Day 26. Camping with the hill billys.

Lisa and I at the vol. fire dept. as comfy as can be.

The surounding neighborhood.

Not a soul in sight, but we were told to just go on in. Cyclists are welcome.

Look mom, haule koa. Just kidding, I don't know what this is.

The roads today had very little traffic. I rode in the middle of the road just for the hell of it.

Check out the color of the water, this is how a lot of the ponds around here look like.

We saw this sign and was tempted to invite ourselve, but didn't know how far it was off our route.

This goat was so cute, I waited about 5 minutes to get this shot.

The country side was mostly open with wheat fields an d corn.

Most of the country side looke like this.

Entering one of the few small towns on our route. We stop at most of them for cold drinks.

Whiltesville. I wonder how this place got its name?

A little house on the prairie.




Day 26. Ruff River to Utica. Camping with the hill Billy’s. 48.33 miles.

A beautiful day. That’s the only way to describe today. Last night at the camp site, we were reminded why we didn’t like camping at these places during the weekend. There must have been two dozen or more families camping in our area. And boy were they noisy. It seemed like every one had at least 4 or 5 kids, and they all talked like they were the only ones around. At one point, this guy starts up his electric chain saw at about 11:00 at night and starts cutting wood. Then, they start this big bon fire. At about 2:00 in the morning, this kid starts screaming at the top of his lungs. It want on for at least an hour and a half. Lisa was ready to go over there and breast feed the kid herself just to shut him up. At about %:00in the morning, all the hill Billy’s were up continuing the clatter from the night before. Then, this one pregnant woman comes walking down the hill real slow. Takes about 20 steps and bends over holding her belly. She takes 20 more steps and repeats the process. Lisa comes over and says, “Ted, I think that lady over there is in labor”. I look over, and sure enough, the husband , or boy friend is helping her, and another friend is telling him that she’s going to give birth right there. I’m glad I’m not a doctor, or I would have had to step in and do something.

The fog was pretty heavy this morning, and the night was cold, cold, cold. Did I mention that it was cold? I got up twice and put on all the warm stuff I had including two pairs of socks, two jackets, head mask, fleece pants, and my sleeping bag fully zippered. I was still cold. Once the sun came put, it warmed up pretty quick. And with in minutes, I shed the warm stuff and ended up in my ridding cloths. We left the camp site at about 7:45AM. And headed down the road in search for a suitable place to have breakfast. We found one not far from the camp. I had the breakfast special with biscuits and gravy. When we get back home, Lisa said she’d show me how to make them.

Today’s ride was great. It got up into the high 80’s. So it was pretty comfortable for me. The terrain was pretty flat for the most part. Of course there were hills, there always are. But these hills were manageable. Normally hills don’t bother me. And to tell you the truth, these hills don’t bother me that much either. But when you’re pulling a trailer that weighs over 50 pounds, then the hills become bigger and steeper than they really are. So any kind of hill is noticeable. Anyway, other than the few hills we tackled today, it was a great ride. The biggest problem I had, was that there were not many photo opps. We were mostly in forested areas, and the open country was mostly barren with little or no character. It was nice though to be cruising along at 14 to 15 miles an hour for the most part. A boost from our average of 11 miles an hour in the hill country. We made it to Utica just before 4:00PM, plenty of time to get settled in at the volunteer fire department. When we got here, there was no one here. We walked around, but the place was deserted. I tried the door, and behold, it was open. I went inside to find a really nice well maintained common room equipt with tables and chairs, a TV with VCR(No tapes), two mattresses with blankets, a well stocked kitchen, rest rooms, but no showers. We ended up taking sponge baths in the sinks. It’s nice not to have to set up camp for the night. And not worry about how cold it’s going to get.

The main town of Utica is right across the street . There’s almost nothing to it. The population here is 400. They have one gas station that triples as the restaurant and store. There is a post office, and a school near by, but not much else. We were hoping for a movie theater and wifi, but you take what you get. At least we have cell phone reception here. I’ll try to make some calls later tonight if I have time.

Thank you all again. I mean it. It’s great to know that we have moral supporters back home. We are in the Central time zone now, and will be in Illinois in the next couple of days. We escaped the dreaded wild dogs of Kentucky with out a scratch, and our spirits are still high. Take care everybody. We miss you all. Aloha, Ted.