LOBAA25 - Powder Mill Campground on the Current River near Eminence, MO

6/10/08 Tues CDT
LOBAA25 - Powder Mill Campground on the Current River near Eminence, MO
Sally bike mileage/time 94.91 / 7:13:35
Sally Total 1646.07
Bill bike mileage/time 0
Bill Total 638.7
Jim mileage 130.9
Jim total 5977
Sally:
Just finished a yummy camp goulash by Bill for dinner. The old
standby, mac and cheese with tuna fish, enhanced with onions,
mushrooms and peas. I bet it's been over 20 years since I've had it.
Caesar salad and V-8 to round it out. So nice to sit while Bill cooks!
Wow, I'm being spoiled----- Today was really great. Cooler for sure
and the air feels fresh we didn't sweat while we ate dinner. The
riding was good too, except narrow roads without shoulders, I'm kinda
getting used to it, but still don't like it. More traffic than the
last few days. We are now in the Ozarks of Missouri. Quite pretty
although not much public land, just along the main rivers it looks
like. The River we are camped by is very clear and felt good after the
days ride. I was surprised to see bullfrog tadpoles in it (they must
be, they are huge). It's not really cold, but refreshing. The hills
are kinda like roller coasters, some quite steep. I was going faster
than I normally like just to get the momentum to get back up the next
hill. Yes, momentum is your friend. (Title of a fun book) Oh probably
the best thing about today was the great lunch break in Centerville, a
small town of 150 or so. They had a neat little downtown square that
included an old-fashioned courthouse with lawn, big trees and a rock
wall around it. A local said they invite bicyclists to camp there and
there are often several groups spending the night. While I was
stretched out resting Bill got out the computer, natch, and there was
wireless internet floating about so we did have it all. (no cell
coverage) I think we stayed two hours! Hard to go back out into the
sun, but once I got warmed up again all was fine. Finished the last 30
miles by 5 o'clock. Sun is just going down and I'm going to be asleep
before dark!
Bill:
I have been wimping out and haven't ridden since my tire problem. Have
a better fix for the tire but don't fully trust it ... plus those
Ozark hills are really steep for this old geezer. We will be within a
dozen miles of the college town of Springfield, MO in a day or 2 and I
will get new tires there and get Jimmy lubed. After no internet for so
long, it amazes me that some of these little towns with no cell
service have internet access. This clear river we are camped on really
scoots and it is pretty cold. Feels great, though, and I was even able
to swim in place against the current in a tamer part of the river. It
is now 6:30 am the next morning and Sally was off at 5:30 so better
finish the chores and chase her down. Oh, the temp this morning was a
glorious 64 degrees - great sleeping last night!