Quick Update

We made it to South Dakota!  I've got quite a few days in between to fill in but we have got to get on the road.  It was a great surprise to hear that family was in our direct path so the boys were able to see another great aunt, Cord's Aunt Leora.  We stayed with Cord's cousin Jill and his other cousin Julie came over last night.  He hasn't seen them since he was 11 or 12 years old.

We sure can tell that we are getting further west.  We had the most beautiful ride through ranches and fields.  The annoying sweat bees seem to have been left behind.

We will be dropping into Nebraska as we cross the Missouri River.  From there we will ride through the sand hills toward Wyoming.  

The temperatures have been around 70 during the day and in the low 40's at night.  I picked up a fleece blanket to help warm us at night since we will be camping again.  

Sorry for the boring post.  I do have some great stories but it has been 10 days and over 460 miles since our last rest day.  My brain is tired.

Detour

On our way out of Guttenberg, we had just finished a four mile climb when we saw our road blocked.  Bridge out, 6 miles ahead.  Uggh.

I flagged down a minivan and asked her about the bridge.  Bicyclists ignore most detour signs because we are small and able to maneuver around most obstacles.  This was 6 miles ahead and we didn't want to take any chances.

She called her mom ahead and asked about the bridge.  "It's totally out?" I heard her repeat.  

I had to relay the news to the boys and we pondered our options.  In the end, we decided to follow the recommended route.  Anyone Spotting our route must have really wondered about our choice.  This added on about 13 miles to our journey.

We didn't let it get us down but continued on.  After we rejoined our original route, a tandem team pulled up next to us.  

"How did you manage the detour?" they asked.

"We followed the paved roads," we responded.

"We walked our bike across," they said.

My heart sank until they mentioned that the plank was only about 1 1/2 ft. wide and about 80 ft. long.  They said that it wouldn't have worked had they had panniers.  Zion has the trailer behind his bike so we made the right choice.

Near the end of the day we still had 10 miles to go and we were exhausted.  I asked a mom out playing volleyball with her kids if we could camp in their yard.

"Of Course," she kindly replied with no hesitation.

They have a "smaller" piece of property, only 87 acres.  We had a great flat place to pitch our tent and she ran out and bought all of us some Dairy Queen.  Cedar loved exploring the pond and we didn't have to push on.  Blessings.

Stealth Camping

The boys have been begging to stealth camp and we were given the perfect opportunity.  We were headed up to a state campground and had 17 miles left to go.  We had already gone 48 miles and nighttime was quickly approaching.  We were on a small road alongside railroad tracks when we saw a park through the trees.

I saw a minivan driving out and asked them if camping was allowed.

"I didn't see any signs saying camping wasn't allowed," he responded.

Zion managed to find a sign stating in small print that camping is allowed on all Corp of Engineer parks.  We were thrilled and found a spot hidden from the road.  This was very primitive camping with no water or outhouses but we were alongside the Mississippi with no other people to be seen.  Islands dotted our view of the river and we imagined Tom Sawyer using them for his mischief.  

We had only one train pass in the night and for that we were thankful.

MRT

The Mississippi River Trail winds up and down along the ridges and bluffs of Iowa.  This is just the type of road Motorcyclists love.  We saw at least 300 riding that day.  We always feel a kinship with them since they are the most likely to wave, offer help or just stop and talk.  

Zion usually rides behind us so I can't see what he is doing.  Apparently he enjoys returning their wave, fist in the air, peace sign, salute or general wave.  

Soaring

We rode along the Mississippi River on the Iowa side.  It was a perfect day for a ride, 70 degrees and sunny.  

"Mom!" Cedar called out, waving his camera around trying to get a picture, "They are all Bald Eagles!"

I veered into the road before pulling over because I was trying to look up.  We had been hearing their cries and he finally spotted them.

Later we pulled into an overlook, far above the river.  The eagles were soaring below us.

Discouragement

So, I've been wrestling with how to react to people who are not encouraging but rather discouraging.  We have had overwhelming encouragement from people we know and those we don't.  It is strange how the "you can't" overshadows everything else.

On a brighter side, a kind man and his 9 year old son bought and brought us dinner tonight.  He works loading grain onto barges but loves to bike.  He also gave us a new spare tube since Zion had a flat today.  He actually had 2 punctures, one from a nail still in the tire and one from a thorn.  They must have happened within minutes of each other because it wasn't until we were working on the tire that we found the nail.

I also contemplated changing routes but will press on with the northern route in spite of the cooler weather we will face.  

Mom?

"I thought you said that Illinois was flat," Cedar said.  

We spent the day riding through the hilliest parts of the state and very near to the highest point.

We reached 39 mph for the second time on our trip... in Illinois!  That is too funny.