June 24,
2001. Marshfield to Greenfield, Missouri. (58 mi.) Mile 1596
Last
day in Missouri
A combination of oversleeping and a
trip to Wal-Mart for emergency camping stuff (Ensolite pads, ground tarp, and
bug repellent) put us on the road in the hottest part of the day. We enjoyed
the scenery, but half way through the mileage, we ran out of water (about a
gallon of fluids each), so elected to hang out at the air conditioned
convenience store in Walnut Grove for over two hours drinking iced PowerAde on
tap and cooling down.
Too hot. My
long-sleeved sunblocker jersey prevented sunburn but led to overheating.
We are not through with the roller-coastering
ups and downs of the Ozarks yet, but we are doing better with the hills. Many
of them are so close together and steep that I only have time to shift from my high to
middle to low chain ring and back up again without touching the other gears.
Up, down, up, down, shift, shift, shift,....chink, chunk, of the chain moving through the
gears, mile after mile after mile.
We detoured off the route at Walnut
Grove, taking Highway U to Greenfield. Highway U is aptly named for the topography. We were
told of this detour by Keith, a retired New York banker, whom we met in
Houston. He is celebrating his 60th birthday by bicycling across the country,
even though his family insists he must be crazy to want to do this.
American flags
on every power pole line the streets into Walnut Grove, an intersection with
boarded up, vintage store fronts. This area, and nearby Branson, are known as
a Blue Grass Music Capital.
Greenfield is the only place where
we found accommodations that would answer the phone to take reservations. Our motel room rate is
$23.50 (a record low so far), and you had better have exact change for the proprietor.
He's the one in the white t-shirt and overalls. There were no mints on the
pillow but the room came with a Courtesy Fly-Swatter, which we have put to
good use.
Greenfield: abandoned and boarded
up buildings are common throughout Missouri.
Spelling blooper
in store front, Greenfield, Missouri.
Tomorrow we make it to
Kansas, where we exchange hills for wind. We're hoping for tailwinds.
