“We travel not to escape life, but for life not to escape us.“
On Adrian’s Island, Jefferson City, MO, the pieces of the extra-large chessboard travel often, but not too far. There is no escape outside the square.
Biking buddy and I returned from a nine-day vacation to Missouri. Our intent was to bike six days on the Katy Trail, but it ended up being only four days and 82.5 miles. The best laid plans…
Actually, the heat prevented us from biking our expectations. The first day out, the heat (100F/38C) and a high dewpoint of 75% made it impossible to bike the afternoon. We also rode a part of the trail that was a gradual uphill on the way out, which is not the way to start a week of biking. Our sweat was sweating by the end of 14 miles. The following two days were cooler, especially in the morning, so better progress was made. On Tuesday we took a break to visit Clydesdale horses and on Wednesday, we called it our last hot day, spending the rest of the time discovering a coffee shop with yummy treats, talking to people we will never see again and touring Boonville, Rocheport, Jefferson City, and plenty of curvy, hilly roads.
Following is a gallery with a few photos from the week. During the non-biking time, we visited the Capitol and surrounding garden and monuments; Lake of the Ozarks State Park (no, I did not run into Jason Bateman); the Warm Springs Ranch in Boonville (turned down a free Bud); two microbreweries (meh); drove past a number of cool/beautiful churches; stood next to a huge 400 year old burr oak tree; found a walking trail or two (because biking wasn’t enough exercise); and watched as barges made their way down “The Big Muddy.” (The Missouri River is brown and muddy and has had major floods in 1881, 1943, 1952 (flood of record), 1967, 1978, and 1993). The locals talk a lot about the flood of 1993, with one man creating “Boathenge” along the Katy Trail with boats that met their demise during that flood.
Any questions?
Feel free to ask. I’m going to be on the run Wednesday morning and afternoon, but I will respond to your comments as soon as I’m able. And I will be around to visit your blogs by the end of the week.
If you’d like to see more photos from last week, check out my posts on Instagram or Facebook.
Happy Wednesday!
This post has been brought to you by travelling on vacation and Linda Hill’s One-Liner Wednesday. If you are wondering what One-Liner Wednesday is all about, CLICK HERE.
Linda G. Hill is the Queen of One-Liners and rules over her kingdom of followers. Check out today’s post and commit yourself to join the Queen’s one-liner army because there’s no fighting or blood, only comradery and fun with words.
Mary J Melange 
I am glad you had a good time, Mary. Your photos are beautiful. I can almost feel the anticipation when that flight arrived at your table. River, barge, bridge – I love them all. Welcome home. I hope Gibbs has forgiven you.
Thanks, Dan. We did have a good time. At times too hot, but still a good vacation. Memories!
The beer was just okay. Out of those six beers, we each only liked one, but you know we had to try them as quality control managers. 😉
Gibbs, as usual, yelled at me for two days and we had a rough first night because instead of sleeping, he wanted to head butt me for pets and skritches. I’m guessing he’ll do the same when I head to Colorado in October. Maybe he needs a little playmate…
Have a wonderful day, Dan, and glad you enjoyed going along on my trip.
A playmate? For Gibbs? Uh oh. Maybe it’s time he passes his wisdom onto a new generation.
Good job on the QC effort. I like that you take your work seriously.
A friend of mine has a connection to someone with kittens. She sent me a video. Resisting a mewing little body is tough…
I know. That’s how we got two sisters.
looks like a great city, and I love the quote
Thanks Beth! In both Boonville and Jefferson City, there were plenty of other activities and places to see when not biking. Oddly enough, one of the places I’ll remember most is the coffee shop in Jeff City as we met and talked with a local couple for some time while enjoying our sweet treats.
Lovely photos, Mary. I’ve never been to MO, so this was a treat. I’ll bet your sweat was sweating. That hot streak we had a few weeks ago was hellish. Yeah, I wondered about Gibbs. Trip in October? Oh, Gibbs says head butts don’t begin to describe what you are in for.
Lol, yup, my sweat was sweating. When the heat index is 107F, it’s time to go to the A/C and breathe easy. As hot as it was, it’s even hotter there this week, with highs from 95 to 100F. Even walking around to see the sites would be too much.
Gibbs will be fine in October, but his mama may end up in the insane asylum. ;-p
Gorgeous photos, Mary. What beautiful scenery. You are inspiring!
Wow, Maggie, I never thought of myself as inspiring (thanks!), but I’m glad you enjoyed coming along on the trip through the photos. I have about 200 more of them to go through!
That looks like a wonderful trip! That is something I might have enjoyed…
It’s a pretty area and I think fall, when the weather is pleasant, would be a great time to visit.
Glad you had a good trip. We lived in MO for a couple of years and next to it for many more. Definitely lots to see, but that was some pretty hot weather you had.
According to the locals, Judy, that is hotter than normal weather. I could say we picked the wrong week, wrong time of year, but how else would I have stories to tell about sweating? 😉
Beautiful photographs and post, Mary! No doubt about it, you had a good time out there. I really enjoyed reading your story.
Thanks Herman! I’m glad you could come along for the ride in photos. 🙂
Thanks for sharing so I can virtually tag along. Looks like an awesome trip!!
You’re welcome, Jill. It was a very good adventure!
Thanks for capturing these moments and sharing them with us! The skies are so blue!
Blue skies meant no rain during the week and that was good for biking and being a tourist.
I just can’t imagine any exercise in that kind of heat! Glad you were able to stay hydrated and avoid sunburn and heat stroke! I was very curious about “boathenge” and so happy you included a photo!
We bike in 90F weather last year and learned the lesson of carrying Pedialyte along with plenty of water and wearing sunscreen. We also know when to quit and to get up early so that we’re done by noon or early afternoon. Lessons learned.
Glad you liked boathenge. It was oddly fun and the creator of this was near, so we were able to ask questions.
You chose the timeframe we went without air conditioning! I’m sorry Missouri turned into Misery for you. But your photos are wonderful and i hope you might try it again in the fall when the leaves are turning. Much more agreeable temps!
No worries, we did enjoy our time there and made some hot memories that we can laugh about now. I bet fall there is beautiful so perhaps one day we’ll be back to enjoy the color.
So many breat photos Mary. I seems like a great time. You have to watch that heat. It’ll ambush you. My problem here has been the rainy season. It’s unpredictable right now. I love the beer flight! 😋
My friend and I went biking again today in much nicer Wisconsin weather. The lower temps and humidity was wonderful!
👍🏻👍🏻
The sky is so blue. Thank you for sharing the photos.
You’re welcome!