Carbondale to Chester, IL 57 miles

Breakfast conversation: if Bill can arrange for us to drive a combine when we get to Kansas? We would have to start in middle of field and Bill would have to check the insurance policies. He said he could see it now: we would be combining hedgerows and forever people would recount the day we used the baler on Mrs. Smith's boxwood hedge. He laughs because he says I call everything a combine.
We decided on the levee
alternate route: shorter, flatter, no services for over 50 miles. We ate the extra food given by Carl the previous day and carried along by Janelle and Ted.
Fortunately, there was extensive cloud coverage, mitigating the heat. We got a first glimpse of the Mississippi. Recent flooding




of the Mississippi is still apparent, causing problems with farming the fertile "bottom lands".



The last 5 miles before Chester were very hilly.




Chester itself is a cute little town We started by gorging ourselves with cold drinks. Then, with help we located the Royal Order of the Eagles. They host cyclists in a building with 9 built in bunks.



Showers, food and drinks rounded out the options. We met David, who is going to Astoria, OR, but pacing himself and Mike showed up as well.
Bill and I went to get salads, of course, then visited the cemetary, a grocery and Mexican restaurant with Margeritas. We were too full to eat the dinner from the grocery.




I storm rolled in, but mostly bypassed us.



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