Day 35, Ellington to Eminence, Missouri.

The first shelter I could find was across the street from this church. The thunder, lightning and rain made today a ride to remember.

The Current River shot from the bank.

My first glimps of the Current River while I waited for Lisa.

The other side of the bridge. We were actually lucky, the bulk of the storm was up to the north.

Another shot of the Current River. I didn't take very many shots today cause of the rain, these are the few that I did take.

The town of Eminence, population just over 500.

Light traffic allowed me to swing to the other side of the road while riding to take this shot.

Lisa and I leaving Ellington's Scenic River Motel. Taken by Lisa's sister Mary Ann.

Flowers, I love flowers. This one was at the Scenic River Motel.

Our room. you can tell by our bikes that there wasn't much room inside, but later, .we made them fit.

Shot just before we left. It stopped raining, so we thought it was safe.

Down town Ellington. About the size of kaunakakai.



Day 35, Ellington to Eminence, Missouri. 28.42 miles.

We said our good byes to Mary Ann, as we left under cloudy and rain threatening conditions. The severe storm warning was canceled at 9:45 this morning, so we hung around till then, hoping the weather would clear up. Since today was another planned short day, we knew we had plenty of time to make it to Eminence. Although it was dark and gloomy, the temperature was ideal. Not too hot, and not too cold. makes for good riding conditions. We crossed the Black river at Ellington on our way to our destination. Since we had a late start, all the morning rush hour traffic was gone, and we had the whole road for our selves for the most part. I didn't take too many pictures, cause I had my DSLR safely tucked away in it's water proof bag in case all hell broke loose.

We are in the Ozark mountain range now. So you know 2hat that means. That's Right, more climbing. The Ozarks are not very big mountains. Actually they are kind of small compared to the ones back home. But! And a Big But at that. These mountains cover a lot more area than at home. In fact, you can put several if not many Molokai's in there. So our work was cut out for us almost from the start. about ten miles into the ride, we approached a long and steady climb. I would guess it to be around a four or five percent grade. It went on and on and on. Lisa told me to go on ahead if I wanted, just stay on highway 106 to Eminence. So I did. I figured I'd stop now and then to take pictures given the opportunity. I came to this medium sized bridge with a nice view of the Current River. A large and deep river. I parked my bike and started taking pictures. Lisa showed up a short time later, and I went down to the river's edge to get a different perspective. I yelled up at Lisa, hoping she would peer over the edge so I could get a shot of her from below. After a few attempts, I gave up, figuring she had already left. When I got to the top, there she was. "Didn't you hear me calling?" I asked. Apparently she had her ear phones on, and never heard me.

We continues on, until we came to another long and relentless hill. I again went out in front, with the same game plan in mind. Then it started drizzling. Not bad, we can handle that. It drizzled for over an hour before the thunder and lightning joined in. Then it started pouring buckets. We were in the middle of no where with no shelter3r to be found. So I decided not to stop till I came to some kind of suitable shelter to hide from the rain. At this point, I was about 12 miles from Eminence. I made up my mind not to stop till I found shelter. The miles and hills kept coming. And the rain never ceased, pouring harder at times than others, but never letting up. The thunder and lightning seemed to be getting closer, and I was getting worried. I do what I do when ever I need comfort. I prayed. I asked The Lord for guidance and protection. I knew He would be therefor me and Lisa. At the top of one hill I stopped to relieve myself. Since there was very little traffic, I didn't hesitate. I wiped the sweat from my face, drank some water, and continued on. I knew I was getting closer when I saw the welcome sign. Up until now, everything was going as good as could be hoped for considering the stormy and hostile conditions.

As I was climbing a winding section leading into town, a school bus approached from behind. And to my surprise, it decided to pass me, crossing the center line as it did. Just then, a large Ford truck came around the corner from the other direction. The driver hit the brakes as rubber screeched and he skidded off the road nearly flipping over due to the steepness of the embankment. The bus slowed down, and then took off to leave the truck and driver hanging on the edge of the drop off. I stopped and asked the guy if he was alright. As he was getting out of the truck, it started to rock like it was going to turn over. I asked him if he had a cell phone to call for help. He didn't, so I offered him mine. He didn't know who to call, and said that some of his friends would be coming along shortly, and that he would be alright. Now remember. All of this was happening in the pouring rain with thunder and lightning all around. Apparently when I took off my back pack to retrieve my phone, I dropped my glasses which was hanging on my sternum strap since I was unable to see with them in the stormy conditions. I didn't know at the time, and never missed them till I was in Eminence. Those were $400.00 glasses. I felt sick, but snapped out of it when I realized how The Lord kept me safe though out this ordeal. I was due for a new pair anyway. Good thing I brought an extra pair with me. If not, I would have to use my contacts. That would mean that I would not be able to read. They are not bi-focals.

When Lisa finally caught up with me about 45 minutes later, I asked her if she saw the truck. She said she did, and that the police, tow truck, and ambulance was already there. Maybe the bus driver called it in, I don't know. She said that as she riding by, they all gave her a stink look. And she said, "Nice day for a bike ride huh?" She didn't know at the time that I was the cause of the accident. I guess the people at the site kind of blamed her since she was on a bike. I'm just glad I wasn't still there.

Tonight we are at the Riverside Motel. We will take a rest day tomorrow, hopefully the sun will come out and we can do some conoeing or something. So long for now, Aloha, Ted.