Sacramento Mountains and White Sands

Finally a picture together!

We have a few hours to spare today so I guess I'm going to try doing my Sacramento Mountains blog. Right now we're staying at a surfer's house in Las Cruces, NM. His name is Greg, and he has been very hospitable and generous. Wow, two surfers in a row! We have run into some good fortune that last couple of days. After several days without showering I can only imagine the putrid smell that radiates from our dirty bodies. I sincerely take pity on our hosts. Today will probably be a short riding day, but hopefully we will be in Arizona by Saturday. From there we might do a short blog in Tucson, but after that it's going to be 5 days of riding until San Diego. Of course this is assuming we have decent riding weather and our ambition is high enough to keep doing 80+ mile rides.

Sunset outside Tularosa over San Andres Mtns.

The Amazing Scenery

Danny has taken so many amazing pictures the last couple of days. The pure scenic beauty of the Sacramento Mountains has been breathtaking. We've been so spoiled with scenery we had to stop and take pictures several times the last couple of days. This has been the most beautiful spot in the southwest I've seen thus far. Ironically enough we had to stop riding the last couple of nights near sunset because of my ungodly amount of flat tires. I'm beginning to think my back tire is cursed. I told Danny if I get another one today I will probably cry, but I can't do that because real men don't cry. I took a loot at the treads on my tire and they're beginning to get pretty worn down. I'm definitely going to have to get a new set of tires once we hit the coast.

Anyway, back to mountains and stuff. I think the landscape is best described by Brad Neely in Wizard People Dear Readers when he said, "The landscape is literally peppered with painters working out masterpiece after masterpiece". Unfortunately I have to rewind for a minute, because as we began our climb through the Sacramento Mountains it wasn't quite as beautiful. Coming out of Roswell we had wonderful riding conditions and minimal wind. The area was similar to east of Roswell but it stretched on and on for many, many miles. Very flat, lots of dried up plants and plenty of assorted cacti. I'm not really a horticulturist of any kind but I wish I would have brought a field guide with us. All of the plant and animal life is so distinctly different from that of the midwest, I often wonder the names of the plants and animals we've been seeing. So many animals living in such an extreme environment. Coyotes, foxes, lizards, rabbits, squirrels, snakes, and so on. Oh, and the birds, the beautiful birds soaring above our heads all day. One of the most amazing moments of the trip was on a small stretch of road in southwest Oklahoma when a flock of small birds followed me across a bridge, chirping the whole way. They looked like little marshmallows and made high pitched squeaks.

The Safety Corridor

Taking a break during the downhill

Finally we started to climb. It was about a 2,000 foot uphill into the safety corridor, which is a 36 mile stretch of road where the speed limit is decreased and fines increase because of the windy sharp curves. There was a 6% grade downhill descending into the Hondo River Valley, which was a lush green oasis amidst what was mostly desert a few miles before. Again I wish I knew the name of the towering green trees we saw going through the valley, but I don't have time to research exactly what they're called but they are very tall and very beautiful. There were a few people living in the valley but it was mostly sparse. The stretch of road we went through was called the "Billy the Kid Scenic Byway", and later that night we stopped at a historical marker about 10 miles south of Lincoln NM, which was the center of the Lincoln County War of 1876, and the historical home of Billy the Kid. The stretch of road passing through Lincoln was dubbed by Rutherford B. Hayes as the most dangerous stretch of road in the United States! That night we camped out at about 6,000 feet above sea level, and there was minimal light pollution. Danny and I were tracing constellations with our finger tips, the sky was flooded with sparkling diamonds on a black cloth. I have never seen so many stars. I almost had forgotten I was sleeping on the ground next to a park bench where Danny was sleeping.

The Apache Summit

The next day we continued our climb through Ruidoso. This is when my flat tires started getting out of control. We stopped at a Subway for lunch and passed Ruidoso, which is about 6,500ft above sea level, and then ended our climb up Apache summit. We were actually riding through the Mesalero Apache reservation, so there were a couple of casinos near the summit which was weird. The higher we climbed the more green it became and the hills were scattered with pines. When we finally reached the top we took a picture break. I wanted to take a picture of Danny but he insisted on not being in the photo. He later regretted his decision to not be in the photo so we'll have to photoshop him in later.

