Day 4, the longest day…

We are up most mornings by 5:30am and in the car by 7:30am. Today was no different. We left Joplin, Missouri and headed East toward Rolla, Missouri.

Today was the first day that we really rallied. The last two days we were on the clock, but we were transiting in our timed sections. Those were tests to see how well the navigator could calibrate the speedometer, and the driver could hold speed.

Team work is always required, but today seemed like even more than usual. The navigator had many directions to follow and plenty of math to calculate, but the driver shared in the responsibility with undulating roads, twists, and turns, all while holding the prescribed speeds. The driving was a lot of fun today.

We had a quick lunch break in a town called Rolla, Missouri. The highlight from lunch was a sweet Golden Retriever named Auggie.

We drove through the hills of Central and Southern Missouri. Many of the roads are lined with large red rock walls with greenery growing out of the rocks. Everything is so green! Being from a metropolitan area with very little greenery, it makes you appreciate the beauty of the country side. The wild flowers are everywhere. Throughout Missouri we have seen orange day lilies everywhere.

We never know exactly where we are, but by reading town signs or highway signs we can figure out some of the areas we have been in. This morning I believe we were near Branson, but mostly we were in the hills around lakes, rivers and streams. The area was heavily wooded with a variety of trees.

We don’t have the opportunity to take many pictures in the middle of the day, but as we were driving in at the end of the day I took a few pictures of the country side.

When we pulled into Cape Girardeau, we had the biggest crowd we have seen yet. The side walks were sprinkled with people waving us into today’s finish, but when we arrived at the arch, the street was packed.

We finished the evening with dinner hosted by one of the local town restaurants. The restaurant is across the street from the Mississippi. We walked across the street after dinner and enjoyed the sights of the River.

We are ready to go again tomorrow!