Day 48 - Thursday, July 8
Our day began at 3:50am with a star filled sky and the Milky Way painting a white strip down the middle. Bob was so dehydrated after yesterday’s run he didn’t wake up to go to the bathroom which he was thrilled about. We also turned on both A/C units because we were so over heated but by the morning, the temperature must not have been more than the fridge and no one could get out from under the covers.
Coffee is a highlight of the day for all of us so we lounged around with a steaming hot mug and planned out the day while listening to one of Chris’ playlists of jazz today. Once we have that last sip we go into military mode eating quickly, packing, dressing, bandaging, etc. so we can be on the road by 5:15am.
Today was a milestone day for us as we approached Lake of the Ozark which has been on our radar since the beginning of the trip. The weather was absolutely perfect - 70 degrees in the morning with mist. It remained cloudy all day with brief rain and temps no more than low 80’s. After yesterday’s baker, we moved through the day easily.
Bob and I saw a massive bird lift out of a tree. It had a broad wingspan and white head. Turns out we are in an area where there are frequent sightings of Bald Eagles.
On route, we saw more livestock and passed a set of massive barn structures. It was twilight and quiet so I ran into the farm and up to the structure as Bob waited on the street for someone to come out with a gun. In the opening I saw turkeys as far as the eye could see. Feeding tubes dropped from the ceilings like in a sci fi movie where they are feeding the borgs. When countless birds saw me they all started making noise and it became loud, then louder. I filmed a little of this but decided I should get out before folks came out looking to see what the ruckus was. It was unsettling…
Our first town was Ulman MO and it was just a post office and a few other defunct storefronts. Then onto Kaiser, a little burb of Lake of Ozark and then we were running around the lake!
Chris sent us a text letting us know that we are now in the delta variant eye of the hurricane as well as Missouri having the highest infection rate and lowest vaccine rate in the United States…
Coming back to civ we saw drove by Target, Walmart, Starbucks, a Catholic Church - these are rare as we mostly see baptist - and even a strip bar just like in the Netflix Series Ozark!
Chris landed us in an RV park for the night right on the Lake. Bob and I powered through the day and finished up by 2pm so we were grounded in the park by 3 and eating another great meal of cod breaded with garlic and a green bean medley with olive oil, garlic and bacon by 4pm. Bob and I are toast - its 5pm and we want to go to sleep. Lucky is also feeling the chemo I think as the doc told us the full effects are typically 3-5 days after it is administered and he is breathing heavily while he is laying down and is totally wiped out.
All for now - thank you for the ongoing support.
Cheers,
David.
Town of Ulman MO - one post office and nothing else.
The Post Office
Ulman resident has a confederate flag WITH a semi-automatic machine gun emblazoned in the middle.
Birds as far as the eye can see…
We liked this view of livestock better…
Entering the COVID hotspot
The first strip club we have passed on the trip
And we finally see the lake, we are at 1,000 feet of elevation and the Lake sits at about 600.
A rare sight - a Catholic Church
The Lake is made up of a number fingers - this bridge pass to one of them.
The lead character from Netflix series The Ozarks…
Getting ready to cross the damn that created this lake.
Infrastructure anyone? The damn looked like it would fall apart while we crossed.
Not much more to say about this one…
Big smiles because of solid day
And a great meal to end it.
Almost the end, need to cuddle Lucky a bit!
