We left Best Western after sleeping in and headed for Subway. The cardboard statue of Jarad suggested we eat a sub with 6 grams of fat or less..........so we did. Today is a rest day for us, we are tired and have a very long gap between towns tomorrow. After a rest day today, we should be ready for a big HOT day tomorrow. Temps are expected to be near 100, not including the heat index. Also, we need a chance to let our stuff dry out.

Helena has some really neat older buildings to look at. The town has a really neat museum (free even) called the Delta Cultural Center. It has something for fans of history, music, art, everything.

Katie has become a huge fan of museums.

Roger and Old Man River reminisced together on the past 200 years.

We owe the staff a big "thanks" for their hospitality. Ms. Ida took our picture, so we took hers.

Crossing to Mississippi brought another key decision. The cycling guide suggests having a truck haul you across, however it isn't easy finding someone to take 3 trips with all our stuff. A police escort is another option we considered. Eventually we decided that traffic was light enough to take the lane and cross. This was a very long and bike-unfriendly bridge; we felt very safe with the local drivers passing in a friendly and courteous fashion. We took control of the lane, and everything went perfectly.

If you have narrow tires, cross carefully. The expansion joints might be an issue.

After going over the bridge, we went under it to our hotel...Isle of Capri.

The hotel gave us some issues with putting our bikes in our room, but they eventually "got permission from security". Apparently recumbent bicycles are a security concern.

The staff was really friendly however, and Roger eventually developed a crowd.

Since the hotel is a casino, Taters is not allowed in much of it. She was not allowed to gamble her money, but she was allowed to toss it into the wishing fountains.

Recharging our batteries required food and sleep. Roger and Laura took advantage of the all-you-can-gorge buffet. The crustaceans didn't have a chance. Actually, it disturbed me a bit as some people took more food than we eat in several days (and we are biking cross country). As always, Taters was freezing.

Google Earth File

12 miles (1159 miles total)