Day 49: Nevada, MO to Galmey, MO

Today's Mileage: 65
Total Mileage: 2628

The morning sky was covered with clouds, which cheered us, as we were hoping to avoid the heat. Before leaving the campground, Debbie checked her e-mail and learned that we had been featured in a front-page article of the Iola Register! "Brockway" was quoted extensively - man, he never shuts up! I checked out the article at http://www.iolaregister.com/ or you might still be able to get to it directly through JB's comment on yesterday's blog - thanks, JB!

We had a hearty breakfast at the nearest diner, which featured the old cloth roller towel in the bathroom (yuck). The reason this was funny, though, was the sign warning people not to hang from the towel!

We soon found out that Missouri is all hills: there isn't a single flat piece. And while the hills were small, they were endless. It was really hard going! I think my muscles were tired from the day before, because I had been pushing myself really hard. We stopped in Collins for lunch. In addition to the hot soup, we were lucky to have a great waitress who gave us lots of information about the area.

It turned out that Preston, our evening destination, was a tiny town where we wouldn't have any camping options. Instead, we turned off-route in Wheatland in search of Pomme-de-Terre Lake. The campground was great, and the lake was even better - the warmest water you can imagine!

After a swim and a shower, we stripped the gear off our bikes and headed up the steep hills back into town to go to a bar called the Mule Lip. We had been warned not to enter the bar without Dave or a tazer, but it turned out to be pretty mellow. After some nachos, beers, and dancing we raced over to catch the store before it closed. A nice local had given us money for ice cream. The single cones were HUGE! And best of all, they had my favorite flavor, Moose Tracks.