Day 36 Lawson MO to Basswood Inn and RV Resort

June 16, 2023

As soon as I left Lawson, the unrelenting hills startled again. In a way it makes the time pass faster except when the downhill doesn’t get you most of the way up the ensuing uphill and the grade kicks up significantly near the top. Many times today, I summited a hill, saw what was on the other side and said “oh my!” But then it would be completely doable. The worst is when you have a long, tough climb, no shoulder, and car(s) behind you. Today the drivers weren’t so bad but yesterday near Wood Heights there were several impatient drivers who made unwise decisions. There were a couple near misses with oncoming traffic approaching a crest of the hill.

I noticed the corn is now about five feet tall, not quite as high as an elephant’s eye. And I saw a whole field of bachelor buttons, er… I mean chicory.

At one point I needed a pit stop and just then saw a Senior Center. They were really nice and told me to come back some day.

I crested a hill and saw these horses which reminded me that it’s Irene’s birthday today.

Happy Birthday Irene! I wish you were here to share the joy and the misery.

I stopped in Paradise today. No forbidden apples but there was a cool convenience store at the gas station that had wooden floors and you could order food and eat in a booth. Or you could sit outside on Adirondack chairs.

Following Paradise and a short stint on a busy highway with no rideable shoulder ( a repeating theme in Missouri) the route went over two bridges on Smithville lake which is quite extensive. There are lots of bike trails but none that could be used to get me where I need to go.

View of one small section of Smithville Lake

I stopped at a Clay County dog park and trailhead to use the restroom and was very impressed with this water fountain:

After more and more hills, I arrived at the Basswood Resort which is right on the route. They have tent camping here but the access I see is by an uphill coarse gravel road. Not what you want to see after riding hills all day.

Peter cooked a magnificent dinner. Henry’s happy. Life is good.

Today's ride: 40 miles (64 km)
Total: 1,374 miles (2,211 km)

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