{"id":17417,"date":"2015-08-07T20:32:45","date_gmt":"2015-08-08T00:32:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/tourdebocrie.com\/?p=17417"},"modified":"2015-08-08T07:15:33","modified_gmt":"2015-08-08T11:15:33","slug":"day-28-friday-august-7-jefferson-to-ames-iowa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tourdebocrie.com\/?p=17417","title":{"rendered":"Day 28. Friday, August 7 – Jefferson to Ames, Iowa"},"content":{"rendered":"

The ghost ships sailed under cover of morn’ to pillage and plunder all that lay in their wake.<\/em><\/p>\n

\"DSCN6023\"<\/a>Not exactly, but it’s what it felt like when we left this morning in humidity \"DSCN6033\"<\/a>so thick you could see it (much less, slice it).\"DSCN6032\"<\/a> \u00a0It also felt like we were sailing on the flat road with a good wind at our back.\"DSCN6048\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0Stopped at an extensive monument\"DSCN6041\"<\/a> to America’s First Coast to Coast Highway,\"DSCN6035\"<\/a>that we had been on and off of for days. \u00a0The history lesson was interesting, but we were ready to be off the noisy highway with\u00a0traffic flying by; this was rectified by a turn\"DSCN6060\"<\/a> on to a country road.\"DSCN6020\"<\/a> \u00a0The engine noise was replaced with quiet,\"DSCN6049\"<\/a>\u00a0the scenery improved\"DSCN6069\"<\/a>and we still saw a bit of history. \u00a0\"DSCN6073\"<\/a>The Hickory Grove School was built in 1889 and continued in service until 1956.<\/p>\n

We pedaled through Hometown(s) USA<\/em>. \"DSCN6063\"<\/a>\u00a0It was like going back in time ,when children played on swings and got wagon rides. \"DSCN6064\"<\/a>\u00a0We were enjoying this wind assisted, flat road \"DSCN6065\"<\/a>when the pavement seemed to drop away. \"DSCN6076\"<\/a>\u00a0Quickly, we remembered seeing this dip to the Des Moines River\"DSCN6083\"<\/a>on the map. \u00a0The two mile drop\u00a0and one mile climb was a nice change of pace and scenery,\"DSCN6085\"<\/a> just so long as it did not continue. \u00a0We pedaled passed this rock \"IMG_0904\"<\/a>in the middle of a field\u00a0and into Mamie Eisenhower’s birthplace of Boone,\"DSCN6094\"<\/a> another darling town. \"DSCN6095\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0By noon, we reached the edge of our stop for the night. \u00a0Flat road and wind at our back, it is one of those days we would have loved<\/strong> <\/em>to have gone further, but the weekend Always<\/em> poses problems for finding a place to stay and this weekend was no exception. \u00a0Stopped for lunch, then pedaled past the\u00a0beautiul\u00a0campus of Iowa State University\"DSCN6105\"<\/a> to our hotel. \u00a0Not only did our stay for the night offer guest laundry, but barely 15 steps away was a Mexican restaurant; time to try our luck at a pitcher of margaritas. \"DSCN6115\"<\/a> \u00a0So where is the challenge? \"DSCN6119\"<\/a>\u00a0Night, night!<\/p>\n\n\t\t