Whereas on day 1 I saw dozen of people out on the trail walking and biking, on day 2 I saw a two people from start to finish. I was finally into rural Missouri territory (evidenced by the free cattle roaming about on the trail), and I wondered what went on in each little sleepy town I rode through. I paralleled the mighty Missouri River for much of the day, reading plaques about Lewis and Clark who made the same journey as I did way back in 1804 (under much different conditions of course). Part of their journey was to get on the good side of the Native Americans in the area who the US recently gained “dominion” over (ie get them to comply with being subject to the US government) and I wish more was mentioned about this rather brutal and unfortunate relationship. Otherwise, the highlight of the day was Hermann, a little Bavarian-looking town chock full of history and architecture nestled in the hills of Missouri. I was fueled by the soupiest of sundaes doused in hot fudge and marshmallow. I spent the night at the Turner Katy Trail Shelter in Tebbetts, a town of less than 100. The shelter is explicitly for those hiking and biking the Katy Trail. The little church was just playing its chimes to mark the top of the hour as I rolled into town. That morning I had spoken with a local resident over the phone and ordered a home cooked meal that was delivered to the shelter that evening. The heaping serving of spaghetti and meatballs with green beans was certainly well received. My company for the night was a brother-sister duo from Indiana. She was the type who has a story about everything- sometimes it was hard to tell if everything she told was truth or if she was just an excellent story teller. However, she’s certainly well-traveled enough to have a repertoire of adventures to share. Her brother would chime in from time to time as he watched Futurama in the corner on his phone. She generously gave me a Katy Trail pin and sticker as well as a jar of Dandelion flower jelly. It was certainly not a dull evening with their endless stories, but a pleasant one nonetheless.