This evening we went to a volunteer orientation at the Democratic party headquarters in the mall. It took a long time because everyone had to say something, but that's politics, I guess. A lot of people I knew were there: Dick Waddell (a coworker from NIPER), Joyce Fogle and Rod Harwood (former church members), and several current church members, plus old coworkers of Dad's.

Today we drove out to Perkins to visit Uncle Bud and Aunt Margaret. Dad had told me what sounded like a horror story - Bud had gone in to the doctor with some health problems, and they had put him on a treadmill and worked him until his heart stopped, and then they gave him a bypass operation! But we were amazed to see the improvement in his condition... he looks and acts at least five years younger than when I saw him last December. He and Margaret are both 80.

On the way back we checked out some roads I might travel on my way south. We also found some I'll be sure to avoid!

At 11:30 this morning, Mom dropped me off at BHS on her way to a town meeting about public transit. Mr. Meador showed me the new science wing and the even more elaborate fine arts building. Then he treated me to lunch in the cafeteria. I also got to see Mr. Baird, who's retiring after this year, and Mrs. Henderson.

Dad took my trailer with him this morning, so I had a spring in my step and covered the 70 miles or so into Bartlesville in under 8 hours. The weather was perfect, and the roads were excellent.

It was neat to come into Bartlesville by the back roads, Bison and Madison. When I arrived at the house, Mom & Dad & Genki were out running errands, but they left the back door open for me. I got my tent and sleeping bag all aired out and sent my long-overdue e-mail before Tiff & co. arrived around 4:30.

This was my longest day since entering Missouri... I got up an hour before dawn and was on the road before dawn and still didn't make it to Big Hill Lake until the very end of sunset.

I enjoyed the ride through Kansas: it really does feel different from Missouri. There was a pretty serious thunderstorm in the afternoon, but it passed. Big Hill Lake is a very big park with lots of amenities spread out in a way I'm not used to.

Dad arrived as I was finishing pitching the tent, and we had a dinner of cold soup and bagels that he found just barely tolerable!

63.8 mi

I chose to stick to the back roads today and didn't regret my decision; the hills gradually gave way to plains. I saw a return to soy and sorghum but on a field by field basis. Other fields were hay, pasture, clover, sunflowers, and even some winter wheat.

I chose to stick to back roads today, and they turned out to be hilly, but not unreasonably so, and very lightly trafficked. The only interesting thing that happened was that I passed throuugh the town of Humansville, which was not an interesting town, but it has a neat name.

I noticed today that all the fields since Jeff City have been hay or pasture, not corn or soybeans. Maybe that partly explains the diminished number of crickets I'm hearing.

47.8 mi

I had hoped to avoid traffic by leaving early, but apparently there's a rush hour at Lake of the Ozarks. I noticed early on that my back tire felt spongy, but after stopping several times to examine and pump it I couldn't convince myself whether or not it was leaking.

Riding on the US highway turned out to be a very good call... the shoulders are so generous they're practically bike lanes, and very smooth and clean. I made excellent time, and good music on the radio made up for the traffic noise. As soon as I got out of the Missouri River valley, I got incredible radio reception. I was picking up weather reports from so far away I had trouble believing they were talking about the same day... apparently Columbia was having severe thunderstorms and a tornado warning, while I had a clear sky and 80 degree temperatures.