ARKansas - June 2015

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Day 2: St. Charles, MO to Springfield, MO via Jeff City (continued after a rain delay)

14 June 2015

I wonder if residents of Jefferson City cringe a little at "Jeff City" like I do at "Chi Town". We didn't hang around long enough for me to ask anyone; just gas, water, a couple of Bulls Eyes, and go.

By the time we crossed the Missouri River on US54 into Jefferson City, our fear of rain was replaced with the realization that summer in Missouri can be every bit as soggy now as it was back when Tom and Huck were having their adventures here a century and a half ago. Plenty hot enough that I think I could have sprouted ferns inside my (still damp from the morning rain) helmet.

We found a Phillips 66 station and stopped for gas. The afternoon sun was at such an angle that the awning over the station's door provided only a tiny sliver of shade for us while we hydrated and consumed a few road snacks.

A note about road snacks:

My ADV friends seem to snack on granola or trail mix on their rides. My cruiser friends seem to prefer beer nuts. My closest riding friends, though, like Bulls Eyes. You know, those caramel rings with the marshmallow cream centers, individually wrapped in plastic? Yeah, those. I think Glen started bringing them on rides and they caught on in a big way. Either Laura or Glen has a big bag of them on their bike for every trip. They have a long shelf life (half life?), don't melt or dry out, and are pretty tasty. I recommend them highly.

After our delicious lunch of Bulls Eyes and water in the sliver of shade in front of the Phillips 66, we were on our way to Springfield and the Clarion Inn and Suites.

Because of our protracted stop in downtown Dutzow and the precipitation which precipitated it, we were anxious to get to our hotel and relax. The route for this last leg of the day was US54 to MO5 to I44 to US65 to Battlefield Road to the Clarion Inn & Suites. Easy route, a mix of 2, 4, and 6+ laned roads, and enough speed to keep us somewhat more comfortable than the concrete slab at the gas station. As I recall, Glen changed to this route from a more scenic one while munching on Bulls Eyes at the Phillips 66.

Nothing much to report on about this route except that I did get the sense that we were approaching or riding through a recreational area -- more motorhomes, boats on trailers, brown road signs, and the like along US54. Upon later review, I discovered that we had passed over and astride Lake of the Ozarks, one of the prime vacation attractions in that part of the U.S. The lake is a reservoir created with the construction of the Basnell Dam in August of 1929. The hydroelectric dam impounded the Osage River and filled the 54,000 acre lake. Lake of the Ozarks has 1150 miles of shoreline on which are perched over 70,000 homes, mainly vacation homes, which house some of the 5,000,000 folks that visit the lake each and every year. One would think that I would have had more than "a sense" that we were in a recreational area. Well, it was hot, ya know.

Our motel was located on Battlefield Rd. just off of US65 in Springfield. The exit ramp off 65 and the overpass portion of Battlefield were under major reconstruction. There were cones and other temporary traffic markers sending us into what I swore was the oncoming lane of traffic. It was messed up, man. I recall questioning the sanity of the engineer who designed this temporary maze. As it turns out, we had stumbled upon my first Diverging Diamond Interchange. Who knew? I didn't...until months later.

A Diverging Diamond Interchange is designed to move traffic smoothly and more safely by swapping the lanes on the bridge to the opposite of their traditional configuration (left to right, right to left). The first DDI in the U.S. was built in Springfield, MO in 2009. The Battlefield interchange was one of several more built since. It was only months later, while driving on my first (completed) DDI in the Chicago suburbs, that I realized what all the crazy traffic markings were on Battlefield Rd. I'm sure that all the well-traveled readers of this report have driven or ridden on a DDI, but if you haven't, keep your wits about you the first time and just enjoy the flow on all the future encounters. I do not understand why this engineering masterpiece has not been in place all over the world since the invention of concrete roadbeds. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diverging_...nterchange
http://www.divergingdiamond.com/history.html

Sunday night at the Clarion was shaping up to be a pretty dull affair. The hotel was nice enough, but it was located in a commercial area with not many decent dining choices within walking distance. Oddly enough, the only restaurant open was Flo...
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Flo was a nice little place serving a variety of Asian cuisine, with a focus on sushi. Mike A and Judy did not join us for dinner as they rode to visit a friend or relative (I can't recall which) who lived somewhere in or near Springfield. The remaining five of us had a lovely dinner. It was here, I believe, that Laura first referred to Mike G. and me as "Gin Snobs" because we had an extensive gin-related conversation with our server, Troy or Trent or Trevor or something. I suggested that we would prefer the title "Juniperist" to which Laura countered that that was only more proof that we were Gin Snobs. Her title has stuck and Mike and I much prefer "Gin Snob" to another title given to us, "Two and two?", the origin of which is will be revealed in an upcoming report of our trip to Michigan last spring...if then. I may have to save that story for the next rally.

Oh, and for those interested, I believe that I had a Hendrick's martini with a twist and Mike had a Bombay Dry with olives.

Once again, the management of our hotel allowed us under-canopy parking which was a good thing because a pretty significant storm was coming our way. We worried for Mike and Judy out at night on not-so-familiar roads in a storm, but they arrived back safely ahead of the storm. It turns out that the person they were visiting lived about a mile from our hotel.

We slept well. The rooms were clean and quiet. We were close to the highway, but not so close that we heard traffic. We were glad to be well-rested for the next leg. Next stop, Eureka Springs!

End of (a long) Day 2.