Day 22 – Sunday – 6/19/22

Jefferson City, Missouri to Wilton, Missouri – 25.2 Miles

There were things to do, but no urgent places to go on Sunday morning in Jefferson City. My brother, who has crossed the country twice on a bicycle, had introduced me to friends who were living a short distance away and were willing to take a chance on letting me stay overnight. This gave me the opportunity to see the city a bit more before I returned to the Katy Trail. After asking Google for Jefferson City attractions, I made a list, then started pedaling.

At the end of the day yesterday, Ishmael’s back tire was leaking air badly. I’d fixed the problem but thought I’d better be ready when it would, inevitably, happen again. Fortunately, there was a bike shop open on the west side of town, so that was stop one. The next was the Lewis and Clark monument near the Capitol. Lewis and Clark camped near the site of Jefferson City on June 4, 1804, and the monument includes Lewis and Clark, plus other key members of the expedition, including their dog.

A suggestion from Google had pointed me in the direction of the Central Dairy near downtown. It was, and still is, a working dairy, but the original building that housed it has been serving ice cream there since 1934. When I saw that it opened at 10 AM and read their menu, they had a customer. On a high mileage day priorities change. My time and energy have to be directed towards hitting the distance goal at the end of the day, which means stops and sightseeing in detail are sacrificed. Today wasn’t that day. Sitting on a bench and sipping a large vanilla malt at 10:40 in the morning isn’t essential to getting me across America, but it probably didn’t hurt.

When I’d finished my malt, the guilt made me feel I’d better start moving Ishmael from “A” to “B”. Cycling away from the Capitol, we crossed the Missouri River.

A few miles later, I was back on the Katy Trail heading towards Hartsburg.

Tim, my host for the night, met me on his bicycle a few miles from home. Along the way he stopped on the trail and pointed to a tree. This was going to turn into something amazing later.

Tim and Ann live on the bluffs above the Missouri River. In a brilliantly creative move, they decided that a treehouse would maximize the enjoyment of the river view. From their back deck, a suspension bridge leads to the treehouse.

After crossing the bridge, this is what you’ll see.

Sunsets are also an attraction.

Following a great dinner and enjoyable conversation, it was time to call it a night. Many thanks to Tim, Ann and dog Charlie for their hospitality during my visit!