Thursday Day 19 - Hannibal MO to Louisiana MO- 32 miles

Boy, it was a tough day today !!

I had a Great time camping out in Hannibal. It got cool enough that I had to get into my sleeping bag last night. I made some coffee in the morning and ate an energy bar for breakfast. I stopped by the Mark Twain Cave on the way out of camp, but the next tour wasn't for an hour, so I decided to skip the cave and hit the road.

Or maybe I should say I hit the HILLS !! My goodness, you would think you were on the Blue Ridge Parkway. It was miles and miles going up and up, at 3.6 mph in granny gear. Then ZOOM, down you go at 40 mph for about 5 minutes. Then repeat again and again until your legs are screaming out in pain !!

There were also dozens of big rock trucks going back and forth on Hey 79 for the first 10 miles out of Hannibal. It was a nerve-wracking ride this morning.

There were some fun stops along the way today. I stopped in Ilasco, a ghost town with a nice memorial to all the emigrants who came there to work for the humongous Portland Cement Plant. There were also 5 or 6 scenic pull offs along the hilly road. These were great to stop, catch your breath, and take a picture. At one pull off a guy gave me a COLD bottle of water. Man, did it taste good !!

It was a very long ride from Hannibal to Louisiana, about 30 miles, through very steep hills, with no town or store along the way. I drank and ate a lot to keep going.

About 5 miles from Louisiana, it started to get overcast. Then there were a few raindrops, and all of the sudden it started to rain very hard, with thunder and lightening, too. I zoomed up the driveway to an old run-down farm and ducked into an open barn. I was so lucky, because it really started storming, with the rain going sideways.

I waited out the storm, but it took about an hour and a half for it to pass. The barn was filled with junk, and looked like it hadn't been touched in many years. Unfortunately, I didn't find any old motorcycles or old bicycles.

By the time I rode the last 5 miles in to Louisiana MO, it was 5:00 pm and I was exhausted. I was riding around town, looking for a place to eat when I ran into John Lersch, Pastor of the First Presbyterian Church. He invited me to sleep in the church tonight, so I said Great !!

We ate a nice meal at a restaurant called Pikers, then I walked thru the town down to the river. Louisiana is a beautiful town with splendid old buildings and lots of painted murals all around.

It was a short day today, only 32 miles, but it was a challenge. Goodnight from Pete and Hoppy !

Wednesday Day 18 - Quincy IL to Hannibal MO - 28 miles

I got on the road at 10:00 am after a nice hotel breakfast. Hwy 57 went thru some heavy industry, sand, stone, and minerals. The truck traffic got heavier & heavier the closer we got to I-172. I got passed by a Google camera car at 491 IL-57, Quincy Illinois 62305. I'll need to check google maps in a few months to see if they got a picture of me and Hopper waving.

A few miles later I merged onto the Interstate I-72 to cross the Mississippi River into Missouri. This is one of the rare places bicycles are allowed on an Interstate. The route is called the MRT, or Mississippi River Bicycle Trail.

I exited I-72 into Hannibal and stopped by the Mark Twain Museum. I ended up doing the whole touristy thing in Hannibal, visiting Mark Twain's boyhood home, his Father's office, two
Mark Twain museums and one Hannibal museum.

I ate pizza dinner at the Brick Oven in downtown Hannibal. I am going to try camping out tonight, staying at the Mark Twain Caves Campground. On the way there I saw a sign for "Lover's Leap". I turned off and ended up doing the most God-Awful climb ever. I was in granny gear, standing on the pedals, just hoping I wouldn't fall over. But at the top I was rewarded with spectacular views of the river and the town.

The Mark Twain Caves Campground is nice. It is cooled off a bit, but probably still 80. I got the tent set up and talked with a couple from Ohio on their way home from vacation. Today was my shortest day for the whole trip - only 28 miles. But it was fun learning all about Samuel Clemons, aka Mark Twain.