Day 9: 4/26/21: Windsor, MO, to Lenexa, KS

 Ate breakfast this morning at The Wagon Wheel Restaurant in Windsor.

Pic of downtown Windsor.

After breakfast, I got on the Rock Island Spur Trail for about 47 miles of traffic free riding.

On the trail, I actually found a fellow slower than I.

A view of the prairie from the trail.

Pleasant Hill was the last city on the Rock Island Trail.  Below are pics from around town.

I made it to....

Information about the 3 trails corridor near the Missouri/Kansas border.

I made it to Cody's and Hannah's house in Lenexa.  Pic of us sitting outside enjoying a delicious supper.

Total miles today: 86.3

Day 8: 4/25/21: Lake of the Ozarks State Park to Windsor, MO

 I guess the steeper hills yesterday wore me out because I slept really well last night.

Took a pic of this rig on my way out of the campground this morning.  It was fun watching all the other RVers watching with envy as they pulled through the campground last night.  I wonder if the canoe is ever used or is it just a prop.

Ate breakfast at the Rusty Rooster Cafe in Lake Ozark, MO.  It is a happening place and the food was delicious.

My coffee mug there.  

My travel today took me through Osage City, Lake Ozark, Versailles, and Cole Camp.

Below are some pics around downtown Versailles and some information about the county.

Below are some pics around Cole Camp.

That's not very nice.  I wonder how they really feel about the folks at the intersection below. :)

Below is a pic of St. Johns Lutheran Church outside Cole Camp.  Very pretty church building out in the middle of nowhere.

The hills got smaller and smaller as the day went by.

I decided to stop tonight at Farrington Park in Windsor, MO.  As I rolled in Kyle (pic below) was already there relaxing.  He is from Kansas City and is on his first bicycle tour.  He rode the Rock Island Spur Trail from near KC to Windsor, and will then ride the Katy Trail to St. Louis.  Both trails are rails to trails with only bicycle and pedestrian traffic.  He is then going to take an Amtrak train back to KC.

My campsite tonight.

Total miles today: 84.2

Day 7: 4/24/21: Maramec Springs Park to Lake of the Ozarks State Park

It was still raining steadily when I woke up at about 6 a.m. I looked at the weather radar and the rain seemed to just be spinning around the area I am in.  The forecast was for rain until about early afternoon.  I decided to go ahead and get dressed and start riding for the day.  My first stop was at Country Cafe in St. James for breakfast.  The hot breakfast and coffee warmed me up for my continued journey in the rain.

It finally quit raining about 1 p.m., but it remained cloudy for most of the day.  The weather today was not conducive for picture taking so there are not many photos.

I took a pic below of what I call "Lake Jezebel" that tried to engulf my tent last night.  Not all of my tent would have been in it, but a good part would have been had I not moved it.

Todays hills were a little steeper than those of the past 2 days and the scenery was nice.

The only towns I went through were St. James, Vienna, Iberia, and Burnley, all very small towns.

I made it to my intended destination, Lake of the Ozarks State Park.

Total miles today: 75.6

Day 6: 4/23/21: Bismarck Conservation Area to Maramec Spring Park

 It rained most of the night last night.  I knew rain would greatly reduce the risk of someone meandering thru the woods stumbling upon my campsite.  Also, the rain pattering on the rain fly has about the same effect on me as rain on a tin roof.  Good sleep.

As I was pushing my bike out of the woods this morning, I met a turkey hunter headed in. We greeted each other and kept going our separate ways.  He did ask if I had heard any turkeys, and I told him all I heard was an owl this morning.

A few photos around Bismarck.

I ate a large breakfast at Carla's Cafe in Bismarck (pic below).  When is the last time you saw the black thing sitting on the table beside my breakfast (ashtray) in a restaurant?

Most of the scenery today was similar to that yesterday.  A lot of ups and downs.  After Bismarck, the only towns I went through were Potosi and Steelville.

I stopped at the library in Potosi to use their WiFi to upload pictures to yesterday's blog and finish the blog.  Below is a pic of the courthouse in Potosi.

Steelville was a unique little town.  Their common town art consisted of canoes sawed in half, painted, and then stood upright.  There were a few of them around town (see pic below). 

My destination tonight is Maramec Spring Park (pics below).  I was able to take a hot shower, which felt great. 

Looks like I will be heading out in rain tomorrow. Looking forward to that - NOT.

Total miles today: 70

So here I lay in my tent at 12:49 a.m. adding to today's blog even though it's officially tomorrow.  I went to sleep at about 8:30 p.m. and was in a deep sleep when a thunderstorm with lots of initial rain came through and woke me up.  I had earlier checked the weather and knew it was going to rain later tonight and in the morning.  When I set up my tent, I noticed that the spot seemed in a low area, but didn't give it any other thought.  After a good round of rain, I got my headlight and noticed the perimeter floor of the tent seemed too wet. Then I patted the floor of the tent and it felt like a water bed of the 1970s.  

So a few minutes ago the rain eased up, but didn't stop, so I put on my dirty biking clothes and went out and moved my tent to what seems to be higher ground.  I'm now back in my sleeping attire and feel a lot better about the tent's location.  This one's on me - I should have done a better job picking the location when I set up the tent.

Day 5: 4/22/21: Barks Plantation Campground to Bismarck Conservation Area

 I woke up to another cold morning.  The hills got a little bigger and steeper which helps me quicky warm up on the uphills. The downhills are quite invigorating, especially when it's cold.  The trees here are not as far along in getting their leaves as they are back home.

First breakfast was an egg cheese biscuit from a local independent grocery store in Marquand, MO.  I had ridden about 20 miles on a banana before getting this biscuit. Marquand is a quaint town nestled in the hills.  Below are some pics of the town.

The Castor River in Marquand pic below.  The water was crystal clear.

When I left this morning, my eyes were set on a big breakfast at a Huddle House in Fredericktown, MO, but I didn't get there till about noon.  That didn't stop me from getting my "second breakfast" (or 3rd if you count the banana).

I am definitely in "no mask" territory in this part of Missouri.  I am now up to 3 men introducing themselves to me and shaking my hand.  It actually feels like the "old normal" around here.  It's nice being able to see strangers' facial expression again inside stores.

Below are pics of Lake Killarney and the cool stone guardrail that runs along beside it.

The lake is near Arcadia, MO, and there are several stone walls beside the road.  This area has to have some Irish heritage in it, but the stone walls needed to be much closer to the road and the roads narrower to be truly Irish.

After Arcadia, I went thru Ironton and then Pilot Knob.  Below are pics around Ironton, and some information about the Civil War history there.

I made it to the Bismarck Conservation Area, my planned stop.  I had researched prior to my trip and found a free campsite there.  When I got there, the campground was closed.  It was closed fairly recent due to disturbances and problems at the campground.  Why can't folks just act right?  Anyway, glad that didn't work out if scoundrels hung around there.  I pushed my bike into the woods and found a nice, hopefully quite, place to pitch my tent.

While preparing my camp, I went into my "super stealth mode" to avoid drawing any attention to myself.  As I was pitching the tent, it happened - spam call from Oxnard, CA. I had my cell phone at it's highest volume.  You know how sounds in a forest carry.  If there would have been anyone within 5 miles of my stealth camp would have been busted.  Lesson learned - if I can just remember it.

DiSalvo Lake at the conservation area.

Mileage for today: 70.7