Highest elevation of the trip

Beautiful stretch of road into Tularosa

The Downhill and Alamogordo

After reaching the summit we had an incredibly fast downhill for about 20 miles in the basin of the Sacramento Mountains. Where you could begin to see the White Sands Missile range just outside of Tularosa. It was a great place for a picture stop. This was hands down the best day of the trip thus far. We covered 20 miles in just over 40 minutes, clear skies, everything was in it's right place. It was one of the happiest moments of my life and the definitely the best moment of the trip thus far. I got another flat going into Alamogordo but it worked out well because we got to watch the sunset over the San Andres Mountains. The stretch of road into Alamogordo was slightly downhill, so we had a fast ride in and ate at Applebees with a surfer named Verna. She told us the story of how she fell in love and we spent the night in her beautiful home in Alamogordo.

Danny's Silhouette during sunset

Dangerous Ride Into to Las Cruces

The next day we stayed on 70 and headed towards Las Cruces. It was supposed to be a 70-80 mile ride but it ended up being a slow ride due to heavy winds. The white sands national monument was blindingly beautiful. In fact, it was so bright we couldn't take pictures because the camera couldn't handle the light properly. I was literally squinting even with glasses on. I was getting tired rather fast from breaking the gusts so we stopped at the White Sands Missile Range HELSTF (High Energy Laser Systems Test Facility) for water. There were a ton of sites where they test crazy technologies in this range. We kept riding for a while and of course I got another flat, but luckily it was just before another great sunset that we would have missed otherwise. The picture of the sunset is in Danny's previous post. So we started the climb through organ pass, which was an 8 mile uphill, and Greg, our surfer for the night, came and picked us up so we didn't have to deal with the down hill. There was also a stretch of road with no shoulder going up the pass so it would have been extraordinarily dangerous with our minimal lighting. As fun as the downhill would have been, I owed Danny 36 miles for taking us the wrong direction in Houston, MO. So we hitched a ride to Greg and Kenny's place, which was about a 23 mile drive. I think him and I are even now, but even I didn't want to finish the ride because we probably would have ended up as road kill. We ate a delicious casserole last night and are taking a short break this morning before our ride today.

Me holding up the chair I broke at Greg's :(

Just for the record this is the only ride we've received and will ever receive!

-Jesse

The Incident at Roswell, Stillwater Steve, and the Floods of Lubbock

Dearest whomever,

There are a few stories that have fallen through the cracks along the way -- Some you'll have to hear in person... and some I'll try to tell you now.

Stillwater Steve

As promised in my last post, I will now try to tell you the story of Stillwater Steve. While we were in Stillwater, OK staying with Maigan, we went out for lunch at the 'Pita Pit' (Think subway with pitas... but twice as yummy.) We sat down outside to eat our Pitas and up walked Steve -- I have a picture on my cellphone that I will upload when we return and drawings as well but if you will open your mind's eye... Steve looked like he might have aspired to be an ACDC roadie in his younger years. Now perhaps in his mid forties, Steve strutted towards us (And believe me he did strut) wearing a black sleeveless t-shirt, dark black sunglasses, black pants, and a gold necklace with a lightning bolt pendant. His hair was dark black as well and spread outward into an impressive mane (think 80s). With a large black mustache to boot, we knew we were in for some awesome. He started by telling us that his plans for the evening were to bring a bunch of speakers on to the Pita Pit patio area and blast ACDC until well after bar time. He then said "You know how the volume nob goes to 10?" and he held out his fingers to demonstrate how far 10 goes. "I'm gonna go... a little bit past" Moving his fingers apart another inch or so. Steve talked about taking it a little past ten almost a dozen more times during our conversation. We discussed a great many things with him -- topics ranging from Government conspiracies, FEMA, the nature of attraction (Steve likes the "Little wispy baby hairs" on the neck), Storm chasing (have to listen to ACDC while you chase the storm), Tornadoes, His career as a radio disk jockey, and his ultimate dream of strapping an amp to his back, putting on roller skates, and traveling across the country playing his electric guitar (he played a little air guitar while he told us this). I don't think I'll ever forget Steve and I can't wait to show you the photo.

