October 10, 2020
Skipping Rocks into Kentucky
Day 10: Sat 0ct 10, 2020
Young's Creek Campground to Tell City, IN
Distance: 68 miles
Weather: 62 in am, 73 in afternoon
I broke camp and was on the road by 9 am. The plan today was to ride to hemlock cliffs roughly 28 miles away and camp. Oh, the best laid plans of mice and men...
Unfortunately, road construction foiled my plans and sent me on a detour where by the time I linked back up with the road I needed to be on I was way beyond the turnoff. Not a big deal if I were driving but on a bike with 40 lbs I wasn't going to add 8 miles just to backtrack. So, I kept pedallin'.
Most of the way today I rode Indiana 37 which is a well maintained, wide shoulder, gently graded, and just generally an excellent road for bike touring. The colorful fall foliage has really startes coming out.
Having rerouted my plans due to the road construction I went to the southern part of Hoosier called Saddle Lake Recreation Area.
They seem to want 5 dollars from me to camp here but they dont have an attendant to make change nor do they have any way of accepting a card. Therefore I have not paid and am not staying here because of threats from a sign that speaks of 'prosecution' over 5 bucks which mind you taxes have already been allocated to pay the forest service not to squabble over 5 dollars that they make decidedly inconvenient to pay.
As a side note, generally speaking national forests are my favorite place to be in a country that is bent on the privatization of land and charging money to walk, frolick, camp, or shit on. It's as if I were born on another planet and have no inalienable right to do as I please on said land. That unfortunately is America. No matter where I go, I'm a stranger on a strange land that does not belong to me nor can I step foot upon it unless of course I hand someone money then all that changes for 12 hours until my stay is up. Hoosier while beautiful and a National Forest, has had more pay areas than any other national forest I've ever set foot upon.
So, on I went. Some 68 miles from Young's Creek I arrived at Tell City, In. Tell City, the best I can 'tell' is a quaint tourist town on the banks of the large and largely polluted Ohio River. I remember the hickory nut guy at Youngs Creek telling me I could camp down by the river. And after confirming with a gas station attendant, here I am. And I must say it is absolutely beautiful. I feel a bit like Huck Finn tonight. Physically I feel great. And mentally I'm pleased both by the beauty of my campsite and that I am literally a rock skip away from Kentucky.
Today's ride: 68 miles (109 km)
Total: 511 miles (822 km)
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