Day 17- April 28 - Reelfoot Lake State Park, TN to Cairo, IL - Crossing the T.....Part One

April 28, 2024

Day 17- April 28 - Reelfoot Lake State Park, TN to Cairo, IL

The Long Way Around

Ed’s Story

Well the day started out well. Had a good nights sleep and was on the road by 7:30. We checked weather updates; emails; and texts at the fishing lodge before we headed out.

A straight edged tree - trimmed to keep the branches away from the power lines.

Soon we were back on the road only a few miles from Kentucky. We soon reached the state line, or did we?

We got to the state line but someone stole the sign. You could tell we were in Kentucky because the road material and quality changed.

With the waving wheat, I thought we might be in Oklahoma.

We had a great tail wind but when we turned southeast to head for Hickman KY and the ferry to Missouri, we felt the wind’s ferocity. When we got to Hickman, we looked for a coffee shop John thought he found before we went to the ferry but it didn’t exist.

When we got to the ferry landing, the ferry was docked, but there was no one on it. A man who was cutting grass at the business next to the ferry, he told us the ferry was closed. We said $@#%# you’ve got to be kidding. He indicated that sometimes they just close for the heck of it. It was pretty windy. I heard also they close if the winds are high.

We were lucky the man and the ferry were there. Otherwise we could’ve waited over an hour before we decided what to do. John thought we might have to return to Memphis and cross there, but my sleuth searching found a bridge at Cairo we could cross. It was only 48 more miles.

We headed east climbing over the river bluffs. We went downhill again and were relatively flat for most of the ride.

A stately mansion on the hilltop east of Hickman.

We continued riding navigating as needed until we got to Clinton KY. We stopped for lunch and a small resupply. We then headed north on US 51. In Tennessee US 51 was a nice four-lane divided highway with a great shoulder. Here it was a two-lane road with no shoulder. The drivers were still friendly enough to give us a wide berth when they passed. The tailwind definitely helped.

When we got to Bardwell, we bought groceries to eat in the room in Cairo for the next two days where we’re holing up. We continued on.

The Cross at the Confluence (of the Ohio and Mississippi rivers)

It lasted for a year, and then took 70 years before they reestablished it.

We passed through Wickliffe after visiting the cross and stopped at a convenience store to buy some adult beverages for the night. We were told no beer in that town. We kept on riding with the Cairo Ohio River Bridge swiftly approaching. From what we read, we were concerned about crossing this bridge due to its being narrow. When we started up an RV pulled behind us and stayed there the entire way not letting anyone pass.

We finally arrived in Cairo (or as we found out later it is pronounced Karo like the syrup). We looked at another store for adult beverages but found none. John was told of the nearby liquor store where we went to buy our beers.

Not sure if they’re ever planning to build here because there isn’t anything there. I guess it’s back to the future.

We arrived at the motel after riding 74 miles vice the originally planned 48 miles. You know what they say, if you want to make God laugh, just tell him your plans for the day.

Our planned ride was 48 miles to Charleston, MO.

Tomorrow is a rest day here in Cairo due to the impending storms. We head to Cape Girardeau just 36 miles away on Tuesday.

Until then, happy biking!

John’s Story

I did a little wandering around after we got camp set up last night. The lady at the campsite next to us said there used to be a hotel and restaurant at this location, where politicians and bigwigs gather to conduct their…ahem…affairs. It burned and was then demolished, leaving only a quiet campground here with the remains of tennis courts, swimming pool, maybe even a helipad.

I found what was left of the Air Park Inn (so called because an airstrip was built to service it). It was apparently built on concrete pilings over a wetland adjacent to Reelfoot Lake.

We did raccoon hangs with our food bags last night. Better safe than sorry.

I found a token poison ivy plant at our campsite. The campground was remarkably free of it otherwise.

A little forest of shrooms near the poison ivy.

