We had an EARLY start this morning; we were on the road by 6:45 am! The sun had not even come up, but when it did, it glowed red from the haze in the air. Our route had us skirting the edges of Lincoln then heading east to Nebraska City before turning south. Again, we were on the smaller highways so it takes longer but is more enjoyable!
We met one of my childhood friends, Shawn, at Rosedale Park in Kansas City, Kansas where we had a fantastic lunch with takeout from Joe’s KC BBQ. The food was amazing – ribs and brisket with a side of French fries. There was so much food we didn’t even open the pulled pork! Leftovers are always good!
We had so much fun reminiscing about growing up together in Iowa, camping trips together, and the trouble we had with older brothers, as well as sharing stories about our grandkids! The time flew by (where did the more than two hours go???) and we hated saying goodbye but we needed to get back on the road.
We had a gas and grocery stop and finally made it to the Pleasant Hill City Lake park and campground. Phil and Marcia were here already and we are parked next to each other. The campsites are $17 per night with electricity, so not bad.
What a busy park this is, too! There was a middle/high school cross country meet going on until well after 6pm. Tobey and Phil took a walk down by the lake and Penny took advantage of her location and went swimming! Later this evening, a group of men arrived for a horseshoe tournament just across from us. It sounded like some pretty fierce competition going on, but they were finished by 8:30 and it has been very quiet since.
Tomorrow starts the bike ride for Tobey and Phil on the Katy Trail. The Katy Trail is built on the corridor of the former Missouri-Kansas-Texas (MKT) Railroad, better known as KATY. The railroad ceased operations in 1986 and the Missouri parks system acquired the railroad right-of-way and it has been converted into a recreational trail. Much of the right-of-way was secured through a large financial donation by the late Edward “Ted” Jones and his wife, Pat. (son of Edward Jones, founder of Edward Jones Financial in St. Louis) At 240 miles, the Katy Trail is the longest continuous hiking and biking trail in the country and it is still growing!
The trail goes through many small rural towns that once thrived along the railroad corridor. We spoke to one of the Pleasant Hill coaches who has lived in this area all his life and he said the trail has sparked and enlivened many of these communities.
So tonight we will relax and rest before the guys start their first section of the ride.
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