30.1 miles today and 2625 overall
After the ball games were over and the overhead flood lights thankfully turned off and cool showers were taken we bedded down for the night at Marthasville Community Ballpark.
Eventually sleep settled in as the night slowly cooled. We got up early this morning but packed up in a leisurely way, knowing that we had a short day ahead. We continued with the Katy Trail along the north bank of the Missouri river, following cornfields, and obviously the old trail line. Occasionally we were up against the limestone cliffs that were at some point the ancient riverbank.
Our first stop was Washington, Missouri, on the south shore of the river.
We stopped in to see the Iron Spike Model Railroad Museum. It’s an impressive private museum filled with model railroad cars of all sizes and very large, detailed, and complex model train set ups. After the museum it was lunchtime. We hit the grocery store and made lunch down at the park along the river with a nice cool breeze. You can easily imagine a steamboat tied up at the docks. From there we headed back across the river, hit some gravel roads, and got back on the Katy Trail and headed toward Defiance. We were fortunate that cool shade continued to cover the trail with occasional open sunny stretches which reminded us how hot today was. Through either good fortune or excellent planning our campsite was across the trail from a micro brewery so we stopped in to checked out the local brews before setting up our tents. Tomorrow we head towards Saint Charles, Missouri.
News to me, we are in armadillo country. Unfortunately, the only ones we’ve seen have been animals that were killed along the side of the road. One of my goals either tonight or tomorrow night is to go armadillo hunting just to get a look. No armadillos will be harmed in this “hunt”. I’ll have to wait after sundown since armadillos are nocturnal.
I mentioned in an earlier post that Red Wing blackbirds were near constant companions. They faded away as the Katy Trail became predominantly surrounded by eastern hardwood forest. Our new companion has been less frequent but always appreciated bright red Cardinals.
Some pictures from the day
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