Day 43 – July 16 – Lowden, IA to Muscatine, IA – 39 Miles

The alarm went off at 5:00 and we were out on the road by 6:30.  At the gas station in Lowden we met up with cyclist Nick Matteson.  We had last seen Nick as we were headed into the Minneapolis.  His destination today is Aledo, IL where he will take a few days off to spend time with relatives and make a trip into Chicago.  We are headed to Muscatine in the morning and will take a rest day this afternoon and evening.  We are trying to get into a pattern of rising early to get in our mileage.

The morning coolness was welcome yet the other 3 of the dreaded H’s persisted as we headed directly south into a headwind and more hills.  The humidity was still there.  Near the town of Wilton we ran into “Road Closed” signs on our route.  We diverted into Wilton to ask for directions.  As we rode into town we got a friendly wave from a man standing in the overhead door at a gas station.  We decided to try him for directions on a detour.  We treated to a history of Wilton, along with great directions for a good road, low traffic detour.  We were also told of one of the town’s greatest treasures. The Wilton Candy Kitchen, an old time soda fountain that has been placed on the National Register of Historic Buildings.

Ice cream floats at 9:30 in the morning?  It was a first.  92-year-old George Nopoulos runs the Wilton Candy Kitchen.  He opens every day at 7:00 AM, still fills every order himself, and makes his own ice cream every day.  I had a Green River Float, Joe a raspberry float.  They were a treat.  We were tempted to spend the day!

We arrived in Muscatine around noon.  The heat had built during the last leg of our trip.  We secured our hotel room and I ran out to a nearby Jimmy John’s for lunch. I stopped for a quick, but much needed haircut on the way back with the sandwiches.  Joe worked on some of his summer homework assignments while I did another load of laundry.  We both got in some naps.

Tomorrow we cross the Mississippi for the last time as we enter Illinois.  Our goal is Kewanee.  We will need to start early.  More heat is predicted.  It looks to be a three day ride to Ashkum.