Dad remembrance pilgrimage: Day 17
Previous leg: Indianapolis to St. Croix, Indiana
July 26, 2022: St. Croix, Indiana to Sikeston, Missouri
My last day on the road proved to be the wettest of the trip. The record setting rainfall that flooded parts of St. Louis hit me about two hours later. Pulling into the Indian-Celina Lakes Recreation area at dusk, I got the tent set up and had a somewhat questionable supper before the storm arrived. As I went to sleep the rain had begun to fall. Fortunately, I stayed perfectly dry in my tent until the full bladder vs. rain gear debate started to rage. Eventually the bladder won and I had to venture outside.
Breaking camp went as quickly as I could manage, although truth be told it didn’t matter too much because I then had to ride fairly slowly through the strongest rainfall I have experienced in a long time. Just like my ride through Wisconsin there were several stops along the way. Besides the amount of water, the hardest part about today was the fact that it was about ten degrees cooler. Lots of coffee helped, but most important were the bike’s heated hand grips.
The weather finally broke about the time I hit Carbondale. From there I was able to take my raingear off and was almost warm by the time I crossed the bridge back into Missouri. A few minutes later I rode into my garage, took off all my wet clothes, and savored the most delightful shower I have had in a long while. The rest of the afternoon was spent doing laundry, cuddling with cats, and posting pictures from the last day and a half of the trip.
Grateful for such a healing journey
It is hard to believe how much happened in such a short period of time. In three thousand miles of riding I caught up with much of my family, experienced some great hospitality, and learned a great deal about my dad’s life. In many ways, it was like getting to experience a two week wake in honor of a man who made such an impact on so many people in the church, his family, and the military. It would be inaccurate to say that I am done grieving my dad, but I am at peace.
For whatever it is worth, the maps are not my exact route because Google Maps embeds do not allow me to capture all my waypoints. I spent far more time on backroads than these maps demonstrate. Once more, thank you to everyone who everyone who hosted me and to everyone who shared the journey with me online. It was a blessing being able to share this glimpse into my dad’s life with all of you.
