Route Map
Journal Excerpts
From Butch’s journal:
The trip from Potosi to Chester, Illinois was 85 miles. Where we crossed the Mississippi, it was only about the size of the Columbia, but we were a long way north, and I guess it gets awfully big when it’s at its peak. The countryside is getting very colonial. When we reached Chester, we watched the Olympics on T.V. until late. It was great. We had all been looking forward to entering Coolville, and as you can see, we were ready to put on a show.
From Nancy’s journal:
We got up at five o’clock this morning. As soon as I woke up, I was filled with dread about riding again. I was really afraid. My whole body felt stiff and sore. I found myself close to tears many times. For the first few miles, I was really scared. But little by little, I began to get my confidence back. We went up and down for a while, but soon we were going down toward the Mississippi River. We arrived in St. Genevieve at about twelve thirty for lunch. It was a really neat town and had some nice, old houses. Then, we came out from behind the trees, and there was the mighty Mississippi. It was neat, but somehow it looked just like the Columbia. We took a little ferry boat across since there was no bridge. It was fun, but it only lasted about ten minutes.
From Tani’s journal:
Nancy got back on her bike today. She was a little scared and a little stiff and sore. Today was fairly flat and wasn’t too hard. We entered another state. We did it a little different than the other states tho. This time, we went on a ferry boat. It was just a small flat thing, not at all like the ones on the Puget Sound, but to them it is a ferry. The Mississippi looks just like the Columbia. It had water and everything. Really, it was pretty, and I liked the ferry and all. From the river to Chester, we went on a bike route. It was the old highway, and they turned it into a bike route. It was really pretty, but there were a lot of holes. At the end, we went up some really steep hills, but it was worth it because we saw some really nice houses, too.
All Journals
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Photos
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