Wandering Retirees

Today we rode from western Illinois to Shawnee, Kansas, just west on Kansas City. We didn’t have a chance to talk with many people today, but moved on through 280 miles of construction and other fun stuff on I-70.

We crossed a number of rivers, including the Mississippi (the Big Muddy) and the Missouri. Both were very swollen from all the rain this year. Folks were comparing this year’s rainfall to 1993 when many farmers suffered big losses because they couldn’t replant in time for the summer crop (usually soy). In fact, we rode by any number of fields that were still underwater. It’s sad that many of these folks are struggling, and they should be remembered often..

We also enjoyed seeing the unique community place names and identifiers along the way. We passed a huge memorial dedicated to Missouri firefighters; it appeared to be adjacent to an extensive training facility west of St. Louis. My hunch is that every state has a similar memorial site, but we are (I am) ignorant of their whereabouts. The University of Missouri, Columbia, was along our route. It’s a good sized, pretty campus. Then there were some of the signs… oh, my… Approaching Blackwater, MO, we were invited to visit Bucksnort Trading Post, Co., LLC, purveyors of fine gifts, flowers and good home cooking. Located in Arrow Root, MO, they are positioned on the Santa Fe Trail, famous of the Westward Expansion, and receives particular mention on the Missouri State Visitors Site. Had we not been hurrying through, we’d have liked to stop in. Seriously, it looks worth the time and effort. It’s just the name, you know?

On a personal note, our bodies are reluctantly getting acclimated to long periods on the bike. Past experience tells us the screaming parts will calm down (or grow numb) soon. Just in time to enjoy the our favorite kind of riding in the mountains. Until then … some general anesthetic (liquid) is in order.

Prost!

We entered Missouri at St Louis and had a great view of the mighty Mississippi.

Random shots

Lots of huge grain silos dotted the landscape.

A stop for gas. Fill ‘er up.

We entered Kansas at the end of our day.