A bit chilly when I woke up in my tent this morning, forty-two degrees. Amazingly with my outer tent flap and mosquito netting zipped closed my body heat keeps the interior of the tent reasonably warm. After packing up I headed out to a nearby local restaurant in Marshfield. No sooner had I sat down sipping coffee than the power went out and we were all told leave. There was a smoldering fire up in the ceiling of the kitchen. I vacated, chatted with a few locals and was directed to another mom and pop restaurant around the corner. As I made the switch horns began to blare as the fire trucks drove into town. At the second place somehow I asked if by chance I was approaching the Ozarks. “Oh yes, Marshfield is the highest part of the plateau.” Apparently, I had been climbing the Ozarks for two day and didn’t have a clue. “But the road flattens out down the road”. Sure enough about five miles south the road flattened out. No such luck with the wind. It howled head on until I found sanctuary in the Springfield neighborhoods. Ever since I left Joliet the wind has tortured me and apparently it only gets worse in Oklahoma. Thank god I am heading out to Los Angeles Monday night. Until then I will be staying with two warmshowers hosts in Springfield. The first host I took out to dinner. He was an IT guy turned massage therapist. He commutes to work on a bike he converted into a power assist with every imaginable high power light front and rear with an air horn which will get your attention. Seeing him ride down the road is like ‘Close encounters of the third kind.’ I have met so many interesting people through Warmshowers. Bikers helping bikers world wide, a fantastic organization.
No comments:
Post a Comment