Carbondale, Illinois, to Golconda, Illinois -- 67 miles

We woke at 5:30 am and began biking at 6 am. The route went through the Crab Orchard National Wildlife Refuge, along tree-lined roads and past two pretty lakes. We met Brian Flatley and Ben Kull from Washington DC, who are biking east-to-west. We talked to them about the dogs in Kentucky – they said that they sprayed them with their water bottles and, also that the dogs seemed to run out of steam after a short distance (which made Lenny feel better). We stopped in Goreville to buy some groceries and fill our water bottles.

We went up and down more long hills. We stopped again in Eddyville to get sodas, a bite to eat and to cool off. We talked to horseshoer, his assistant, and some Illinois DOT workers. They commented that we were taking a roundabout way to get from one place to another. We stayed at Michael’s Motel in Golconda, a couple miles off the route. We stopped at the library to check out our website, then walked along the main street so Lenny could take photos of the town. We had pizza for dinner.

Chester, Illinois, to Carbondale, Illinois -- 49 miles

We woke at 5:15 am and began biking at 6:00 am. We had a choice of 2 different routes – the hilly main route and the flatter “Mississippi Levee Alternate.” We decided to take the alternate route. As we left town, Lorraine was wobbling on her bike - the problem was low tire pressure, so we stopped for Lenny to inflate her tires. We missed one of the turns because of road construction, and missed the part of the trail, which ran beside the river. When we turned off from the highway, we were riding on back roads, past cornfields and little houses on the prairie.

We reached Carbondale by 11:30 am, and rode through the campus of Southern Illinois University, trying to find our way to Main Street. We stopped at Carbondale Bikes to get another cyclo-computer and more Halt dog repellent spray. We checked into the Uptown Motel and turned on the air-conditioning! Lorraine surfed the Internet at the library while Lenny walked about a mile to go to the post office. We had an early dinner at Murphy’s Bar & Grill. Lorraine had great tortilla soup, Lenny had salad, and we both had burgers and homemade cheesecake with strawberries for dessert.

Pilot Knob, Missouri, to Chester, Illinois -- 67 miles

We woke at 5 am and got on the road at 5:45 am. Lorraine noticed immediately that her cyclo-computer (which measures speed and mileage) had been stolen off her bike. There were a lot of cars on the road - we were surprised, since it was Sunday. We stopped at gas station in Doe Run for orange juice and to fill our water bottles. As we rode through Farmington, we admired several pretty houses. Lorraine missed a turn in the route and we backtracked about 1/2 mile. Jason passed us after about 36 miles. 

The terrain turned back to rolling hills, and there were more dogs to deal with. We filled our water bottles at a water fountain outside a school in Ozora. Josh and John passed us on the road. The terrain became flat land and corn fields as we entered the flood plain of the Mississippi. We could see the bridge over the Mississippi, but it seemed to take forever to get to it. It was a 2-lane bridge with no shoulder, so we had to ride in the car lane and cross as quickly as we could. Crossing the Mississippi was an exciting and significant milestone – we had arrived in Illinois. 

There was a small park near the bridge with a statue of Popeye (the creator of Popeye was from Chester, Illinois). We checked into the Hi-3 Motel, but the proprietor still had to clean the room, so we ate at a restaurant next door. After we got settled in our room, Lenny made some phone calls and went to the grocery store. Lorraine became engrossed in watching “Anne of Green Gables...the Sequel” on TV. Later, we had take-out Pizza Hut for dinner.

Eminence, Missouri to Pilot Knob, Missouri -- 70 miles

We woke at 4:45 am and began biking at 5:30 am, in the dark. We walked our bikes out to the road because Lorraine didn’t want to fall on the campground’s 1/2 mile gravel driveway. The hills were long and very steep (like a serious roller coaster) for about 20 miles. At 6:30 am, we were dripping with sweat and, if we stopped to rest for a few seconds, the flies and gnats swarmed us. Lenny thought to himself that we would never make it through the day if the terrain stayed like this. On one multi-level hill, when we paused to catch a breath, already soaked in sweat, a bus full of rafters came by and emptied the remainder of their soda water on us. We don’t think it was meant to cool us off! We stopped at a service station in Ellington to get orange juice and fill our water bottles. We spoke to Cecil Bounds, who said he is a big supporter of chiropractic. We gave him some information on vertebral subluxation and took his photo. 

