Days 19 & 20: Boonville to Wolcott

The evening we got out of the Adirondacks was a late, tiring one, and we really wanted a shower, so we looked for a motel in Boonville, where we had stopped. One was closed (handwritten note on door "sorry!"), and the other was full, so we decided to check out the Hulbert House hotel. Turns out, its a 200 year old building with rooms just barely more expensive than we would pay at a motel, so we spent a fun night in an historic hotel!

The next day we were super exhausted, and heavy rain was forecasted (in case you hadn't known, the weather on the East Coast is going crazy. Really bad storms.). We figured we'd get as far as we could before we'd had enough of the downpour. Thankfully, we were spared the rain for an additional 2 hours past when it was expected. We got to see a lot of Amish folk, too, riding in their horse drawn carriages. We didn't take many pictures these last few days cuz of the weather, though, so there's no candid shots of the area this time. But there are some other photos worth sharing to fill some space.

(This is how your foot tans when you wear sandals outside all day every day)

Just about every town we hit on the map was either a ghost town or nearly one, which was a saddening experience. Our map's latest updates are from just last year, and it looks like even in that short period of time many businesses are folding up. "For Sale" signs are a common sight - we've gotten to know quite a few realtors' names.

We stopped in Pulaski to avoid the continuing storm. This morning was cloudy, and shortly after we began our ride, the rain started to fall. And it continued to fall all day, with few breaks. It's been really cold this past couple days - you'd hardly believe it was the last week of June! We did catch the awesome sight of an osprey flying through the air with a fish clutched in its talons, though!! It was wild!

(For show, here's what the elevation profile looks like for the first 401 miles on our previous map)

With the headwind, continuously (and unexpected) presence of steep hills, rain, traffic, and cold - it was tough going. So, naturally, today we get our first flat. The rain likely washed much of the road debris into one area, which we rolled on through. Thankfully, only one tube was damaged. But it has over 15 punctures in it (as we found out upon examination later), so salvaging it might be out of the  question. We changed the tube pretty quickly, though, considering how much of a hassle the rear wheel is (no quick release axle, a drum brake, and special nuts for towing the trailer).

(Our poor tire is showing some wear....)

We decided to once more cut our losses and push onward to the next town for the day, which was a bit off route, but better than going another 17-20 miles to a campsite with the sunlight disappearing and rain continuing. On our detour, we happened to pass a factory farm - one of the "Open Range" facilities that has a small fenced plot of grass separate from the  long sheds actually housing the chickens. The logo for Eggland's Best was plastered on the entrance sign. So, if you see those supposedly more humane Eggland eggs on the store shelves, don't kid yourself, they are still likely from institutions with the same conditions for the animals as any other factory.