Day 67: 7/26/19: Jonesboro, IL to Latham, TN

I heard all types of animal noises this morning in the woods that I have no idea what made them.

Another sunrise pic below.

My first stop today was Jonesboro.  I learned that Lincoln and Douglas had their third debate there (info below).

I ate breakfast at the Hometown Diner in Jonesboro.  I ordered the Farmer's Breakfast which included 3 eggs, hash browns, a double order of meat, 2 pieces of toast, and 2 pancakes (pic below).  When the young waitress brought it to me, she said, "I hope you're hungry." I ate every bit of it and she told me she didn't think I could eat it all.

The waitress asked me about my bicycle trip. I told her where I had been and she asked if I was ever scared. She then asked if I stayed in hotels, and I told her I mainly camped.  She told me that is very "cool," and that no one in Jonesboro would ever do anything that cool.  I was happy to reach the "cool" level on a young person's cool meter - or was she just trying to get a bigger tip.

A couple of locals in Jonesboro talked to me about my trip and route I was taking today.  I told them I was taking IL Hwy 127 to Cairo.  They told me that road is closed about 25 miles from Jonesboro before you get to Cairo due to flooding. One of them told me a couple of other cyclists from Ohio came through Jonesboro recently heading west and were planning to cross the river at Cape Girardeau, but the road leading to that bridge was closed due to flooding. The road is supposed to open this afternoon.  The cyclists went to St Louis to cross.

I was originally going to cross the river at Cape Girardeau, but decided to go north and cross at St Louis.  It would have been a real bummer to go that far south just to find the road closed, and then have to go north.

I went through Cairo, which is an interesting town. I could tell at one time it was a wealthy town, but now there are a lot of dilapidated buildings there.  There are mansions like the 2 below.

Right next to them is this mansion.

Pic below is the Cairo Custom House that was begun in 1867 and completed in 1872.

I made it to Kentucky.  One state closer to home.

I had lunch at the Kentucky Hillbilly BBQ.  It is primarily a take out place, but they do have a couple of outdoor tables.  I asked the cashier if they had a restroom.  She said no, but told me the guys usually just go behind the building.  Well, what's the saying?  "When in Kentucky, do as ...."

In Wickliffe, KY, my plan was to take state highways to Fulton to avoid U.S. Highway 51.  I thought the state highways would be less busy.  I stopped at Dollar General in Wickliffe that is by the state highway I was going to be riding on, and I sat outside the store and ate my ice cream while watching the traffic on the highway.  There was quite a bit of traffic, and almost every other vehicle was a big commercial truck.  I decided I didn't want to be on a 2 lane narrow road with all that traffic, so I chose to take U.S. Highway 51.  That turned out to be a good decision because the traffic on that road was not that bad.

Fulton is divided by State Line Road.  To the north is Fulton, KY, and to the south is South Fulton, TN.

I camped by Obion River near Latham, TN.   The mosquitoes are terrible, but I guess that is to be expected this time of year.

Total miles today: 109.2