Somewhere, Texas

Lubbock

We got into Lubbock Texas mid-afternoon expecting to spend the night with a couch surfer named Holly - we knew it was going to thunderstorm later and we were looking forward to getting our bikes someplace safe and settling in early. When we could not get in touch with Holly we stopped off in a Pizza place called "One Guy's". Holly never did get in touch with us even though she replied to our request -- luckily we had Daniel (Yes a second Daniel), another couch surfer, who was available at very short notice -- unluckily, however, we did not get in touch with him before the rain started. What started with a light shower quickly turned in to pouring rain, thunder, finger nail sized hail, high winds, near by tornadoes, and flooding. People were sprinting up and down the streets soaking wet, cars were up to their doors in water, and our bikes were under tarps and still getting soaked. The Pizza place we were in had the local weather on and I've never seen a weather man so completely overwhelmed. The television screen barely had enough space for all of the weather advisories and he kept repeating "We are being literally pounded!". It was quite the sight. When the rain let up we biked through the flooded streets to Daniel's and were able to get most of our things dried out by the following day.

Someone's video of the storm that day

The Incident at Roswell

When we were planning our route through New Mexico a stop at Roswell was an easy sell. Jesse and I both enjoy the bizarre and Roswell promised to have plenty of it. The city was expectedly covered with aliens and space ships and space themed nonsense on every corner. The street lamps had alien heads on them and even the chain stores incorporated the Alien themes in one way or another.

Space Ship McDonald's

It was late and we were out of spare bike tubes so we went to the only place that was open - Walmart. We bought two extra tubes each and decided that we were too lazy to find a real place to camp that night. Having seen an open field off to the side of the Walmart we decided we would find some shadows, pitch our tent, and pack up early. We sprinted across a field that was mostly just dry grass and dirt and found a nice place near a fence. We pitched our tent and got ready to settle in. Just before we piled in to the tent I noticed something on Jesse's tire. Both of our tires were covered with dozens of 'Goat head' Thorns.


We knew we would have to change all four of our tubes (with the new ones we just bought) but figured we'd wait until the morning. We got in our sleeping bags and went to bed hoping we wouldn't get yelled at by any employees. A few hours into the night... The sprinkler system turned on. EVERYTHING got wet. The tent, the bikes, camera, clothes, everything. By morning a lot of the water had frozen due to the extreme drop in temperature and we woke up cold, wet, and grumpy. With sunlight we were able to see how well hidden the sprinklers were and noticed that if we'd pitched our tent 15 feet away we'd have been completely dry. We spent the morning drying things out and pulling thorns out of our tires.

Jesse does the new state new timezone dance as we enter New Mexico

These flats marked the middle of Jesse's recent spree of flat tires. In the past week and a half he has had over 10 and has taken to looking down at his tires every minute or so. It's been causing some serious headaches and some even more serious delays. Hopefully his stream of bad luck ends soon, but we're heading off later today to buy more tubes and patch kits just in case.

Jesse prays to the bike gods to stop giving him so many flats
(He had another flat shortly there after)

Jesse will have another blog here bringing you up to date and provided we don't melt under the hot desert sun we'll be in Arizona in a few days. Until next time.

• Jesse's flats: 10
• Danny's flats: 5
• My top speed so far: 36MPH
• Cheapest gas so far: $1.49
• Cheapest Cigarette's (that I've noticed): $2.50
• Longest distance without a water stop: 74 miles
• Times we've been whistled at: 2 (we went a few days without shirts and we got honked at and yelled at a lot more)
• Couches surfed: 5
• Times confronted by police regarding public urination: 1 (Jesse talked his way out, I hid in the sleeping bag)
• Total money received from strangers: $120
• Times almost run over by an ambulance: 1
• Number of dogs who have chased us into the street: 26
  

Sunset at Organ pass, NM

Thanks again to those who donate, those who comment, and those who keep reading. Keep taking it a little past 10.

