Day 25 Pomme de terra Lake to Eldon, MO (73 bike miles; 1,819 cumulative miles)

Bill, of course, could not let a Corps of Engineers dam go uninspected. He also visited with the Project Manager across the road at the Corps of Engineers office and got an updated weather forecast for the day which looked good.

Bill eventually caught up with Charlie and Kriss, shortly before reaching the first sighting of the Lake of the Ozarks. In contrast to the rather pristine Pomme de Terre Lake, the Lake of the Ozarks is quite developed, and there was a considerable increase in traffic. It must be really brutal in the summer when the tourists flock in.

There was a long climb into Camdenton, which is a major tourist destination, with many chain fast food, miniature golf, etc. I did see a Panera's which made me think of the one near us in West Orange. About a mile into Camenton, I found Martha who found a good lunch parking place. Shortly after starting my lunch, the "call" came from the boys back by the bridge that Kriss had had 2 flats and that one of the tubes that he and Charlie had was defective. So I loaded my bike onto Tiggy and headed back with Martha with a new tube.

After lunch, it was Bill's turn for a flat tire... and then Charlie's turn. With the shoulders full of debris, flat tires, would be an unfortunately reality. We decided to stop in Eldon, where we found a nice motel, and an even better place to eat. It was "All you can eat" catfish night at Andy's. A great meal was had by all!

After dinner, Bill worked on the blog under moonlight just outside the motel room.