Moving Into The North

Old Glory with a following

Highway 61 Northbound Arch Gateway

My man Rick posing with his 'WORKHORSE".

Monitoring Mississippi barge traffic.

New crops in the fields.

Old Country home with a nice metal roof.

Surely  goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.
                                                                                            Psalm 23:6

This tour has taken on many different characteristics since it's inception and I'm sure it will continue to change. I think my longevity and enjoyment of this journey will be contingent on my ability to adapt to new environments and circumstances. When I designed this trip I was planning to be on the road 13 months. Because of route changes and the fact that I'm not making the miles I first calibrated, this working vacation has been extended out to a 25 month adventure; it will probably continue beyond that. I don't know if I'll ever get off the road. Originally, I planned to circumnavigate the lower 48 continental United States in a counterclockwise direction. Since New Orleans however; my routing has changed to a northerly direction through the country's midsection. I've been following the Mississippi River Trail  and recently crossed into Missouri.

There have been some good days with strong tailwinds blowing out of the south, but there have also been challenging times when northerly winds prevail. On days like that my mileage is severely hindered.

Cape Girardeau, Trail of Tears State Park and Sainte Genevieve have been my most memorable spots of this leg. I met Rick in 'Cape', he not only had some great stories to share, but he was hospitable as well. I was happy to accept the opportunity to get cleaned up and spend some quality time getting rejuvenated at his home. Besides being a remarkable host and tour guide, Rick accepted the request to ride my bike to the Trail of Tears for me. He did better on the hills than I do. I haven't experienced hills like the ones north of Cape Girardeau since leaving San Diego 7 months ago! 

The Trail of Tears State Park is a memorial dedicated to the forced migration of the Cherokee Indians from the Carolinas and Georgia in 1838. From my understanding they crossed the Mississippi River at this point on there way to their new home in Oklahoma. Over 16,000 Cherokees began this difficult journey on foot, just a small percentage of them completed it. Freezing winter weather, disease(small pox) and displacement stresses were among the extreme hardships and many deaths during the march.  President Andrew Jackson had overruled the supreme court's recommendation not to displace these people. It was a horrible atrocity and black mark in the history of our country upon it's own native people. I've heard it said without the decimation of America's native population, tobacco and slavery, the United States of America would be much different today.

Sainte Genevieve was the next notable landmark to the north. After more hills I came upon the oldest European style architecture west of the Mississippi. Many French people developed this city. It was named after a French queen who harbored folks displaced by war.