June 16, 2003 Today we traveled from Springfield to Platte, SD. It was a good ride, we had no mechanicals and the Team is doing well. We are both a little tired, but after a long day tomorrow, we will have a rest day. We started our day at the Corner Cafe in Springfield. It was a great time. There were 8 locals there, and they were most hospitable. Both groups spoke to each other as we entered the restaurant, and that started it. They were very interested in our trip, and had a lot of questions. The ice was really broken when LaValle served them coffee. They, in turn, did the same for us. It was just a lot of fun. Shortly after leaving Springfield, we had to make an adustment to our route. We are using Todd Roger's book on the Lewis and Clark trail, and he had us going over 19 miles on gravel. We just didn't want to do that. LaValle quickly figured out an alternative route, and we headed off. The next town we visited was Avon, SD. We went into a small store for water, and when we came out, there was a man who came over to talk with us. It turns out he is the local newspaper (His name is Jack Brodeen), and he was born and raised in Avon. He went to the University of South Dakota, and went back to Avon for his career. He is going to do an article in the Avon Clarion - complete with picture - about our trip. He will send us a copy of the newspaper for that day for our archives. That was exciting. We passed through several quaint towns today. The houses are well maintained, and the business districts seem to be doing reasonably well. Most of these downtown areas seem to have adjusted to the current needs of the towns, so are doing better than one would expect. They certainly aren't boom towns, but they are fine. We saw several huge farms (At least we thiink they were big because of the huge amount of storage they had installed.) today with comparably huge farm houses. This was big farming business at work. There were times today, when we, again, could see farm land all the way to the horizon. The weather today was interesting. It started out warm, and got warmer. It was 67 at breakfast, and soon went to 95. It was also very humid. Mr. Headwind was around for a while, so he kept us comfortable. He did do his Jeckel and Hyde routine, and helped us big time for about 20 miles at one point. I think that had more to do with our direction than his changing his mind, but we will give him credit. We had sun until about 15 miles out of Platte. The storm clouds started building, and the temperature dropped quickly. We kept the hammer down, and made it to our motel just before the sprinkles started. It didn't rain hard, but it sure look nasty for a while - especially since we were heading right into it. The roads were also interesting. They went from good to bad in a heartbeat, and when they were bad, they were really bad. However, they weren't "break a spoke bad", so we were lucky. They are working on the roads out here a lot, and we got stopped for a period at one point by a machine that was chewing up asphalt like it didn't exist. That was interesting to see. Well, it was a good day, and another success. We are happy campers. Ron Note from LaValle... As I said yesterday, life is at a different pace here in South Dakota. But even South Dakota changes. Springfield is now home to a state prison. Jack, the editor of the Avon Clarion, told us he had gone the University of South Dakota when there was a campus in Springfield. Yes, the campus is now a prison. In addition to the breakfast club at Lois' Corner Cafe, several other people were enthused with tales of our trip. The delivery man in Wagoner told Ron he had seen us back in Avon and was surprised to see that we had covered so much ground. The four women at Lake Andes spend quite a while asking us questions about what we were doing. Just as they were leaving, one of them told me they were Jehovah Witnesses and were from Nebraska. All in all, people are excited to see us and are impressed with the challenges we meet on a daily basis. They also understand the rewards are great. Jack - the Avon Clarion Owner Clarion sandwiched between two Bars!!!