Day 84

Under a bridge
I didn't drown! The rain stopped soon after I set up my tent, although I think it sprinkled a few more times throughout the night. The water level of the stream was actually lower in the morning than it was the night before. I had to kill a couple tiny spiders that found their way in or on my tent. I crossed back over the stream and was soon on the road again. Right after the bridge was a gas station- I stocked up. It wasn't too hot yet, but I got an icecream bar anyways. It was amazing. I passed through a town and started going north. I tried to enjoy the wonderful shoulders as much as I could, but soon I crossed over into Alabama and that was the end of them. The roads weren't that great either- bumpy. And I had to take a bunch of turns. Finally I got into Dothan, a huge city. Google wanted me to ride on the freeway- yeah no. I found side roads. I looked for postcards along the way. I went into the Flying J and got really excited when I saw the suvineers section. And postcards! Except.... They were all hillbilly post cards. No state on them, except made in Arkansas. Crap. I even asked an employee- that's all they had. I had to continue searching. A few gas stations, a pharmacy. Then I found a museum, but it was locked. I turned away and the door opened.
"Hello."
"Hi, is this a museum?"
"Yes, it's black history museum, would you like to look around?"
"Do you have post cards?"
He went back and checked- nope.
"Do you know anywhere that might have post cards around here?"
Without hesitation, he directed me to another museum just a few blocks away. I walked in and saw that they had a few- no Alabama ones but at least it said Alabama on the back. But then the museum host looked in her desk for more and pulled out one with a bicycle on it. Perfect! Of course she insisted that I have a look around. There were many neat things: big hanging wire structures that cast cool looking shadows on the wall, a life sized pony pulling a cart, sketches with chaotic lines. I looked around probably longer than I should have. I thanked the host and headed out. It wasn't too bad getting through the rest of the city. I did get blocked off by a train once though. It was stopped, so I just went to the next street down and crossed. Eventually Google wanted me to ride on the freeway again for a long distance, but I found a way around it that was only a mile or two extra. I got into a town that had a bike lane- yay! But what made me the most happy was the center line. Basically all the roads I have seen so far have a tiny center line. I don't understand how people can think it is safe to have just 6 inches of space between two cars going in opposite directions. Anyways, I passed through several tiny towns. I found a spot that I couldn't see from the road. I had to push my bike really hard to get it up the steep bank. I set up my tent as dogs barked nearby. I don't usually like being so close to dogs, but it was getting dark and this seemed like a good spot. A car or two passed by and I realized I wasn't quite as hidden as of like to be but I always like a bit of encouragement to wake up early. I had been through several small towns after getting the post card, but unfortunately I hadn't seen any post offices or blue boxes. I only have one more town to pass through before getting to Georgia. Hopefully it has one. The coyotes sound literally insane here. At least I know I'm not what the dogs are barking at.