Today's ride is from Booneville to Cooper's Landing near Easley MO.
The day started with me being patient while waiting to get my bicycle out of the storage room at the hotel. With the number of bikes the supported tour had I was trapped until they left. To use up some time I went across the street to the Main Street Diner.
The diner is a nice home cookin' kinda place. I had the best breakfast I've had in a long time, anywhere. My order was; biscuits and sausage gravy, 2-eggs over easy, 2-sausage patties, coffee, 1-extra biscuit, and homemade apple pie. The biscuits were as good as mine, but a bit smaller, the eggs cooked perfectly, the sausage a bit spicy, the coffee good by diner standards, and the pie was outstanding. A couple of standouts were the sausage gravy and the pie. The gravy was nice and creamy and not the normal library paste most places serve. The pie was in a lard made crust and the apples fresh with just a bit of tartness.
After breakfast I got my bike, loaded it up and headed across the bike path on the half-mile long highway bridge crossing the Missouri River.
After crossing the bridge the trail leads SE toward New Franklin and Rocheport. This segment was pretty mundane. A highlight for me was finding several of the original telegraph poles from the late 1800s or early 1900s. The poles carried ten lines each relaying information back and forth between train depots.
I was looking forward to getting to Rocheport. Reports from other travelers were that the segment beginning there was maybe the most interesting and pretty along the 237mi trail.
Also in Rocheport there is Merriweather's cafe and bike shop. I had heard their coffee was good and I looked forward to a good cup. I ordered an Americano and it wasn't quite Leslie/Crossroads good but I really enjoyed it. Also while there I ran into the gal I helped with securing her bike pack the first day. She is still just thrilled with having learned a couple of knots and how well they work. Always fun to help a fellow traveler.
From Rocheport my main destination was Cooper's Landing. But before getting there I needed to make a side trip off trail. A little ways from the trail is what is thought to be the oldest burr oak tree in North America. It is over 400 years old! Given it's close proximity to the Missouri River it is likely that a corps of discovery's hunting party passed it in 1804.
The old gal is a wonderful thing to behold. Spending time with her might have been the highlight of the day.
Along the way I stopped at Boathenge and thought about my buddy Warren.
I made it to Cooper's Landing about 3pm unsure if there would be a spot for me to camp on a Friday night. Fortunately there was, for a price. They charge $35 a night for a tent and one person and the facilities are rustic. So I paid the price, set up camp and sat down to the river view to write this blog report.
