Days 119 & 120: Jefferson City, MO

It was Alea's turn to ride on Saturday, from McKittrick, MO to Jefferson, MO, a total distance of 44 miles.  We are certainly glad she got an early start and that it wasn't any farther, as by the time she reached Jefferson City it was 97 degrees out, with over 50% humidity.  And that was before noon!

A few of the trailheads provide tools and a tire pump!

With it being the weekend, we did see a fair number of other cyclists out on the trail, most riding the length of the trail from Clinton to Saint Charles.  If the temperatures had been cooler I suspect we would have seen many more folks out for shorter rides.

Standing Rock near Steedman, MO.  Located a mile and a half
from the Missouri River, it marks the level of several major floods.

Since it was Saturday (the busiest camping day of the week) we had our fingers crossed that there would be space available for us at a city campground located in Binder State Park.  They did, and it is definitely on our list of favorite campgrounds.  For $18 per night we have power and shared water.  The latter isn't too conveniently located on the site that we chose, and you need to bring your own hose splitter.  But it was close enough for us to easily top off our freshwater tank before setting up.  All of the sites have level concrete pads (most are well shaded by mature trees), grill, fire ring and a covered picnic table.  There is a laundry that costs $1 to wash and 50 cents to dry (the second best price we've found: the best was free).  And the bathhouse/laundry building is air conditioned!

On the down side, the shower temperature cannot be adjusted and they are operated by push button (but you get a full shower's worth of water on a single push), and the toilet paper is mounted on bars that don't allow the toilet rolls to spin.  But those are very minor inconveniences, especially given the great price.

There are only 16 sites here, so it is a well kept secret!

We had decided to add Jefferson City to our route in order for me to visit the state archives.  They have most, if not all, of the early county deed records on microfilm, so the plan is to learn more about my various ancestors who had lived in Missouri between roughly 1820 and 1870.

Missouri has a fair number of early records available online, and it has been quite a while since I last checked to see what was available.  I discovered that Thomas McEveny (a 3rd ggf) was enlisted in Captain Wm. McKee's Company of Missouri Militia in the Honey War, a bloodless dispute that took place in 1839 over the boundary between the State of Missouri and Iowa Territory.  He also was involved in a lawsuit in Washington County, Missouri in 1827, and I should be able to find the contents of that file when I visit the archives on Monday.  It may tell me nothing of interest, but with luck it will offer some more clues about him and his family.