Day 11: It was a dark and stormy night

Dick and Linda made us a delicious pancake breakfast and said a prayer for our safety and we said our goodbyes.

Canal Fulton was our lunch stop and a tasty custard dessert. I found someone’s cell phone and was able to call one of his friends in recent calls and tell him that I will leave it at the Cherry Street Creamery so he can pick it up.

We struggled a bit to find the Heartland trail in the town of Clinton and when we did, it was not finished and primitive. In the spirit of adventure we rode it anyways.

Dairy Queen was a good spot to cool off and find/plan our campsite – Kidron Community park, but it was unclear if there was camping there. While pedaling down a country road, a man called out “you got enough water?”. “I can always use more”, I replied. I told him our camping plans and he offered to let us camp near his pond next door. We cooled off with a swim in their pond and setup camp. Tim’s wife Cindy made extra hotdogs for our dinner and we shared stories on their patio. Their grandkids were entertaining.

A very strong storm woke us up around 4am and a fire erupted next door along with a loud hum. We held down our tents as the winds almost blew them away. We think the fire was a transformer or something.

Tim and Cindy met in 7th grade and Tim told us about his ancestors working the coal mines.

The kindness and hospitality of folks in the Midwest is living up to the reputation for sure. Thanks Tim and Cindy.!

We rode 48 miles from Bolivar to Orrville in Ohio on the Ohio and Erie Canal trail, the Heartland trail, and country roads.