Shortly after dark a couple in a large fifth wheel trailer pulled into camp, our only neighbors for the night.
Around midnight we were awakened by the sounds of three or four teenaged boys, probably drunk, definitely loud, playing on the swings.
About the time they finally quieted down, the automatic lawn sprinklers came on, spraying one side of our tent and telling us definitely that we were not in the designated tent camping area and we were not going to get away with it.
Had we pitched the tent just five feet farther over, just where we had locked up our bikes, the sprinklers would have missed us. We waited between passes of the sprinkler and moved the tent and all of our gear into an officially sanctioned place.
Some time before dawn our neighbors in the trailer left. Loudly.
It was not the restful night I had hoped for.
Yes, I just ended that sentence with a preposition. I didn't sleep well last night. Sue me.
Before we left Aberdeen this morning we tried several stores looking for gas canisters for BJ's stove. We finally found them at, believe it or not...
Wal-Mart.
Immediately east of Aberdeen, we encountered a 9-mile long construction zone. Route 12 skinnied down from 4 lanes with a median and wide shoulders to 2 lanes of "head to head" traffic (meaning no median). But we still had our wide shoulder. So we were happy.
We stopped for lunch at Groton and 10 miles later at Andover (population 99) for a potty break.
BJ took off his tights outside the Andover Bar and Grill while I went inside. The place was neither clean nor well-lighted but it did have cold Gatorade and a men's room. I bought two Gatorades, sipped on one of them and set the other on the bar for BJ.
The bartender, a large man with a gravel voice, was the only person in the place.
"Where you heading?" he growled.
"Illinois eventually. Webster for the night."
"All uphill to there."
"I didn't want to hear that," I sighed.
He laughed.
I was in the men's room when BJ came into the bar. He was followed by another patron who greeted the bartender by asking, "Think this is all the walk-ins you'll get today?"
The bartender opined that there might be one or two more before closing.
Closing is at 2:00 a.m.
The bartender did not lie. We climbed all the way to Webster. The cold northeast wind sometimes opposed but never favored us.
We slogged along observing the signs of drought. Creek beds were desiccated, small ponds dry, and larger ponds receded far from their parched banks.
Still there was some water and we saw plenty of waterfowl. I recognized loons, egrets, and herons. There were many ducks that I couldn't identify. And is possible that I saw anhingas?
Webster has a free overnight camping area but our investigations showed that it has no restrooms. We rode up to City Hall and got permission to camp in the city park instead. Earlier a work crew was busy digging a new civic swimming pool. They have all gone home now and the park, though brightly lit, is fairly quiet.
We rode 55 miles today. Trip total: 1714.
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| The Waldorf in Andover |
My guess is the bird you though was an anhinga was a double-crested cormorant. I enjoy watching them pose with their wings spread to dry them after diving for fish.
ReplyDeleteThanks for traveling through our part of the country!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Heidi. It was truly my pleasure to travel through your part of the country. We came through South Dakota at just the right time of year. The migrating water birds were glorious. I found myself wishing that I had brought a bird identification guide along, but...well...every ounce counts!