Tuesday, October 15, 2019

Springfield, MO - Day 27

Our very sweet one-dog welcoming committee to Missouri
Misty and cool start to the day - sprinkles from time to time but we dodged the storms arriving about an hour before a line of thunderstorms. Small back roads today - very pretty - lots of cows and crops. We are definitely leaving the plains as the armadillo road kills are being replaced with possums and it's much more hilly - some very steep hills today especially as we came into Springfield. It's nice to see clear rivers flowing again - in OK all the water seemed muddy and still. The 112 miles today was our 10th century ride of the trip - tomorrow we have a 'break' with 91 miles but pretty hilly - after tomorrow 2/3 of our riding days are done!

Springfield, MO is the third largest city in MO (about 450,000 in the metro area), probably named after Springfield MA but unclear. It was the western-most city with telegraph for some time - so messages arrived on horseback and then could be telegraphed to NY. During the Civil War, Springfield was a divided city politically, but remained under Union control despite the Battle of Wilson's Creek and two battles in and around the city and was a significant Union supply depot and staging area. Also, Bass Pro Shops is headquartered here!
This should scare the cows for Halloween!

Never got a good longhorn picture in OK or TX so hey...




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