It was supposed to start raining about 3:00am but waited until 5:00am. The rain was supposed to last until mid morning and, with the inside heated kitchen,  many of the riders delayed their start. I got going at 8:00am and by about 9:00am the rain had stopped.,

Passed these guys who looked like they were milling cabin logs . . .

. . . then came upon this nursery that had their arborvitae stock layed out by the year it would be for sale. 2041 was yet to be planted!!!

Lots of Christmas tree farms along the way too . . . very nicely pruned.

I felt I might be related to this guy!!!!

Had to stop and visit with some of the locals . . . very friendly and curious

. . . as were some of the others just down the road.

The Oakville Fire Department had their own submarine. The lettering on the front said ‘Launched 2016’!!!

I stopped into Willie’s Sports Shop, located in Centralia, to buy some chain lube and had a nice discussion with Willie and his Sales Manager, Madison. Ends up Willie played minor league baseball for the Cedar Rapids Rockets and his team frequently came to play the Madison Muskies. Small World!!!

On the outskirts of town was this VERY secure prison. Interestingly, it had no name and was only a block or two from a school!!!

One of the first roadside auto death memorials I’ve seen on this trip . . . Jesse James must have been very popular  . . .

. . . because on the other side of the street was another memorial for him!!!

This guy had a memorial built around the flag you can see in his front yard.

It was a 60 mile day and we had only climbed 350 feet of the 1,500 feet we needed to climb. This is where the rest of it  started . . .

. . . fall colors are starting to show up in them there hills . . .

. . . and of course what goes up must come down . . . yippee. Hold on!!!!

We are staying at a conference center located on the grounds of the Lewis and Clark State Park, but first I had to get by Randy, the flagman. He said they have been busy building roads all summer but as Fall approaches, things were slowing down.

Connie was happy to be home for the night . . .

. . .  and there is plenty of room for her and the other steeds  inside with us.

I got into camp about 10 minutes after the van arrived and here was Ryan going through our rental agreement particulars with Ranger Emily . . .

. . . while Oliver readied the FULLY EQUIPPED kitchen.

The main house . . .

. . . and the lounge. There was a joint bathroom with four stalls and two showers.

There also were two single rooms, one at each end of the house. One had its own bathroom and shower. We decided on a lottery system for the bedrooms and Pam drew the lucky winners. Glen won the bedroom without the private bath and shower . . . and guess who won the other???? Yours truly!!! I’ll sleep good tonight, no earplugs needed!!!

The kitchen crew in action . . .

. . . chefs Denise and Gina whipped up  a great apple raisin salad and black bean and sweet potato soup. YUM!!!!

. . . it was still warm enough that most of us ate dinner outside!!!

. . . home sweet home!!!