Day 27

After eating breakfast in our Econo Lodge in Carthage, Missouri, we headed out at 7 am.  We drove back to the spot just past Avilla we left off yesterday.  The skies were clear, it was 74 degrees.  We were heading east on Missouri highway 96.  Unfortunately, we had no shoulder but traffic wasn't too heavy to begin with.  As we drove along, we came upon an area where there were several signs billboards with scripture.

 I TRIED to jot down some of the other scriptures...there were several and I was watching for traffic so that billboard was the only picture I got. 
Ecclesiastes 12:11
Matthew 6:24
Galatians 6:7...interesting, this one was in my devotional this morning!

Not far down the road, we came to a town named Rescue.  I thought it was an appropriate town near the scripture signs! 

 Here were back on Route 66 for a while again!!!

 I was a LITTLE too late as I snapped this picture.  Do you see the white thing on the roof top of the house at the left side of the picture?  Well, it was the very tail end of a LARGE cow statue on the peak of the roof of their house...not something you see every day.  So sorry I missed the shot!

 I was almost too late with this shot, too.  The propane tank between the trees and bush is painted to look like a watermelon.  How creative!

Just before 9:30 we turned onto Missouri Hwy 266 east.  We were supposed to ride a few miles and turn south on Missouri PP.  Well, we either missed it or it wasn't marked, when I checked the map on my phone I realized we'd gone too far.  Since we still had no shoulder, we hadn't had a spot to pull over so Russ hadn't even taken a break!  We came to a bridge that had a shoulder so I honked at Russ, pulled him over and discussed how we'd get back on our planned route.  We turned south on Missouri T and then found W Farm Road 168 and turned east.  We were attempting to go around Springfield.  The traffic had picked up a bit.  Some people were patient, others were not.  We're just thankful that even though some drivers take extreme risks passing when they can see oncoming traffic with nowhere to go; no one crashed or ran off the road!  We have noticed that the closer you are to urban areas, the more impatient drivers are.  Hmmmm.  Russ has also noticed that people pulling boats, driving RV's, people on vacation are less patient as well.  Would the attitude be "HURRY UP so we can have fun!"?

We finally took a break when we turned on Missouri State highway M just before 11:00.  By this time Russ had ridden 43 miles before taking a break.  He said it was such a nice morning, he didn't feel thirsty and with nowhere to pull off he decided to wait.  Also, there was really no wind.  Other days when there was no wind, after we took a break there was a head wind!  We rode into south Springfield to the Quality Inn at 11:30.  They had our room ready so we gladly checked in, relaxed and spent some time in the pool!  This afternoon we had plenty of time to rest, then we met Rita Williams, a long-time friend we knew at Foundry UMC in Houston years ago, (we were in the same Sunday School class) for dinner.  Her daughter, Robin, was along with her girls, Lilie (6) and Daisy (6weeks), as well as Rita's son, Nolan (12- going into 7th grade). Lilie looked JUST like we remember Robin when she was that age! 

Rita & her family now live in Smithville near Kansas City, they came to Springfield for a fun weekend & too see US!  It was GREAT seeing friends, such a blessing to spend time with all of them! 

Rita, Nolan, Robin holding baby Daisy with Lilie in front.

Such a sweet family! Hugs to Mandy & Melissa who are all grown up now, too!

Another blessed day!  We are going to be on US Hwy 60 tomorrow heading to Mountain Grove.  The highway is like a freeway here in Springfield, so we're glad it's Saturday tomorrow - hopefully we can get out of town safely!  Pray for us as we make our way past exits & on-ramps.  Thank you for praying us through! Blessings to you!
Until tomorrow,
Russ & Carol