Sunset over the Mississippi River

Day 17 - We set the alarm for 5:15 AM which got us out of bed 90 minutes before sunrise. We were pedaling across the Mississippi River on Hwy 49 before the sun was up. Our early departure was aided by the fact that all our tires were still inflated this morning! We did make an early stop at a casino to take advantage of their breakfast buffet, but we were heading south on Hwy 1 a full hour before we usually get on the road with no breakfast. The roads remain level even on the Mississippi side of the River and we continued to make good time. The main crops along the roads are cotton and soybeans now. We haven't seen a cornfield in days and Geri noticed today that we haven't seen a cow since leaving Missouri! We see a lot of poverty now and as a result there are very few businesses. In Missouri, even small towns have a convenience store and a small grocery, but here most of the tiny towns we pedal through only have residential dwellings. We have to be careful to carry enough food and water for the day so we don't get stranded in the heat with no supplies. We reached our goal of Rosedale, MS. by 2:30 PM with temperatures in the upper 90's. Rosedale has a population over 2500, so it did have a grocery store, but not much else. We don't know what people do around here if they need a simple hardware item or need a part for their car. We saw dozens of vacant buildings, houses, businesses and schools. We took full advantage of the grocery store and stocked up for 4 days, which is how much time I figured it will take to get to Natchez, MS. I was hoping there was a motel in Rosedale, so we would not have to camp in the hot weather. It was no surprise to find no lodging in town, so we went back to our original plan of camping at Great River Road State Park. It was just a short distance west of Rosedale. Although it sounds horrible to camp in such hot weather, this morning when we left the motel, it was a little chilly. So it does cool down pretty good at night. I just hope we don't have to sweat until 4:00 AM before we get there! We reached the Park and cooked a dinner of beef stew and mashed potatoes before setting up camp. At sunset I hiked to the Park's observation tower and watched the sunset over the Mississippi River. Geri stayed at camp with a sore back. She feels okay pedaling, but it hurts when she stops. Maybe we should have pedaled all night! It was early to bed again for another predawn rise in order to beat some of the heat, which is supposed to hit 99 degrees tomorrow. We did well in the heat today and covered nearly 65 miles. We averaged 12.4 mi/hr. Not too bad in the hot weather!