-Danny

Chasing the Sun

I haven't gathered my thoughts completely from my last entry. I feel like it's a constant game of catch up and I am unable to share all of my experiences with everyone. There is so much to say and only a short window to type. I can't express the true scope of everything that has happened through our travels, but I'll do my best to sum up my introspective reflection. The experience of spending over two months on my bicycle has been life changing. The scenery has been stunning. We've ridden through some of the most beautiful terrain that before I had only dreamt about seeing. I have yet to fully soak up the experience, and I know there is still a lot of riding ahead. I just wanted to express how greatful we are to everyone who has helped make this trip possible.

I only hope that someday I have the opportunity to return the same level of care and support that people have shown us on the trip. To those who have donated from our blog link, your help is invaluable and one of us will personally call you to express our gratitude for your support. Also, to the surfers who have given us a hot shower and a place to stay, and occasionally a hot meal, we are so appreciative. After nearly a week without showering it's nice to finally shed all the layers of sweat and dirt. I hope the experience was enjoyable for you as well, and I can't begin to tell you how thankfull we are. We are truly blessed and it has broadened my perspective. I feel unbelievabley lucky to be meeting so many interesting and wonderful people.

I don't want to throw off the chonology of the blog. Danny is better with semantics than I anyway. I would like to blog about the Sacremento Mountains, but I'll wait until Danny covers the end of Texas and beginning New Mexico. We are headed to Las Cruces today so I'm sure we'll both have something interesting to write about. There is so much beauty in the world and I'm soaking it all in. I feel fortunate to be able to share all these experiences with one of my best friends, and of course our internet viewers as well.

Sunset in Tularosa, NM

Chasing the setting sun

It feels so close

I will never hold you

Falling below the horizon

So beautiful

Yet so futile

Signing Out,

-Jesse

Texas (Don't Mess)

Those still listening,

We are still here. I will ask you to keep in mind that I am tired and will more than likely need to add to/update this in the very near future.

Deciding this picture would look best from a seated position I dropped down onto the grass where I managed to find an ant hill and a dozen large angry looking burrs which found a home all along my back.

Yes we've made it to the Lone Star state -- a short ride into Wichita Falls. We're staying with another Couch Surfer - Daniel (yes yes I know) who has been fantastic just like our last Couch Surfing host. We're off through Texas for what looks to be the better part of the week - sparse, flat, and windy... at least it is flat. We're looking forward to seeing what Texas is about and also (hopefully) not getting shot/beaten/run over.

Flat, I love flat.

I've realized as we travel that the outcome of the day depends largely on the conduct of complete strangers. Every day we're asking for directions, help, and favors. Often we travel on roads with little or no shoulder and with every car that passes we rely on them to give us the little extra distance we need; Let alone the fact that we're counting on them to not just plain run us over. We've had a full range of experiences so far... good, bad, alright, and bad that was intended as good (and vice versa). I've been spat at, swerved at, honked at, yelled at, and engine braked in front of by a big black truck covered in Monster energy drink bumper stickers (EXTREME!). We've been given wrong directions, bad directions, and blank stares. Most importantly however (and this is coming from me remember) is the good.

Bird's nest - sunset.

Most of the nights we've had we've not payed a cent for a place to sleep. Sometimes it is because we're sneaky, but mostly it is because people have been generous or perhaps empathetic (It is becoming increasingly hard for me to be misanthropic.) One of our most effective strategies is just calling or stopping by a police station and asking if we can pitch our tent somewhere. This strategy has yet to be turned down and usually results in a nice city park with a covered area, water, and often power outlets. We've been caught camping in places we're not supposed to or haven't payed for and we've not yet been yelled at (one park official even gave us a free map). These have been helpful and have surprised me, but not nearly as much as the help and hospitality of those who have taken us into their homes.