As Ed said, we found an inoperative ferry when we arrived at Hickman, Kentucky. I hastened to point out that this happenstance was not the fault of the route planner (me). The sign at the ferry landing said it operated every day of the year but Christmas Day.

I do admit that I was envisioning having to ride all the way back to Memphis to cross the Mississippi River. There’s only one bridge between Hickman, KY and Memphis, and that’s on I-155 west of Dyersburg, TN, which is theoretically rideable by cyclists, but I’m not sure I would want to do it. As it turned out we can up with a good plan that gave us our longest day of the trip so far on the way through western Kentucky to Cairo, IL.

We did see an actual Welcome to Kentucky sign. Unfortunately it was pointed in the wrong direction, welcoming passengers arriving from Missouri on the ferry.

Climbing out of the river bottom into the bluffs gave us the chance to walk our bikes up a hill with 17% grade. Not for the faint of heart.

Once we headed east we were buffeted by the crosswind/quartering headwind that should have been blowing us north all day. We eventually found it but had to suffer first. We were reminded of our Day from Hell last year when the demonic winds just about shut us down. In memory, I have written a short poem: “Walla Walla, Umatilla, Boola Boola, and Wallula.” For the story you have to go to Day 75 of our journal from last year’s transcontinental ride (www.cycleblaze.com/journals/togob).

Our detour took us onto the Kentucky section of the Great River Road.

I included very few flower pictures the last few days (because there weren’t any new or interesting ones), but today the drought was broken.

There was just the one flag in the flooded bar ditch. Looks like some sort of iris to me. I suspect pct it may have escaped from someone’s garden.

Looks like poison hemlock, the first we’ve seen on this trip.

OK, so this is in a flowerbed at home. For the second year in a row I’m missing the blooming of our championship prickly pear. In a couple weeks it will be gorgeous. My wife sent this picture to me.

I did a double take when I passed this mailbox, and had to go back for a closer look. It looked in passing like the gnarled wood had been carved into a wizard. It still does, but the carving was done by Mother Nature.

Gratuitous picture of many dump trucks for my grandson Johnny. Looks like that crane lined them up pretty neatly.

Taken from the Fort Jefferson Cross. In the left background is the Mississippi River. The bridge you see crossing the river between Illinois and Missouri is in the middle of a yearlong closure. The Ohio River is entering from the right.

Ballard County Courthouse in Wickliffe, KY.

We weren’t supposed to get to Illinois for a few more days, when we were to cross the Mississippi River from Cape Girardeau, MO, but here we are a few days early, after we crossed the Ohio River on its furthest downstream bridge. We’ll still get our chance, when we cross from Illinois to Cape Girardeau on Tuesday, and back to Illinois on Wednesday.

Ed wrote about the RV that followed us across the Ohio River bridge without passing us. Well, plenty of other vehicles passed us on that over-a-mile-long bridge before he came along. The crossing was something we were dreading all day. I don’t believe he was purposefully doing us a favor; he was just afraid to try to pass us, but we will grudgingly award Mr. RV the Accidental Road Angel Award.

“Let’s go to Cairo, IL for a good time” said no one ever. Cairo is a dying town that has a bad rep. It had its heyday during the era of the riverboats. Mark Twain would be sad to see what’s become of it.

By the way, I was pronouncing Cairo “kay’-row” all day, but Ed didn’t get the message until he was corrected by Judith, the 85-year old WarmShowers host we will stay with in Cape Girardeau in a couple days, when he called to tell her where we were and when we’d be arriving.

The Cairo Custom House, one of the few surviving U.S. custom houses, was built 150 years ago and served as the location for collecting tariffs on imports being traded along the Mississippi River.

Would they have collected a tariff on this import?

I suspect tomorrow’s journal will be short and boring, maybe a couple shots of the rain and storms outside the window. The important thing will be that we are inside and dry and not riding.

Today's ride: 74 miles (119 km)
Total: 880 miles (1,416 km)

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