UNDATED
As I recall, I headed north and east from Red Rock Canyon to Winfield, Kansas, home of my friend, Susan R., and birthplace of Dawn Wells, who played Marianne on Gilligan’s Island.
I got to see her, Susan, that is, for a little bit, stopping in to catch her at the Winfield High School and then running around with her in the afternoon. I rode from there to Coffeyville, where I got a hotel room again. Next day, I headed due east across southern Kansas.
My goal was to go all the way to Branson and do a 150-mile day. I had been observing the weather and knew I would have wind behind me. I also thought I would have a flatter road than I did, but nonetheless, I flew across the countryside, getting to Carthage for lunch. I was hoping I would bump into Allison P. or Sarah P. No luck.
By late afternoon, I was into the hills of the Ozarks again, trying to make Reed Springs by nighttime. No luck. I ended up pitching the tent in a desolate stretch of woods along a creek. It was a good spot. The trees, the night birds, the smell of river, the sound of water.
I selpt cold, but well.
Next day, the roads were busy with traffic to Branson and Silver Dollar City and Table Rock Lake, but somehow I made it back to Kamp for another summer in paradise.