Maigan, who we met through Couch Surfing, was amazing. She spoiled us completely and we found it extremely easy to talk ourselves into staying an extra day with her in Stillwater, OK. She made and purchased meals for us, got us snacks, showed us around town, and put us up for two nights. (Her coconut-banana-chocolate chip-waffles were oh-my-god-yum. ( I have a picture of her and these amazing waffles but I can not upload it right now... stay tuned!))

After being so spoiled and taking what had to be a combined total of 4 hours of showers (mostly Jesse) we headed off toward El Reno, OK. About 60 or 70 miles into our day we reached a town called kingfisher, which some of you may recognize as the birth place of Sam Walton of Walmart. The town it's self was oddly empty and somewhat creepy... but we managed to find signs of life and on our way out of the city ran in to two bikers who were just out for a ride around the town. They talked to us a bit and when they found out that we had no idea where we were going to sleep that night they offered to let us pitch our tent on their property and maybe grill out. We considered it but figured we'd use our last hour or so of light to make it to El Reno. It got dark fast and we were soon biking along the highway in complete black towards a city of moderate size which we hoped would have a campground or something, anything, any place we could sleep. After an hour or so we saw a casino, the only thing that looked open and moving in the 20 some miles we'd traveled since Kingfisher. We went in and found out that there wasn't any place to camp near by except maybe down by a river which no one seemed sure how to get to. Hungry, tired, and still without a clue as to where we would sleep, we got on our bikes and got ready to ride on. Just as we were about to bike off a man walked past and said "Good! you made it. I was worried about you guys." As we talked to him we found out that he'd passed us twice earlier in the day on his errands and when he learned that we were homeless for the night he offered to put us up in his house. He followed us into the city and helped us put our bikes in his garage; then he took us out to eat, talked to us about routes and told us his story. His name was Dr. Fred House... yes... Dr. House. Unlike the snarky TV personality however this Dr. House was exceedingly kind. A retired chiropractor, Fred moved to El Reno from Tulsa to help his sick Mother in Law who soon passed away, followed shortly by his own wife of some years. A bachelor now, he moved into a new place five months ago and spends his time with his grand children, volunteering, and playing slots at the casinos. Despite his recent tragedies he seemed positive and was amazingly generous. He insisted on giving us 100$ which he claimed was less than he would have lost if he'd gone into the casino and not seen us first. He gave us several maps, breakfast, health tips, and two large bags of multi-vitamins. Keeping in mind that this was not a couch surfer... just a man who wanted to help. In the morning he asked me if I was filled with dread or excitement. I said a little of both. "You don't look ready" he said. I told him that I never do, and we headed south and west toward Texas.

The sunset in between Stillwater and El Reno

As I write this I am in Daniel's house here in Wichita Falls. He's cooked for us, put us up, given us snacks and supplies and has done all of this in between his busy schedule as an Air Force Pilot in training. He's also taken in a stray dog he found a short while ago which he's removed 150+ ticks from and is trying to find a home for. The dog, duke, and I have been fighting over the couch all night.

Jesse and I have both been moved by all of this kindness from complete strangers -- we're not in mortal danger or without options, but still people are willing to make so many personal sacrifices to help us on our vacation. Unreal. I think we'll both be making some changes when we return.

Never did find out what this was

There are so many more stories to tell and things for me to meanderingly complain about. Alas, I must be up in a few hours. I promise to tell you soon of Steve the craziest man we've met and other wonderful selections. Stay on the edges of your seat, I'll write again soon.