Jason, from the Adventure Cycling group, caught up with us in Centerville. He had splurged on a motel room the night before, in order to get a good night’s sleep – and it must have helped because he had left an hour later than us. The hills were still fairly steep but nothing like the area around Eminence. We ate our PB&J sandwiches by the side of the road. We stopped at Cody’s Country Store to fill our water bottles and chatted with the folks there. When the owner found out about the soda incident, he said, “That is an embarrassment, I am going to write to the tourist board and the governor about this.” The woman in the house across the street called to us, “Be careful! They drive like maniacs on this road!” Lorraine was concerned when we saw 2 houses with Confederate flags flying outside. It was not a welcoming feeling for a couple of Yankees. 

We arrived in town at 2 pm – the first motel we checked was full, but they sent us over to the Shepherd Mountain Inn. Lenny was tired and cranky, and became more cranky because the air-conditioning in the room wasn’t cold enough. We bought groceries, then went to the Fort Davidson Historic Site, a Union fort from the Civil War. Phyllis and Josh gave us a tour. Phyllis had created a non-profit organization to help support the fort and its interpretation. They told us that 12,000 Confederate soldiers were sent to take the fort from 1,000 Union troops stationed there to protect the lead mines and the railroad that supplied the Union cause. General Sterling of the Confederate army ignored advice from more experienced generals about taking the fort by pounding it with artillery. Instead, they sent infantry and the cannons mowed down the Confederate soldiers like sheaves of wheat. 1,200 Confederates were lost to 200 Union troops. The Confederates were preparing for an artillery attack in the morning. Unknown to them, however, the Union army put rags on the wheels of the cannons and slipped out in the night. The cavalry blew up the ammunition as they left, which created a huge crater in the center of the fort. The Confederates, assuming there was an accident, did not check on the fort until the next morning when the troops were long gone. 

We had a mediocre dinner at the Fort Davidson Restaurant. Lenny was agitated because the waitress forgot about our salads, and brought them with the meal. She continued to provide bad service. Lorraine’s meal did not fill her up, so she ordered an appetizer for more food. We went back to the room and learned how to make mortadella from the Food TV channel.

Houston, Missouri, to Eminence, Missouri -- 41 miles

We woke at 6 am and began biking at 6:30 am. We thought it might be cooler, but things heated up real quick. In Eunice, we stopped at the post office to fill our water bottles. Adventure Cycling members John from New Jersey and John from New Zealand passed us. A pick-up truck with a horse trailer sprayed us with water from the cab window as it passed by. We heard that there was a big horse riding event and some of these people get real rowdy.

John and John had stopped at a mini-mart for snacks and drinks – they caught up to us again and we all rode to Alley Spring. Alley Spring is a natural spring that pumps more than 80 million gallons of water every day. The clear, turquoise blue water reminded Lenny of the Cenotes we saw in the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico. The air was 10 degrees cooler by the spring, and the water itself must have been about 45 degrees! In the old mill building, 

Lenny chatted at length with Floria Jones, a national park ranger. We had much in common and talked for what must have been over an hour. We saw John and Briar Gregory from New Zealand, who Lenny had met two days earlier – Lorraine had not met them yet. 

At 1:30 pm, we continued biking another 5 miles to Eminence. The terrain was very hilly, and it was getting hot. We checked at 3 different motels, but they all had no vacancy. We decided to eat at a local cafe and the waitress, Annette Nichols, made phone calls to help us find a motel. We stayed at Harvey’s Campground, in a comfortable air-conditioned room.

Marshfield, Missouri, to Houston, Missouri -- 66 miles

We woke at 6 am, and started packing our stuff. At around 6:30 am, we heard, “Knock, knock! I guess I got here just in time!” Tammy brought us a tray with coffee, juice, muffins and danishes for breakfast! Lenny was so touched, he looked like he was about to cry. We thanked Tammy again, and said our goodbyes.

We started biking at 7:30 am – more hills and humidity. Lenny stopped to take pictures and met a couple from New Zealand who are biking from Vancouver to Maine. In the town of Duncan, Lenny saw two Amish girls doing chores in the backyard and heard them singing. We saw, on the mailbox, that their last name was Schwartz, and we believe they were relatives of Amos and Petie. Three dogs started chasing Lorraine’s bike – a car came by, which distracted them, but then one came back to chase Lenny. Because he had seen what was happening to Lorraine, he was prepared. He took the pepper spray in his left hand, turned toward the dog, and sprayed him in the face with the orange fluid. The dog looked dazed, then stopped and headed back home as he was pawing at his nose.

