Ozark-man-with-no-shirt got started playing bluegrass music in the campground at 7:05am. I LOVE bluegrass music, and at least he was playing some old-timey Bill Monroe stuff, but it was 7:05am. Ozark-man-with-no-shirt is a piece of work. He and his wife (I'm guessing?) also participated in activities such as "constantly having beer in right hand" and "washing dishes at the community fresh water source." After about 10 minutes of bluegrass, Ozark-man-with-no-shirt started making crow calls at the crows in the trees above him. Guess he was feeling particularly frisky this AM.
I'll miss Ozark-man-with-no-shirt.
Another day with lots of climbing, exceptionally good roads, and drivers of questionable judgement. Once I left the recreational corridor along the rivers, the driving skills improved significantly.
Hilly, hilly, hilly today. In fact, today's ride featured the 5th most vertical feet of climbing since I started the ride. Missouri - who woulda thunk it? Was working a bit of a head cold today, so the suffering was a little more intense (and my interest in really kicking it over the tops of these incredibly steep hills definitely diminished. . . .)
When we finally arrived at the campground this afternoon - I grabbed a nap while Amy headed over to the other part of the campground for a shower. On the way back she bumped into Erin at the campground entrance. Erin is headed Westbound having started near Roanoke . . . after hiking a section of the Appalachian Trail. Mixed methods of travel! She's got a backpack sent ahead for future walking possibly beginning in Montana. She's not exactly sure what her route is going to be nor her mode of transport, which I think is just excellent.
Turns out Erin is from Estacada, Oregon - which is just about a 30min drive from our home in Portland! Erin's sharing our campsite with us this evening. You can check out her blog of her travels at RealTravel.com - her blog is listed under her user name "Rodent" - the name of it is "Walking Across America" (which was her original plan).
Started seeing confederate flags today. One on a dude's front porch had a sign nearby that read "I ain't taking it down". It would appear that the South begins in Eastern Missouri!
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