Day 13 ending at Salem, IN

September 5, 2015

I hadn't set my alarm clock because I didn't want to wake up my nearby camping neighbors. At first I thought there was something wrong with my watch, since it read 6:40am! I'd slept well - it'd cooled down some overnight.

The bike tires were at 41psi this morning. Pumped them back up to 45psi. The bike's battery was at 12.9 volts, after its night on the AC charger.

Lots of people were visiting Marengo Cave this morning. I thought about taking a cave tour, but I'd been on one before during a family vacation years ago, and I was already getting a late start.

In consideration of the hilly area I'm in, and the knowledge I now have that 30 miles-a-day of these hills is about my limit, I'm modifying my route. The plan was Charlestown State Park campground for tonight, but now it's a Salem, Indiana motel I'm shooting for.

On the road heading east at 11:15am. I planned to stop for breakfast at the first place I saw, and that didn't take long. Stopped at 'The Place To Be' in Hogtown at 11:38am. The place was busy. I over-heard about farmers haying, both yesterday and today. The meal I chose from the menu was "Papa D's Breakfast". I also had coffee, orange juice, and pecan pie. Outside afterwards, I enjoyed seeing a 1965 Chevy C10 pickup truck. That's what my first truck was.

Sorry, I forgot about the noon mileage report today. It wouldn't have been much - just the distance between Marengo and Hogtown.

Back on IN-64, until I met up with IN-66 going north near Milltown at 12:55pm. At 2:32pm I was at the end of IN-66, which is where it meets US-150. This highway (US-150) goes through my hometown of Morton, Illinois. I won't ride on it outside the city there (no shoulder), but here I was on it now (same no-shoulder roadway). I didn't have to stay on it too long - just to Fredericksburg. I missed my turn there and had to go back some. This gave me the chance to get a picture of the Blue River.

I was on Becks Mill Road now (3:20pm). The hills were becoming a little less, but it was still hot. At 3:52pm, I stopped at Mount Carmel Cemetery for a break. Kris had provided me with a list of motels in Salem, and I decided to place a reservation with one of them. Called the Salem Motel and got set up for the night. I heard thunder just as I was ending the call. I hadn't expected any rain today, but it was now dark to the west. That got me going a little faster.

It'd turned cloudy, with a slight cooling breeze now and then. The rain didn't seem to be moving too fast my way. I might make it. Passed through Becks Mill at 4:43pm. It was a fast pass-through on the northside of town - quite a downhill over the creek. I was hearing more thunder now, but looking straight up I saw blue sky. As long as it stayed blue, I figured I had a chance.

Passed by a harvest operation. These guys were all business. I had to move fast to get a picture.

I took Orchard Road when I got to it. A straight road on the map, but full of ups-and-downs in reality. The end of that brought me to IN-56 at 5:28pm. Another almost no-shoulder highway! Made it over a bridge under repair and saw the motel sign ahead.

Arrived at the Salem Motel at 5:37pm. They had my room (#30) all ready - had even turned on the AC for me. They offer a laundry service here for $10.00. I didn't want them to have to deal with my smelly clothes, so I got detailed directions to the laundromat in town. Took a shower and gathered my dirty clothes. It now looked like rain. Maybe I will go ahead and use the motel's laundry service. That's what I did.

I called my wife and heard about home happenings. She said it sounded like I was doing OK, being that I was in a motel room and having my laundry done. I miss her.

There was quite a nice rainbow against the dark clouds to the east as I walked across the street to Casey's for supper items. It started raining on me on my walk back. The local weather report said there'd been spotty heavy rain in some areas. Looked like I would have been in the rain if I'd stayed with my original route today to Charlestown State Park.

Worked on report until 11:00pm, plugged in chargers, and got ready for a good night's sleep in this motel room bed.

Jeff

Spent: $14.31 plus $3 (breakfast) + $61.60 plus $5 (motel) + $10 plus $5 (laundry service) + $4.93 (supper items) = $103.84.

Day 13 - Marengo, IN to Salem, IN

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+ plus signs indicate pictures added after returning home from the trip +