Oxford Junction, IA to Dyersville, IAMiles biked today: 43.1
Total miles biked on trip: 703.7
Max speed: 32.0
Max speed: 32.0
# of tractors in tractor parade: 120
The netbook is back up and running and I have posted yesterday's full post. Now, for today's!
To tell you fully about today, we have to start with last night. As you know, we were staying in Oxford Junction, IA in a park just outside town, camping. Well, we've camped a few times on this trip so far, and even camped one other time in a city park. The way it works is, after about 8 or 9 p.m., the place clears out. This seemed to be the case for Oxford Junction, too, except that in Oxford Junction it was cleared out all day. Not a soul at the park all day.
So Dean and I were reading our books by flashlight and getting ready for bed a bit later than normal -- maybe 10:30 or 11 p.m. As we were just trying to get to sleep, a car drives into the park and points its headlights right at us. It parks, stays there with lights on about 2 minutes (still on our tent), Dean pops his head up to investigate, they then turn the headlights off and sit there another few minutes, before finally driving off. They never got out of the car or anything, and the park is a little bit out of town, so there would be absolutely no reason to go there. Also, everyone in all of Oxford Junction knew we were staying there.
The whole scenario was a bit scary. But we tried to go to sleep anyway. It was hard. You have zero protection in a tent like that. So I asked Dean to grab our dog repellent and the knife from the tool kit, just in case.
At around midnight, a guy comes walking into the picnic shelter where our tent is with a flashlight! What on EARTH could he want? Dean again popped his head up, and the guy turned off his flashlight, mumbled something we couldn't make out, and walked off.
That made it way harder to sleep. What if it was some wannabe murderer who'd just heard there were two people camping in the shelter? I was terrified. Then at about 3 a.m., two guys just go running through the park. Where to? They weren't headed for town, and there's nothing walkable in any other direction.
So we each got maybe 2 hours of sleep. Raccoons were out making noise (they scare me, too), frogs were croaking, owls were hooting, and apparently half of Oxford Junction was out to kill us.
So when 6 a.m. rolled around, we got on the bikes, very VERY tired. Our only other option was another fun filled night in the O-J, so we decided to roll out of town. We probably shouldn't have been on the road, we were so tired. It was pretty dangerous. And every push of the pedal was exhausting.
We each had a 5 Hour Energy, but that can only take you so far. Food and energy drinks can help, for sure, but nothing can replace a good night's sleep. We were totally out of it and didn't end up taking many pictures.
We stopped for a rejuvenating lunch today in Cascade, IA. It's a cute town and the waitress thought we were the coolest people ever for doing this trip. Also in Cascade, the whole town was covered with signs that said "The Flamingos are Coming," and we have no clue what that was all about. Was it a sleep-deprived hallucination?
Despite our exhaustion, I was really proud of how well we did today. We are definitely out of the flatlands and into hilly territory again. We didn't have to walk up or take a break on a single hill! There were hills that, from the bottom looking up, made me say to Dean, "I'll probably have stop and walk this one," but we did great! It really shows how far we've come.
Dean bikes through the drive-thru ATM lane.
We were so glad to get into Dyersville and get a motel room with a door and a deadbolt. We'l
l be sleeping tonight!
Dyersville is home to the Field of Dreams baseball field (movie set) and also the National Farm Toy Museum. Obviously, we hit the museum (the movie set is 3 miles out of town). I learned a lot about tractors, which was good because, after dinner, we walked right into the middle of a tractor parade! I've never seen so many tractors assembled in one place in my whole life.
And now, it's bedtime. I am exhausted. I hope the netbook works again tomorrow. Fingers crossed!
I love a parade!
To tell you fully about today, we have to start with last night. As you know, we were staying in Oxford Junction, IA in a park just outside town, camping. Well, we've camped a few times on this trip so far, and even camped one other time in a city park. The way it works is, after about 8 or 9 p.m., the place clears out. This seemed to be the case for Oxford Junction, too, except that in Oxford Junction it was cleared out all day. Not a soul at the park all day.
So Dean and I were reading our books by flashlight and getting ready for bed a bit later than normal -- maybe 10:30 or 11 p.m. As we were just trying to get to sleep, a car drives into the park and points its headlights right at us. It parks, stays there with lights on about 2 minutes (still on our tent), Dean pops his head up to investigate, they then turn the headlights off and sit there another few minutes, before finally driving off. They never got out of the car or anything, and the park is a little bit out of town, so there would be absolutely no reason to go there. Also, everyone in all of Oxford Junction knew we were staying there.
The whole scenario was a bit scary. But we tried to go to sleep anyway. It was hard. You have zero protection in a tent like that. So I asked Dean to grab our dog repellent and the knife from the tool kit, just in case.
At around midnight, a guy comes walking into the picnic shelter where our tent is with a flashlight! What on EARTH could he want? Dean again popped his head up, and the guy turned off his flashlight, mumbled something we couldn't make out, and walked off.
That made it way harder to sleep. What if it was some wannabe murderer who'd just heard there were two people camping in the shelter? I was terrified. Then at about 3 a.m., two guys just go running through the park. Where to? They weren't headed for town, and there's nothing walkable in any other direction.
So we each got maybe 2 hours of sleep. Raccoons were out making noise (they scare me, too), frogs were croaking, owls were hooting, and apparently half of Oxford Junction was out to kill us.
So when 6 a.m. rolled around, we got on the bikes, very VERY tired. Our only other option was another fun filled night in the O-J, so we decided to roll out of town. We probably shouldn't have been on the road, we were so tired. It was pretty dangerous. And every push of the pedal was exhausting.
We each had a 5 Hour Energy, but that can only take you so far. Food and energy drinks can help, for sure, but nothing can replace a good night's sleep. We were totally out of it and didn't end up taking many pictures.
We stopped for a rejuvenating lunch today in Cascade, IA. It's a cute town and the waitress thought we were the coolest people ever for doing this trip. Also in Cascade, the whole town was covered with signs that said "The Flamingos are Coming," and we have no clue what that was all about. Was it a sleep-deprived hallucination?Despite our exhaustion, I was really proud of how well we did today. We are definitely out of the flatlands and into hilly territory again. We didn't have to walk up or take a break on a single hill! There were hills that, from the bottom looking up, made me say to Dean, "I'll probably have stop and walk this one," but we did great! It really shows how far we've come.
Dean bikes through the drive-thru ATM lane.We were so glad to get into Dyersville and get a motel room with a door and a deadbolt. We'l
l be sleeping tonight!Dyersville is home to the Field of Dreams baseball field (movie set) and also the National Farm Toy Museum. Obviously, we hit the museum (the movie set is 3 miles out of town). I learned a lot about tractors, which was good because, after dinner, we walked right into the middle of a tractor parade! I've never seen so many tractors assembled in one place in my whole life.
And now, it's bedtime. I am exhausted. I hope the netbook works again tomorrow. Fingers crossed!
I love a parade!
Does Dean have a handicapped sticker for his bike? Two of the best blogs so far....very funny.
ReplyDeleteThanks
The rules don't apply to *us*!
ReplyDeleteI think I would have left that camping spot around 11pm...after the first run-in with the headlight murderers. I'd have been biking through Iowa at midnight! Crazy!!
ReplyDelete