(Day 59) A short day... things don't go as planned...

It was supposed to be a short morning, get the bike serviced then be on the road in the morning.  But as things sometimes go... not according to plan...

I had a lovely morning on some of the back roads of Missouri as I went from Ozark to West Plains and onto Poplar Bluff.  At one point there was a detour as a result of a bridge that was out because of flooding this spring and I got to ride a road I otherwise wouldn't have.



In West Plains the local Suzuki dealer was unable to fit me in and suggested that I head over to Poplar Bluff (my intended destination in the first place).  So, off I went - however by the time I arrived it was too late for them to fit me in so I have to wait until tomorrow morning... then its on to Tellico Plains area where I hope to meet Al Wallace on Friday or Saturday.  That will be about 700 KM.  A longer day then today... shorter then yesterday!

I am really looking forward to connecting with Al and riding home with him.  We keep similar schedules and have ridden together in the past.

I got some wash done today and met some local folks.  One chap I met works on a barge that goes up and down the Mississipi.  He is quite a character.  Full of stories of life on the river!  And the accent!  I have to work really hard to understand it!!

At the little restaurant where I had supper the waitress had a pretty thick accent too!  She was telling me all about the flood this spring.  Lake Wappapello flood it banks and washed out a significant road linking the village.  Here are a couple of pictures that the directed me to:



As I ate my supper she told me some "good news" stories of how neighbours helped each other out.  I will be off to bed early this evening.  Last night I stayed up way too late to finish a book that Tom O'Connor had given me, The Crying Tree by an author in Salem, OR.  It is a powerful book about the power of vengeance to destroy life and the power of forgiveness to restore life.  If you get a chance give it a read!!

...on the Sabbath Road...
Location: Poplar Bluff, MO, USA

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