Find Your Way
May 27, 2002
Sebree to Marion

Today's Miles = 45.8
Average Speed = 8.3 mph
Maximum Speed = 35.3 mph
Total Miles = 1151.7

I woke to the sound of Larissa and Bert˙n packing up their camp and arose to start my day. I'd gotten on the road before them the past two days, but I was moving slower this morning and was nowhere near ready to go when they finished packing up their bikes. Since I'm averaging less daily miles than them, and was intending to travel a shorter distance today than them, it is quite possible we won't be seeing each other again after this. We said our farewells and I watched them ride off.

My plan for the day was to ride through the town of Marion, Kentucky, then to cross the Ohio River at the Cave-In-Rock ferry and pass into Illinois. This would mark the third state of my journey.

The terrain of eastern Kentucky had flattened out somewhat in previous days but the hills started to roll today. Many of the fields alongside the road were covered with yellow wildflowers, but there were also a good number were corn was growing in rows.

As I was approaching Marion I stopped for the tail end of the dedication of a new roadside historical marker. As I got to talking about my plans for the day with some of the people there I learned that the ferry across the Ohio River was closed due to high water. Charlie Porter had warned me that this could happen, but the weather had improved such that it had slipped away from my mind. With the ferry not running I would be looking at probably a hundred mile detour to get to an open bridge and then back onto route.

Once in the town of Marion I spoke with a couple of other people who confirmed that the ferry had been closed since the 14th and helped me find a motel in town to stay the night in. My plan was to identify a new route, stay the night, and start anew in the morning. But when I called the local police department to inquire about road recommendations I was told that the ferry had actually began running again only a few hours prior. Calling the ferry itself confirmed this, so my stop in Marion ended up being unnecessary.

Having already gotten a room for the night I figured I may as well make the most of it. Most of the town was shut down for Memorial Day so I sink-washed my clothes and found a meal in an open restaurant. Tomorrow I'll be taking the ferry into Illinois, but this unplanned stopover will probably ripple into my taking different stops than I had planned for the next couple days. The good news is that I'm not heading a hundred miles out of my way to detour to a bridge.

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