of these roofed structures that probably house livestock during the county fairs. Soon we will sleep on the tables. A little backwards, but anything goes on this trip.

Only two more days of biking before we get a week off. I can't even imagine how that will feel. I feel like I've just gotten into the groove of biking all day and I hope I don't have to break myself in again once we return to the road! At least we'll be out of the mountains.

AKB