We stopped to rest in the shade for a minute, and spoke to Roy Rodgers(!). He was originally from Texas, lived in Brooklyn with his first wife until she passed away, and has since retired to Missouri. We stopped at the supermarket in Hartville to fill our water bottles. At 12:30 pm, we were getting really hot and thirsty, so we stopped at a service station in Bendavis. We had sodas and pizza to refuel. We spoke to a couple farmers about our trip – one said to Lorraine, “I’d make it about 20 miles before I started screaming ‘Come get me, momma, I’m ready to go home!’”

Lenny met Theresa Haskew, who worked the counter in the store, and told her about vertebral subluxation. She mentioned that she has carpal tunnel syndrome and had surgery, but still gets pain and weakness in her wrists. He checked her spine and told her that she had a number of vertebral subluxations – he recommended Dr. Horton to her. We also met the owner of the cafe, Gary Welch, and his son, Derek. Gary asked if Lenny could adjust him but Lenny recommended that he get a proper evaluation from Dr. Horton and we gave him the phone number. We continued another 18 miles to Houston, where we ran into Scott from Adventure Cycling. He encountered one of the same aggressive dogs that we did, and said that blowing a whistle seems to startle them. We checked into the Houston Motel, and ate at the diner next door. For $2, the motel owner did our laundry too!

Walnut Grove, Missouri, to Marshfield, Missouri -- 39 miles

We got up at 5 am. Lorraine’s last request was to have Becky’s awesome carrot cake for breakfast! The Hortons drove us back to the route in Walnut Grove, about 15 miles away (We missed the section of the route between Everton and Walnut Grove). We said goodbye and took pictures when they dropped us off. The family followed us for 12 miles as we chugged up and down the hills. We passed Pat’s house (Becky’s sister) – she had put a sign on her mailbox that said, “Happy Trails Lenny & Lorraine! Keep on pedaling!” The Hortons turned onto the highway back to Springfield, and we waved goodbye.

As we continued biking, three dogs ran out into the road, barking and racing alongside of us. One dog, a boxer, grabbed onto Lenny’s rear pannier cover with his teeth so Lenny ended up dragging him for about six feet. We found out he did the same thing to another biker. Lorraine got scared, but the dogs seemed to lose interest and allowed her to pass. We stopped to pet some friendly donkeys – they loved it and were jockeying for attention. 

As we rode by a building under construction, an older man called out to us to come by and visit with them. There were two other Amish men who were building a garage. The older gentleman’s name was Bill Burrell from Springfield; he was their driver. The two Amish gentlemen were named Amos Burkholder and Petie Schwartz, both of Seymour, Missouri. They asked about our trip and we gave them brochures. Bill said he admired us for undertaking this journey and cause. Amos told us that he learned how to check and adjust spines from a chiropractor and provided basic care to his people. He said that if he has a difficult case, he refers it out to a chiropractor. They all had heard of Dr. Horton, and Petie’s brother, Sammy Schwartz, sees Dr. Horton. Amos asked how our trip was going, and we said it has had its ups and downs. He commented, “It’s the hard times that make for memorable experiences.” We agreed. We had them write down their names and addresses, and we took a photograph of Bill. 

We stopped at another home to fill up our water bottles. When we got to the town of Marshfield, we were planning on continuing another 26 miles to Hartville. There was only one place to stay there, so we called ahead to check on the accommodations. The number we had was disconnected, so we decided to stay in Marshfield. We checked into the Plaza Motel and took showers and got comfortable. The people in the room next to us were making a racket, screaming and body-slamming against the wall, so we called the front desk to complain. The woman said she would take care of it, but the noise continued. We asked to be put in another room and the woman said she would not do that – the best she could do is give us a refund. We decided to take her up on that offer and left. 

The other hotel in town was closed, so we went to an RV park that had tent camping. Lenny told the manager, Tammy Hughes, about our journey and our cause – she looked stunned. She said, “I believe I have one of those vertebral subluxations. I am getting liver and kidney failure, and I cannot even pick up my grandson.” She asked who corrects this problem and Lenny told her that only chiropractors are trained to correct vertebral subluxations. He gave her Dr. Horton’s name and number, as well as our website address. She said, “I don’t know if you believe in God but I believe he sent you to me.” 

It was so hot and humid, we were dripping in sweat when we were getting ready for bed. Lorraine opted to sleep in the laundry/bathroom since it was air-conditioned and was used by only us (as far as we knew) since we were the only tent campers. When Lorraine was sitting on the floor, reading, Tammy came in to clean the bathroom and Lorraine told her that she was not used to sleeping in this humidity. Tammy said she had a treat for us - she had an empty mobile home that was air-conditioned - we could have private bathrooms and sleep on the floor. We packed up our stuff and brought it inside, and it was wonderful – we couldn’t thank Tammy enough!