We’ve had beautiful weather for several days now, although it is certainly summer in Missouri. Hot and sunny high 80’s with little cooling at night. It’s hard to drink enough water. As we’ve left the mighty Mississippi behind we’ve begun the assault on the Ozarks. Yesterday had only a few hard climbs and only 42 miles total riding from Farmington to lesterville. We stopped at a fascinating state park call Johnson shut-ins. Don’t ask where the name came from. It’s a huge recreation area with the main draw being a river that runs through granite creating all kinds of interesting water flows and rock formations. There’s a few pictures below. We stayed in a camp ground that had to be designated as the number 1 party campground in Missouri. Being Friday night you can imagine the rowdiness of the beer drinking crowd. The party went way beyond reasonable. I was so tired I slept without a problem. Many of the rabble-rousers continued at first light which was fine because we’re up and rearing to get on the road.
Today’s ride started gently enough with rolling farmland. Then bam!!!! Straight up. The hills were either steep and short or long and reasonable grade, but it was never ending. The quick downhills never allow me to recover from the previous hill and then it’s right into the next one. I believe today was the hardesr day yet and probably would have been a deal breaker three weeks ago. Ralph turned 60 today. Ralph is a retired banker and along with tom are our two ultraconservatives. Both great guys that the rest of us try to not engage in political discussions. Ralph’s brother Mark joined us for the last two days on the rode and will head home after tomorrows ride. He lives here in Missouri. Tonight we’re at a more family oriented campground. We’ve been promised quiet time at 11:00pm. We’ll see.