June 23nd - Farmington, MO to Eminence, MO

Mileage: 85 miles
Terrain: Hilly
Temperature: 80 ish degrees
So woke up at the hostel this morning. Slept great, they had real beds with sheets on them. One of the girls Shannon even said to me this morning, “you slept well last night, didn’t you” I was like yeah it felt great to sleep in a bed with real sheets and blankets!! Got everything together, it was a slow start to the morning and we got on the road at 7:30 am and it was fairly flat to rolling to start out the day with lots of cross/ head winds. Road about 20 miles out had our first rest stop and kept rolling on. The hills soon began to pick up and I soon realized that I was climbing the Ozark Mountains! Thought about the hills and realized that these hills were steeper than in Virginia but shorter. However, there were still some nice descents that we did not have previously in Kentucky but were comparable to Virginia with wind. Rode to the half way point stopped at a little carryout/ restaurant had a bite to eat and kept pushing on up and down the hills. We were informed prior to today’s ride that this area was very dense in logging trucks, however, we only saw 2-3 big logging trucks, I was relieved and traffic wasn’t heavy at all. Moved on to the 3rd rest stop for the day since it was long mileage and was happy to be there since I was out of water by this point. Rested for quite some time at this stop as by then we were beginning to get tired!! However, when we found out that there was ice cream in the town we were camping in decided to move on. Finally arrived in Eminence and went straight to the ice cream place where I enjoyed a delicious peanut butter milkshake. I figure that this was completely necessary as I needed the protein from the peanut butter and after a grueling 85 some miles figured I would treat myself. (okay I’m still trying to justify it…… and think I may have.) Then went to the local grocery which was very small and picked up some peaches and apples. Fresh fruit at the rest stops is very refreshing!! Then rode to the privately owned camp ground. Got my stuff out of the trailer and sat down at a picnic table. Contemplated putting up my tent for a good hour or two and then decided to walk down to the river with some of the others. Heard from some of the other riders that there was a rope that you could swing out into the river with. Thought this sounded like fun!! So I joined them. First I wadded in the water which was somewhat cold, however, it was clear. Many of the riders found that this would be the perfect shower opportunity as the showers here at the campground cost money. One of the older riders Ike even brought his bar soap down to the river. He soaped up right on top of his jersey and shorts and then even asked me to soap up his back over his jersey. I was like sure what the heck……..lol. I had not gotten in at this point as it was kind of cold and many others were swinging from the rope into the water so I felt that this would be the perfect opportunity and that it was. It felt wonderful to jump in after a grueling long day of riding. We then decided to make the short walk back to the campsite and joked about how it was the best shower yet….. and that it was even co-ed….lol. However, if you know how I am I still choose to take a shower in the shower house where you had to put quarters in for the water to run. Before that I had set up my tent so once I got out of the shower came straight to my tent started typing this and am ready to go to sleep. Tomorrow is supposed to be another long day of 78 miles. Nite!