Day 31: Marshfield, MO to Everton, MO (56 miles, 1584 total)

Today has been a day that exemplifies why people go on trips like this. It has been absolutely awesome.

To start, last night we went to bed happy to have such great company for the night. All six of us decided to camp under one of the large pavillions in the park. These pavillions are basically a large roof with no walls. Anne Katherine and I scored one of the large tables to sleep on (it was either that or the hard concrete) and opted to not set-up the tent.

We went to bed at about 10PM and were abruptly awoken at 2AM by a serious ruckus. A huge thunder storm was on its way into town. Lightening flashed in the distance as the wind began whipping around us. All of us got up and began racing to collect our stuff before the winds sent it out of the park and through town. It was a frantic scene. AK and I had to take turns holding down the sleeping bags as the other took care of the stuff. We opted to lay down our bikes on the ground rather than risk the wind blowing them down and breaking something. We also moved our table more to the center of the pavillion to avoid getting wet from the rain that had just started dumping (the stiff wind was carrying the rain right under and through the shelter of the pavillion). Once we got everthing settled, we grabbed our stinky green dragon tarp and pulled it over us and the sleeping bags because even in the center of the pavillion, we were getting drenched. Shivering, we hunkered down and watch!
ed the nasty storm pass. Rain whipped all around us, and thunder crashed above us as the sky flashed with every bolt. It was nasty. The scary thing is the idea of a tornado. Fortunately, it wasn't a tornado, but since I know nothing about those things, they are easy to fear.

Anyway, after the late night disturbance, we all were a bit late getting up. We finally were up by 7. After waiting out several potential storm clouds that darkened the morning skies above us (without ever raining a drop on us), AK and I were rolling by 8. We were the first to leave. Paul and Annemieke were taking it a bit easy as today is their 2nd wedding aniversary.

On the way out of town, we stopped at America's favorite store, Wal-Mart. AK wanted to try to find a long sleeve shirt to protect herself from the brutal sun.

Soon we were back on the road and were treated to a perfect morning ride. We quickly blasted the 15 miles into Fair Grove under blue skies. The terrain was rolling, scenic, and we were zurning. While saving my first turtle for the day, Paul and Annemieke caught up to us. It is fun to be on the road with buddies; I snapped a photo of them as they zipped by waving. I spotted Dale in the distance and prepared to take his photo as well, but a short while later I saw him dump his bike and run into the bushes. Nature had called, and I decided not to wait.

After a quick snack in Fair Grove, we headed on to Walnut Grove. The conditions were again perfect. It was beautiful, not too hot and decent terrain. I started to realize that I have really hit a biking groove and wondered if I will struggle to get back into it after the week break for Rebus and Nic's wedding.

In Walnut Grove we stopped for lunch at "The Dinner Bell". We have discovered that eating lunch in some of these small town resturants is cheaper or comprable to trying to "build" our own lunch at a market. Today, for a mere $4.25, I had meatloaf, potatoes, spinach, cottage cheese, and a dinner roll. You can't get a meal that good for that cheap at a supermarket!

Again on the way out of town we found Paul and Annemieke's tandem outside a store. Since it was starting to rain, we decided to stop in and say hi. After a few minutes, the rain stopped and we were all on our way.

AK and I arrived first in Ash Grove as it started to rain and thunder again. We ducked into a store and called ahead to the accomodations in Everton. Soon Paul and Annemieke arrived and since they planned to stay at the same place tonight, AK called back, and informed them that more people were coming. Since it was a special night for Paul and Annemieke, we all went to the local supermarket to buy food to cook for dinner at the bed and breakfast. Since we were only 7 miles from Everton, we could actually buy food that would otherwise be perishible. We left with the makings for sausage pasta, smores and brocolli. We figured the smores would be a good, easy, American-style celebration dessert for the Dutch aniversary couple. With still no sign of Dale or Sid since the morning, we all rolled on hoping they'd figure out how to find us. Paul and Annemieke stopped at a liquor store to get some beer and wine for the evening.

When we arrived in Everton, Ron Dinges welcomed us to his family's bed and breakfast. He showed us around the old house built in 1886. There are four bedrooms, two sitting rooms, two bathrooms and two kitchens. He told us to make ourselves at home and pay 20 bucks per bedroom. After the quick tour, Paul and Annemieke arrived and we all had a beer with Ron and the neighbor Gaelin on the porch. It was fantastic. Gaelin is a trucker and we all had a good time joking around with him. He even drove his big truck to the market to buy us ground beef and beer. Awesome.

A little stray dog (a beagle mix) that the Dinges had taken in visited with us as we relaxed on the porch. She is the first dog I've ever been around that actually listens to my commands. I was shocked, plus she didn't bark once, so I like her. We named her Lucy.

Eventually Ron headed back home to Ash Grove and told us just to lock the door in the morning. A few minutes later, Dale arrived and soon after that, Sid showed up. We were all back together again.

We decided to just cook up a big feast and share the big "aniversary dinner". After a lot of cooking we sat down at a real dinner table for a meal of sausage pasta, brocolli, tacos, hot dogs, beans, corn, and salad. We ate and joked until our stomachs hurt. Meanwhile a huge thurnderstorm roared outside and dumped down rain. We all rejoiced we were inside with good food and good company and not in the local city park.

Once all the dishes were done and we had chance to digest some food, AK fired up the smores. Of course, they were a huge hit.

Anyway, today was a fantastic day. We had perfect cycling conditions, always managed to miss the rain, were welcomed warmly by Ron, ate great food, told stories, ignored the storm outside, and we get to sleep in real beds. Even if a storm does come in at 2AM, we won't care!

By the way, I think there was a planned mass turtle suicide this morning as I pulled 6 out of the road before lunch.

Jeff