Day 51

Park
I found an easier way out- I just had to walk my bike through the grass a bit. That would have been nice to know yesterday. Oh well. I found out that I had turned the wrong way, but I was quickly back on track. There was a water fountain, trash can and outhouse along the path- perfect. I wish all trails had these. I filled up with a lot of water, even though I knew I could get more later. It's hard to judge this. If you have enough for the whole day, you don't have to stop (except for food maybe or bathroom). But if you carry half that, you save about 5 pounds. I didn't care though, I'd rather be safe than sorry. I don't remember much from this day, but I did go across a 10 lane highway, which is always fun. I also got to pass over the giant Mississippi, for the first of several times, I'm sure. I remember seeing Mississippi River on my map and thinking, "Weird, why would they name two different rivers that?" (City names, street name and stuff like that have pretty much all been very unoriginal. Industrial and presidents, states and trees are all very popular) I guess I just didn't realize it started so far north. Near sunset, I arrived in a town. I hoped to make it out and find camp along a dirt road Google was pointing me to. It was rediculously steep to get there, but luckily that was paved. Once I got to the dirt part, I found out that the road was closed to through traffic. There was a big gate, making it impossible for cars to go through. My bike went around it quite easily. To go a different way would have been crazy- the dirt road wasn't very long. I'm sure they just didn't want a bunch of traffic going this way because it was shorter. There was a bunch of trees that would have worked, but it was near some crops, so I kept on going. The road connected with a paved one. I went for a ways and finally found a good spot. I checked on Google for nearby houses and there were none- although interestingly, it didn't show the road I was on either. Huh. It must have just been put in. Well, this was my only chance. I walked my bike into the trees. There was a fence, but it was far enough back that I was still hidden. I actually like fences- it's a little bit of extra protection against animals and it's very good evidence that you are not on private property. I set up my tent. It was on branches, so not the most comfortable place In the world, but I'm getting pretty used to that by now.