Today started off with Warren realizing he had done a poor job changing the flat tire. Corrective action for a bit and hit the road. (My mother's only comment to yesterday' s blog, when she saw the photo of me changing the flat she said "He got his hair cut").
Nice trail and climb out of the TriCities and onto SR 124. Road not too bad but way too much heavy commercial traffic and too many RVs for biking comfort. Do RV drivers not know how wide their rig is? Great when quiet, not great when traffic. We were on SR 124 to Waitsburg then SR 12 to Dayton for the last 10 miles.
We tried to get off of 124 - RidewithGPS.com said we could. We should have believed the DEAD END road sign. The diversion made for some great photo ops though.
Lunch in Prescott, first town we came to (mile 50), which appeared to be a one saloon town. The folks we talked to were friendly but we noticed a lack of younger people - the graying of rural America - or were all the younger people working in the fields? Hung out for awhile as we (Warren) was just plain pooped from the past few days. Warren's old nemesis, atrial fibrillation, reared its head. Called the doc and left a message. This is not auspicious, I am not even out of the State.
We met Phillip in Waitsburg. Phillip proudly told me he is 97 and a half. He is a WW2 air force vet and was almost called up for Korea. He moved to Waitsburg in 1946 from Kansas. I was not sure of his profession - farmer, preacher? He told me that the Book of Matthew says follow the Lord and you will get the 4 things everyone desires - sex, safety, success and (personal) space. He heard that and was "in". Heck of a guy, by the smiles of passers-by he is well known in town. Eventually we had to go and rode the last 10 miles to Dayton.
Lots of dry wheat and corn in the fields. 12-15 mph tailwind most of the day. Temps cooled into high 80s. Doc called back, adjusted meds.
By the numbers:
Dist - 71.3 miles
Elev Gain - 2,489 ft
Elev Loss - 1,224 ft
Moving time 5:54
We are following you day by day Wa. Quite a journey you are on,..... hot, dusty, and exhausting, but an adventure for sure. Looks like the Rockies are close ahead....whew. Good luck.
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