Not a Typical Tuesday...

Yeah, today was not the every day kind of Tuesday.

On the way home from our Memorial Day celebration (which was about 75 miles from home), we got a message from our host family that one of our friends had left their sunglasses, cell phone and credit cards.
By the time we received the voice mail (most of the drive is in a cellular black hole) we were well on our way home. The friend said she would just make the drive back on Tuesday, as it was already going to be a long day and some people had to go to work today.

I figured that I'm always up for a nice ride (and the route there is a hilly, curvy two lane for the entire 75 miles) and could make the trip to Dora, MO on my motorcycle. I mean, what else does a retired guy have to do?

But ...
(Why does there always have to be a "but" ?)
when Chris was ready to leave for work, she woke me up and said that one of the cats seemed to be sick and I needed to get her to the vet.
Well...
the vet is booked all day long but said that I could walk-in and they would try to fit her in. I asked if I could drop her off and they could have her all day and see her when ever they could and then call me. I did explain that I would me unreachable for several hours, but would call back as soon as I got the message.

So, I loaded the cat into the carrier and drove her to the vet. (I have to admit that I considered strapping the carrier to the motorcycle, since the vet's office is on the way out of town. But I decided the cat would be better off traveling in the car). Then I returned home, did a quick inspection of the bike, made sure I had my rain gear and started my journey.

I did consider turning back when it started to sprinkle just 10 miles into my ride. The clouds looked like they could rain at anytime, even though the forecast was that they would break up. Skies to the east of me (the direction I was riding) were dark, but to the south and west appeared to be clearing. At least they were a higher overcast layer. The sprinkles only lasted a short time and I made it to the halfway point on dry roads and and in good time.

For the second half of the outbound trip I was on slightly wet to very wet roads the whole way. Wet asphalt, hilly, curvy roads and a motorcycle are not the best combination! Needless to say, I rode considerably more slowly for that part of my ride. The last mile was a dirt and gravel road which translates to mud and gravel after a rain. I must have been just behind the rain as it was pretty slick and muddy!

I made my pick up and the sun was breaking through. It looked like the rest of the day was going to be great for a ride. I decided that I didn't want to simply backtrack and went east a few miles to a place called Twin Bridges on the north fork of the White River.

 It is a camp ground with canoe/kayak rentals.
The restaurant was closed, but I went into the convenience store, bought a soda and candy bar, and inquired about the rentals, put in spots and put out spots. They had several float trips available from 5 to 15 miles. Might be a future day trip or overnight camping trip.
Here are a few pics at Twin Bridges.

From there, I headed north on MO Hwy 181. It cuts through a portion of the Mark Twain National Forest and meets Hwy 60 at Cabool, MO. Most of the ride home was on relatively straight concrete two lane highway or divided four lane. Although there were some grand vistas along Hwy 181, I didn't stop to take any pics. I stopped at Uncle Roosters in Seymour (yeah, it's becoming a regular place) and thought I'd try something new for lunch -- a deep fried hamburger!
A lightly breaded and deep fried hamburger patty, pepper jack cheese, lettuce, tomato, pickles, onions, and a spicy bbq sauce -- not bad!
Truthfully, I probably won't order it again because there are other better choices, but it was a very good cheeseburger!

I dropped off the cell phone and stuff at our friend's and then stopped to fill up at 180+ miles. There was a voice mail from the vet's office and they are going to keep Groucho overnight. I made it home at just under 190 miles for the day and with a motorcycle that is in need of a bath!

All-in-all, a pretty good Tuesday!

I hope yours was also a good one!

John <><