July 5

Houston to Eminence

45 / 2572

It's tough to say goodbye in the morning, but Claudia and Bekky head back to Memphis and I get an afternoon start for Eminence. I run laundry before hitting the road and share the laundromat with a lady wearing bells all over her dress and a hyperactive boy who throws a ball and breaks things while his father is too busy watching commercials.

The heat and humidity are tough until the clouds roll in. Didn't take many photos today...

 I catch a second wind after a snack in Summersville. While I enjoy my tea and Snickers, a family pulls up in a minivan. There must be ten kids in their van and they all shout about soda and ice cream.

Eminence is like few other small towns I visited on this trip. I ponder this at dinner and arrive at the observation that this town hasn't dried up like others have. All the shops are open, people walking their dogs, kids riding bikes...

A campground offers $5 sites for bicyclists and I go for it. It's really dirty and the restroom is leaning and ready to flop over any day now. Oh well. As evening darkens folks shoot off left-over bottle rockets across the creek from my campsite. I chat on the phone with an old friend and call it a night. Out in Missouri there's a weird little bug that makes a haunting/laughing sound. One of those buggers found a spot to rest near my tent and his little cackle was in several of my very odd dreams.