But I can't leave without a list:

• Times dogs have chased us into the street:22
• Times I've considered using karate on a dog:9
• Times I've actually used karate on a dog:0 (I'm hoping this number holds here as I am not sure how susceptible dogs are to karate... also I don't actually know karate.)
• Danny's flat tires:3
• Jesse's flat tires:0
• Free maps: 5
• Good full 8 hour nights of sleep:0
• Nights where Jesse's hasn't moaned in his sleep:0 (not related to above)
• Incidents involving audible gunfire: 3
• Times we've been asked if we're missionaries: 2
• Danny's worst meal: Raw hot dogs and partially frozen energy bar.
• Jesse's worst meal: Bread with water on it ("You mash it together - sprinkle water on it - and then you slam it")
• Times we've left our soap behind: 2
• Favorite Location Name: Cookietown (Yes, it is real and it is in Oklahoma. No, no cookies appeared to be for sale)
  
• Fall count holding at 3 and 5!

Those asking about why Jesse is in so many of the photos should know that the only camera we have is mine and I will therefore be taking the majority of the photographs. He is not begging me for photos all day.

and just to clear up Jesse's last post...
It was 18 miles in the wrong direction... which meant another 18 miles to get back. Not bitter... just striving for journalistic integrity.

Enjoys long walks at sunset

Thanks to everyone who has signed up and followed our blog! We appreciate the support and all that.

-Danny

On to Oklahoma

First Off,

Danny loves hills!

and.. Multicolored knicker wearing bad ass?

It's been a few days since we found ourselves near a computer, but don't worry I've got some good updates for our loyal viewers. Things have been going well, we've been meeting a lot of interesting people, the weather is looking great for the rest of the week, and most importantly I believe the wind is supposed to die down the next couple of days.

Windy Weather Woes

I realize wind is something that any normal bicycle tourer has to deal with. I most certainly have accepted the fact it's Spring and it's going to be windy. However, I want to stress that biking due west this season has been particularly windy. I've had a hell of a time breaking some of the ridiculous headwinds, but at least our quads look amazing (especially with the sexy tan lines).

Goodbye, Ozarks

Random llama chilling with some cows...

The Ozarks have been windy and cold, but also very beautiful. I welcome gradual inclines and gentle rolling hills, but the Ozark's are scattered with steep 500ft changes in elevation. It has been a true test of endurance and our ability to make it to the coast. The crystal streams and creeks that line the countryside create a bucolic landscape. Unfortunately we missed the Spring bloom in the Ozarks by a couple weeks, but we were lucky enough to see some of the purple buds blooming before leaving Missouri. We will also miss all the wonderful hillbillies we met and conversed with, especially a man we met named Jim. We met him next to a Wall-Mart in Houston, MO and he was incredibly proud of his 10-speed pink Huffy that he rides around town. Apparently the state revoked his driving license because of back child support. Regardless Jim remains optimistic, and was extremely excited to share his ideas about making his bicycle faster by attaching a small motor to the front wheel. I only wish we had recorded our conversation.

Neither of us will miss Houston, MO. We were stuck there for two days because of thunderstorms, and a wrong turn on Hwy 17 that took us 16 miles in the wrong direction. The feeling of entering Houston, MO again after going the wrong way for 16 miles still chills my spine. Danny found it quite humorous going back into Houston a second time. I guess the navigational mistake was my fault, but we haven't had any other major route problems; knock on wood. Honestly though if you heard the directions the crazy hotel manager gave us you'd be confused too...

The last night in the Ozarks we had particularly strong winds. Danny and I had to pitch our tent with 35mph gusts in freezing temperatures. There was also a sign prohibiting camping and bicycles at the creek we were staying at. We ended the night with a partially frozen Snicker's bar and some trail mix.

Entering Oklahoma

Danny being cool on the Oklahoma sign

Wyandotte Bear's Den Double Cheeseburger Challenge

1 "Bear's Den" Double Cheeseburger Down, 1 to go.

Victory!

100 Mile Night Ride Into Tulsa

After staying at a Twin Bridges State Park in Wyandotte, OK where the fishermen seek this crazy fish:

Spoonbill Fish

We set out for a long ride to Tulsa where we Rode on Historic 66 for about 100 miles into Tulsa. We got into Tulsa late and hit a tumultuous amount of pot holes due to our poor choice to do some night riding. So we made it into Tulsa late and stayed at a Holiday Inn where we completely raided the continental breafast the next morning.

