Woke up disoriented, as I'd expected I would. One dog was wedged in the foot-ward side of the sofa, the other sprawled on the floor beneath it. Both of them seem eager to be stepped on. During the night I'd woken up to storms, but now I couldn't tell if it was raining or not without getting off the sofa. Instead, I dozed off and woke a few more times.
When I did finally haul myself up, the sky was dry but threatening. Time to go. I negotiated my bike out of the shed and through the fence, stopped in to say thanks n' bye, and took off. The trailer felt notably heavier - I'll have to eat well for a few days and lighten it.
I made it down to the fairgrounds before it started sprinkling. A mile down the trail, I could hear thunder. Rain came down hard. A park with a small, table-sized shelter appeared, and I stayed there until the rain stopped. Three weeks of unreasonable heat, it turns out, does not cause one to appreciate being soaked and cold. Just recently I talked to a man, at a trail info stop, who may have considered touring but for the unpredictability of weather. He didn't ever want to be in a situation forcing him to ride day after day in the rain. How long would I last under those conditions? I have an easier time cooling off in the heat then warming up in the cold, and being wet is even worse. I wouldn't think that being caught in days of rain would be that likely, though - the clouds are moving, I'm moving. It would have to be one wide-spread system to prevent me from either letting it pass or adjusting my route to get away.
The day of riding continued this way. Rain coat off, rain coat on, stop to put on shoe-covers, rain coat off because suddenly it's hot, thunder in the distance, air damp and heavy. I never planned on going far, and the sticky trail surface grabbing at my wheels tired me out fast. A final bit of rain came down after I passed Green Ridge, then the sky cleared. I liked the look of Windsor - bigger than the smallest trail communities, but still a small town. It has a subway and a dollar store, but no sprawl of gas station, auto repair, fast food, ect. It has a laundromat and library, as well, which mark it as downright sophisticated.
I had enough time to dry some clothes before checking out the city park campground. I still hand-washed them, but the dryers are nice to use from time to time. Now my clothes smell less like the inside of a pannier and more like fabric softener. The park was nice, but the campground and a lonesome, desolate feel to it. It's odd to put my finger on, really. I'm happy dispersed camping in a state forest, sleeping in a city park, or stealth camping in a trail shelter, but I don't like empty campgrounds. I never ended up going back - while I was at the library, I met John, who along with his wife Debbie, does volunteer work for the Katy Trail. He invited me to their cabin, right on the trail!
So here I am now, with a cup of tea, curled up on another sofa. John and Debbie stopped in to make sure I'm all settled in, chatted for a while(Thus far it remains true that -everyone- knows someone in, or near Plymouth, MN.), then they went home and left me to the cabin. It's nice and clean and open, in here, and it smells like lumber. It was downright therapeutic, to be able to cook myself dinner, be it a simple dinner, in an actual kitchen. Tea that doesn't taste like smoke is super, too.
It's raining. Been raining most of the day, probably will keep raining. Picked up supplies at Walmart last night, and went to the thrift store today with my host and picked up a nice shirt for when I want to look less scruffy. I think I need a haircut. Ended up dozing off through most of the day. Probably needed it. Was going to go to the State Fair, but it sucks too much out there.
Started the day with breakfast at the community center. Normally I don't do this sort of thing, but it was right across the street from the park, and it looked really good... $6 got me biscuits, gravy, sausage, fruit, homemade crumbcake, juice and coffee. I paced myself well and put away enough food to see me to dinner.
Away now from the Missouri river and its floods, the country is much drier. The rivers look like creeks, the creeks are dry or barely a trickle. There are more grasses, daisies, and chicory. It's hot again, too, with less shelter from the sun. The ride was mostly uneventful, but pleasant. I'm couchsurfing in Sedalia tonight, and probably spending an extra day there. Later!
Lost track of the mileage today, so I'm going off the trail map info. Either way, it was a very short ride. I did some resupplying at a discount bakery in Boonville, then hung around the restored Depot for a while. The ride into Pilot Grove was uneventful in a good way. Got some cash at the bank in town, then settled in at the park and wrote journal entries.
So far, the actual campgrounds I've passed by have looked a bit overgrown, buggy, and weedy. Don't get me wrong, I'm really not that picky, but I will point out that the town parks have been much nicer overnight stops, thus far. This one has a pool, two clean picnic shelters with lights and electrical outlets, and grills. I made a dinner of some Lambs Quarters I found growing at Eagle Bluff and shell pasta. The pasta turned out gummy, but the greens where better than I'd expected. I'll have to start picking more of this stuff when I see it.
Another fairly relaxed day, with decent mileage. I took a spur trail into Jefferson City, to get a look at the Capitol building. It was a bit disorienting, really. The trail is dusty, humid, and with the tree cover it always feels like I'm out in the sticks. A mile and a half into Jefferson City, and I'm sitting in a cool, shaded plaza, filled with flowers, fountains, and folks in suits. I wasn't quite the only one looking out-of-place. Before I turned off the Katy, I ran across two young men detouring off the TransAm eastbound, who had had some luck at the Boonville casino, and spend the night in Jefferson City. As I was leaving town, flying down the steep hills, I spotted a lone woman chugging her way up to the Capitol on a loaded bike.
The rest of the ride took me into places that would inspire all sorts of hillbilly jokes from my dear cousin. Wet, flooded country, ramshackle houses(but more trailers by far than houses) on sprawling, overgrown lots, boathenge... just had a feel to it. Nice ride, though.
I didn't make it to the Katy Roundhouse Campground until after dark. I ran into two young men heading east on loaded bikes, but they didn't know anything about it. It was further out of town than I'd expected, and not as ice as I'd heard. Overgrown, buggy, and full of frogs. What, I'm complaining about frogs, now? Well, the tiny entrance to the office building alone must have had 15 frogs pasted to the window. The floor was slick with frog-shit. When I closed the door, I accidentally beheaded one of them. Every surface outside of the bathhouse was covered in frog droppings. It was just a bit nasty. The bugs where bad enough that I didn't stay up to cook, just ate some pop-tarts and crawled into the hammock.
This entry was getting a little too picture-heavy, even for me. I've winnowed todays photos way down, but there are still a few more I couldn't stand to leave out.
The Katy trail has been almost continually lined by bluffs. Most of these are of a dark gray or brown stone, and they are wet-looked and covered in growth. The bluffs nearing Rocheport where different - soaring, sand-colored rock, exposed and warm-looking. Trumpet Creepers clung bravely to a few, attracting many hummingbirds. These are the kind of bluffs I looked forward to seeing, reminiscent of those along the St. Croix river.
Visitors are only supposed to spend one night in the shelter, but there is no one else around, and I really wanted a day to just enjoy having a roof over my head. It's a very old building, all creaky wood floors and narrow steps. The sounds and the feel of the air remind me of my Grandfather's home where I spent so much time.
I spent most of the day writing journal entries to be updated next time I find a WiFi connection, sorting through photos, and trying to coax the neighbors cat over. I washed my clothes and hung them over the balcony to dry. I ate almost continuously throughout the day. At one point I walked around town a bit, which is tiny with little but a small park, a bar(which was open last night, but closed today), a church, and a little grassy square where the mailboxes are lined up.
