October 11,12/Farmington, MO to Murphysboro, IL

We completed our sixth state as we completed the sixth week of our ride. We left the hills of Missouri behind, only to discover bigger hills in Illinois and Kentucky. Oh well, anybody can bike on flats - right? Yesterday's 70-mile ride brought us across the Mighty Mississippi at Chester, IL, the home of "Popeye". Being the health conscious individuals that we are, we all had spinach salads for lunch (add chicken pot pie and homemade pastry and you've got a meal!)

After lunch, we opted for the levee route along the river. Good choice! It was scenic, flat, quiet and trafficless. We rejoined the prescribed route at Town Creek Road and enjoyed the fall color (and a few more hills) of Illinois' bluffs. Rounding one curve in the road we were awestruck by huge fields of sunflowers on both sides of the road accented by late afternoon sunlight.

Today we're enjoying a rest day in Murphysboro where we intend to visit "Little Grand Canyon", a winery or two, and catch a "Chick Flick" (You Again) in Carbondale.

Tomorrow it's back on the road again to our last stop in Illinois, Elizabethtown.

No "shout outs" today, but "Lane Three", do some "funny strokes" for us!