Thursday April 21st, 2022
Leaving the Fort Scott area we headed north into Missouri. In searching for a rail trail system that we could ride, I found the Frisco Highline Trail. This is a 35 mile trail that connects Springfield MO to Bolivir MO. We typically ride about 10 miles out and 10 miles back. There is a ten mile section that includes 16 different bridges. That seemed to be a stretch worth riding. The trail website said there was free camping at the soccer field next to the trail in the town of Willard, MO. I called the Dept of Recreation to confirm this. Again, getting that knock on the van door at night is just not any fun. I talked with the director and no we couldn’t camp at the soccer fields. This area was for cyclists to camp that were riding\camping along the trail. But, we were free to park the van overnight at the Recreation Center, which conveniently had a gym and showers. What a gift. There were no knocks on the door and the best showers of the trip.
nice gig 
ball fields
We headed out to the trailhead at mile 16, unloaded and got pedaling. Some of the bridges were quite small but still made for nice variety on the trail. The Missouri redbuds were at peak and were so lovely, not just on the trail but along our entire drive through the state.
charging station 
It was a bit cloudy on the drive out with a few sprinkles. A check of the radar indicated that the showers were going to miss us. Well, one thing for sure, you can’t predict the future, so sure enough we got pretty soaked and filthy dirty. On the plus side, we had ridden just about as far as we planned and it was a warm rain. On the double plus side, by the time we had loaded up and were heading south there was a tornado warning for the area we had just ridden.
Everyday is “like a box of chocolates, we never know what we are going to get.” Today was full of wonderful, delightful surprises. I am so grateful to God for His provision and leading. This whole traveling in a van by the seat of your pants thing, really isn’t in my wheelhouse, (this is where Mike thrives), but I am amazed at the end of everyday on how it all works out.