Day 28 of riding

After breakfast, we headed out to get ready for a day of riding under overcast skies, it was 71 degrees.  The sky was dark blue in the east and lightning far away on the horizon as Russ rode out of the Quality Inn parking lot in Springfield, Missouri.  Highway 60 was just a couple of blocks south of our motel, it is a freeway through Springfield so we were hoping for light Saturday morning traffic.  Well...not so light!  We're not quite sure where everyone was heading!  It took about 7 miles or 30 minutes to get out of the freeway area, I was glad to get out of the busy area of exits and on ramps.
The sky was dark and ominous, lightning in the distance, but still no rain.

As we got into Rogersville at 8:20, it started to rain.  Perfect time for a break!  By now the temperature had lowered to 64 degrees and it rained hard for about 25 minutes or so.  Just before 9:00, Russ geared up in his rain jacket and was back on the road.  We saw a church sign shortly thereafter:

Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD    Psalm 33:12

As we traveled on, we came to close to Seymour where we saw horse & buggy caution signs.  Last year when we saw the signs in various areas, we never saw a horse & buggy.  Today was different.  We saw several!   One couple was heading down the shoulder of highway 60 ahead of us & Russ passed them.  I hoped and prayed the horse would not get spooked from the bike, but it had blinders on and the man turned it's head toward the side of the road as he passed.

We saw other buggies as we passed through the town.

We stopped at McDonald's in Seymour and had our favorite morning treat, the fruit & yogurt parfait.  As we were finishing up, a lady came by and handed Russ a generous donation and thanked him for what he is doing.  This brings back memories of the generous people we ran across in Missouri last year as well!  What a blessing, such sweet people!  A light rain was falling as we came into Seymour, but had stopped as we headed out at 10:30.  It was a cool 66 degrees.

We came across an interesting road...who named that one?

 We had a few more raindrops, but the road was good at this point and drivers usually moved to the left lane to pass us by.

 We rolled into Mansfield just before 11:30, loaded up the bike and drove a few miles to visit the Rocky Ridge Farm, where Almanzo & Laura Ingalls Wilder lived with their daughter Rose.  It was a very interesting museum, nice tours of the homes and informative guides.  We enjoyed the time spent there.  Now I want to go home and read the books again.  Russ says he's never read them, we have to fix that!

 After enjoying Rocky Ridge Farm, we drove back to Hwy 60 where Russ got on the bike once again.  By this time the rain had completely stopped.  Some of the hills were BIG!

Today we saw a LOT of roadkill, in particular, armadillos.  We counted 39 that we could identify as armadillos in the 65 miles Russ covered.  There were 6 or more roadkills that were smashed beyond recognition.  (Sorry if that's a little gruesome!)  Several raccoons lost their lives on these roads, too. Sometimes I wonder why those poor little animals cross the road.  Probably looking for something better like when we see cattle sticking their heads through fences to get grass that looks just like the grass on their side of the fence.  Does God look at us like I look at cattle and roadkill? Wondering why we are not satisfied with all He's given us?  Why are we willing to take risks or go across "the wrong road" just because we don't see the blessings we already have?  Something to ponder.  One of our theme verses for our journey is Philippians 4:13...take a look at what Paul tells us right before that starting with verse 12:

I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. 
I can do everything through him who gives me strength.    NIV
That's cool those verses are right next door to each other!

We arrived in Mountain Grove at 3:00 and easily found our Days Inn motel.  As we unloaded and headed to the room, a kind lady drove up and said she saw us on the highway and when she saw Russ & the cross it brought tears to her eyes and the Lord told her to pull off and find that man.  And sure enough, she did!  Brooke and her sweet daughters, Taylor & Sophia, gave us a generous donation and words of encouragement.  God always brings us blessings and encouragement when we need it!  Thank you Brooke & girls, you blessed us!

Tonight I wish I could be in two places at one time.  Back in Fremont, Nebraska, my classmates are celebrating our 35th class reunion tonight.  (I must have graduated when I was 10!)  I would have LOVED to have been there to see friends from LONG ago!  I hope and pray they all have a GREAT time and I can go next time!

This evening we took a dip in the pool and headed to Pizza Hut for Russ' favorite: salad bar & Veggie Lover's pizza!  The fellas look sleepy tonight, it's time to put my feet up and relax, too!
Thank you SO much for your prayers, we couldn't do it without you!
Until tomorrow,
Russ & Carol