Sunset over Stillwater, OK

Our second Day in Oklahoma was gorgeous. A cloudless, 75 degree day. We got started a little late because we wanted to try something new. Hotels are expensive and we knew we were going to find ourselves in a big city with no place to stay. So we decided to use a website called couch surfing, and I have to say I think we're both 100% pleased that we decided to try it. I sent out a couple feeler messages at about 10:00am and by 12:00pm I had a response from Stillwater, OK. Maigan was our host tonight and she has been more than hospitable and I would recommend that anyone going through Stillwater, OK look her up. Her vegan pizza and sweet potato pie was amazing!

Couch Surfing Profile

Next update will probably come in Texas, or Danny might make one sooner...

Me eating delicious pie batter and displaying weird tan lines

My random list:

• Something I've always wanted to see: A live armadillo
• Number of dead armadillos seen: 6
• Number of live armadillos seen: 0
• Dead snakes: 1
• Free maps: 2
• Man in black truck doing an engine break in front of me and blowing exhaust in my face while menacingly shaking his fist: 1
• Days of actual riding: 12
• 10+ mph headwinds: 13
• Tailwinds: -1

Stay Tuned!!!

-Jesse

Another rainy day

To whoever is out there,

Two amateur outdoors men with minimal bike experience decide to bike and camp their way across America... what could go wrong?

Danny's Rad injuries (Html fixed by Jesse(& again by Danny))

Yes, we've managed to get ourselves into the Ozarks - Big hills that don't quit. It has slowed our pace and done some painful things to my legs. We didn't plan on getting here but here we are. It seems as well that I have a penchant for stabbing, scraping, and smashing my limbs. My apologies for the pictures... these are the best I could get away with while sitting in the middle of a public library.

After spending a day or so on "Missouri's bloodiest highway" (Yes there were signs) we found our way into a small town where by chance we bumped into the President of the Ozark Trail Association. He helped us find some roads that were safer and maybe a bit less hilly. Keeping in mind that people who live in the Ozarks don't really know what hills are... their idea of flat is what Wisconsin calls hilly.

Some of the flattest road we covered

We spent a night at an RV park called "Candy Cane" which was inexplicably Christmas themed. The caretaker there was very generous and for a grand total of 15$ we got hot dogs, a grill, a fire pit, fire wood, gas, showers, and a lovely little car port to pitch our tent under. Not the cheapest but considering it rained... we could've done much worse. I also got to have a 45 minute conversation about how Methuselah was on Noah's ark and that is why Christianity still exists (????).

Santa greets you warmly as you enter the bathrooms

Note the aptly placed blue valve

We're stuck inside again due to rain (big surprise it's spring.) This time we're in Houston -- no not Houston Texas... Houston Missouri... Though it is in Texas county. We're sitting in the Texas County Library on their delightfully sluggish computers. We spent the night in a park a few blocks from here where we were visited in the night by local youth who - when asked what there was do to around Houston - informed me that you could drink, drive around, sit at home, and there is also a bowling alley. This question eventually spun off into a story about drunk driving, eight month old babies, and domestic abuse. Indeed, we've found our way to Appalachia where they love their Jesus almost as much as their trucks. We've found a good mix of well meaning kind hearted people and big angry truck driving types with no sleeves, no necks, and no time for us.

Jesse's Peanut Butter, Banana, and Craisin Sandwich

Quickly Drew a Crowd

Which Began Showing Off

Now back by popular demand: Random list.

• Danny's Falls: 5
• Jesse's Falls: 3
• Number of Road kill passed so far: infinity
• Banana Peels: 9 (and yes they still remind me of Mario Kart)
• Times we've been yelled at: 6
• Times we've been honked at: 20
• Times we've been given the finger: 2
• Number of my shirts stained by Jesse leaving a pen in the wash: 1
• Number of Avril Lavigne CDs found on the side of the road: 1
• People who have said they'd pray for Danny: 2
• People who have said they'd pray for Jesse: 0

Until next time I guess (I'm out of my library time)

-Danny