After snoozing our alarm for forty five minutes we struggled to climb out of our tent into the already warming Missouri air. Breakfast today consisted of Cinnamon Toast Crunch Milk and Cereal bars, I couldn’t ask for anything better, the best cereal ever.. in bar form. Can life get any better? We stopped in Farmington at a local McDonalds to fill up our camelbacks out of their cold fountain, while inside we talked with a group of older men who meet every day in McDonalds for coffee. They were full of jokes and advice, one of them even gave us a pen from the local hospital, he said we were going to need it. Anyway we headed out with the Mississippi in mind, and found ourselves rolling up and down some very steep hills. Gorgeous vineyards and farms sprawled before us as we finished up our last miles in the state of Missouri. About 13 miles from the river we met KC another guy who was biking across the country, but he is riding from Florida to Oregon, by himself. KC was very happy for the conversation as we shared memories and experiences that only cross country riders could relate to. He informed us that we were near the flood plain of the Mississippi and were leaving those steep hills behind. As we neared the river it was if we had transported back to the sprawling fields of Kansas complete with a light wind. It was amazing to see how high the river was as we crossed on the very narrow bridge that ushered us into the state of Illinois. We stopped briefly at the visitors center at Chester which featured a statue of Popeye the sailor who was created in Chester. After realizing that the park of our choice was at the bottom of a hill we elected to eat at an elementary school. Steve was determined to find the park with the rumored swimming pool and was able to convince Lyle to make the trek down the hill, Jody opted to take a nap in the pavilion after lunch. We were surprised to find out that the pool was free for cross country bikers and enjoyed the refreshment the pool provided for us. Steve was particularly a hit with the kids in the high dive line. After our longer break we hit the road our way to Pinckneyville, Illinois where we decided to spend the night. The sign that welcomed us into the town read “The Friendly Little City” and so we had high hopes easily fining a house for the night but things proved difficult. After several no’s and a police officer telling us to go to a camp ground we found the home of Cecil and Betty Keane who offered us dinner, showers, a place to sleep and lots of great conversation.
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