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!

Second rest day in Springfield, Missouri

We woke at 8 am and had homemade pancakes for breakfast. Lorraine played with the kittens and played Nintendo with Andy. Lenny made phone calls to arrange for more slide film to be sent to a campground in Berea, Kentucky. We went to pick up Lenny’s bike from the bike shop and had lunch at Burger King, then went to Andy’s for frozen custard. We went to the post office and Wal-Mart, then came home and went swimming. Later, we all went to Zio’s Italian Kitchen and had great pasta dishes for dinner. We packed our panniers to prepare for leaving tomorrow – we need to get back on the bikes to work off all this food!

Rest day in Springfield, Missouri

We woke at 7 am and had bagels for breakfast with Curtis, Becky and Andy. They were the ultimate hosts during our stay – we felt just like family! Lenny made phone calls to find a bike shop that could replace his tire rim, and then Becky drove us to Cycle Adventures to get the rim that Lenny wanted. They had to order it and have it shipped overnight so that they could do the repairs tomorrow. We went to Curtis’s office and he introduced us like celebrities! We met some of his Amish-Mennonite patients and chatted with them. We met Celesta and Chester Shrock and their daughters Treasure and Kristina. We also met Treasure’s daughter Charmin, who is just beginning to walk. Celesta asked us many questions about our ride and was a pleasure to speak with. Curtis checked and adjusted Lenny & Lorraine.

We all went to Steak & Shake for lunch, then Becky took us to Bass Pro Shops Outdoor World – Missouri’s biggest tourist attraction. We saw an 82-pound catfish and a 110-pound alligator snapping turtle in the aquarium. Andy kicked Lorraine’s butt at Nintendo, then Andy had a baseball game to play, but we stayed at home and took a nap. They came home to pick us up at 8:45 pm so we could go to Nakado for dinner. Nakado is a Japanese steak house, and Andy’s favorite restaurant. The chef cooked our food right in front of us! Lenny and Andy had a late-night swim in the pool.

Pittsburg, Kansas, to Everton, Missouri -- Biked 62 miles, drove 20 miles to Springfield

We woke at 5 am, and began biking at 5:50 am. We passed a buffalo farm and nearly caused a stampede as we rode by. Lorraine joked that we were “pedaling for pies” because we planned on stopping at Cooky’s Cafe in Golden City, Missouri – they are famous among bikers for having 20 different kinds of pies! We had 6 slices – one chocolate, one coconut cream, two strawberry, and two blackberry.

The hills became like a roller coaster ride – and we haven’t ridden hills at all since we left Colorado. In Everton, we stopped to get sodas and Lenny noticed that one of his spokes had pulled a round chunk of the rim out. The wheel was still true, but we were afraid that the rim might collapse if he rode on it.

A few days ago, we had arranged for Lenny’s colleague Curtis Horton and his wife Becky to pick us up in Walnut Grove. We called them and asked if they could pick us up here instead. Curtis and his son Andrew rescued us and our bikes. Andrew (who is 8 years old) gave us a $10 donation toward the scholarship fund. Curtis showed us where he grew up in Willard; we also rode past his office and then came to his home. He has a gorgeous new house on 10 acres of land. We met Becky’s sister Bonnie & her husband Gerald Burkhart, who live next door. We also met another sister Pat Hoppis, who lives near Walnut Grove. She is a mail carrier and has a jeep with the steering wheel on the right side of the car!

We got settled in, played with their pets, and went swimming just as it was starting to rain. We floated in the pool as the rain poured down, but got out when we heard thunder. Suddenly, the wind started blowing at about 60 mph; it was pushing the hanging ferns out sideways and moving Andrew’s swingset across the yard for about 2 minutes. We saw our photos on the website for the first time (we haven’t had access to the internet for awhile). Lenny played Nintendo, and Andrew kicked his butt! We had a delicious dinner of steak, corn, salad, wild rice casserole and the best carrot cake we’ve ever had.