June 1, 2003 Sunday, June 1 Well, we are not sure where we are. Some people say we are in Cairo (Kayro), and some people say we are in Cairo (kiro). In order to keep this sweet and a bit thick, we will settle for Cairo, IL. And, that is not in Egypt! We were back on route 60 today for more of the same two-lane, no shoulder magic. We did fined, and made a nice recovery from a tough day yesterday. We seem to be making a habit of that. We, again, had no mechanicals, but we did clean the bike after arriving. We crossed the Ohio River for the last time today, and entered Illinois. This is another new state for us. Shortly after doing that, we looked left, and were treated to a look at the confluence of the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers. What a display of beauty and power. If this had not been a semi-rest day (41 miles), we would have made the trip to the confluence to enjoy the sight and feeling. However, we rode into Cairo to great disappointment. This town is a mess, and the meeting of two great rivers deserves better. I urge you to read the poem, for it describes the emotional reaction pretty well. The only positive thing about being here is that we were able to see three states (Kentucky, Missouri and Illinois) and two rivers (Mississippie and Ohio) at one time. That is a treat, and the only one we take away from here. If you ever get the chance to visit here, don't bother. The motel was disappointing, the food difficult to find (and awful when it arrived) and there was nothing of value within walking distance. We couldn't wait to leave. The Dollar General Store near the motel didn't even have all the stuff we needed to clean the bike (We are talking about simple stuff like WD-40, here). We need the check in with Meriwether or we will miss out on some of his most imporant exploits. For now, he is in Cairo, Il and it is November 30, 1803. He has taken three months to get here from Pittsburgh. We made it in a bit over a week, but we didn't have to worry about our boat getting hung up on gravel bars, uncharted waters, little in the way of maps and we weren't involved in recruiting for an expedition. Meriwether was happy with 14 miles per day. We are unhappy with 14 mph!