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
What a gorgeous trek! It does look cold and wintry, though. And quite Irish, with Lake Killarney and the rock walls. The mask thing is a bummer. We went to Southern Restaurant for the first time in over 13 months. Everyone work masks going in and out, but they were back to back in the booths when eating. I definitely don't enjoy eating out anymore after having nearly a year eating my own cooking. But I took Dad there, since he doesn't get out much. Thanks for the great blog!
ReplyDeleteThanks Deb.
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