We Got Guts!

Day 37
Double Lake National Park to Silsbee, Tx

Whomever told me that it is flat here was definitely pulling my leg!
We still have some hills to contend with, granted they are not as bad or as frequent, but, they are hills just the same!

Karman and I set out from our campsites, after one more stroll down to the dock on the lake at the end of our sites. The view was awesome and very relaxing, but we had to leave to meet Emilio in Shepherd. When we got to town we found we went right by his motel and did not even realize it. When we stopped it was at a donut shop at the corner of SR 150 and route 59, so we stopped for some coffee and donuts. While we were there George Reed happened upon us. It seems that George has been leapfrogging Emilio and Karman for a while now. We were introduced and George explained that his trip is being cut short. He has friends on the way to pick him up and bring him back to Illinois. It seems he has a close friend back home who is not doing well, suffering from Stage IV colon cancer. I told him about the ride and that I would now be riding for his friend as well. He rode with us the rest of the day until Kountze where he was to meet his friends.

We were still in the Sam Houston National Forest and it was quite amazing to ride through. The forest was thick and very alive with many birds and animals running around. It was amazing to listen and actually hear the animals in the distance.

We hit the road with George and finally found Emilio just past Romayor. We decide to stop for lunch in Votaw, but when we got there food was off the route some so we opted for Honey Island. When we arrived we found a real general store still in operation, it was modern, but it was a true general store! One of the people having lunch had just finished, went to the counter to pay and bought two bags of corn while he was there! they sold everything from hardware, seeds, feed for animals, to food for us, and it was very good!

After filling ourselves up, we hit the road only to find one of the longest most desolate stretches of road I have ever been on. It seemed to be an extremely long slow uphill (gradual, but uphill just the same)that never ended. There were sections of the forest on the side of the road that had been clearcut, and looked very strange with the surrounding of the remaining forest. We arrived at Kountze and said our goodbyes to George, wished he and his friend well and were on our way for the last 10 miles to Silsbee.

We arrived in town and Emilio decided to stay at a motel so we said good bye until morning and Karman and I went off to the campground. Karman found many familiar faces there, as he explained he has been also leapfrogging a lot with a group from Adventure Cycling, doing the same trip!

He introduced me to many people (there are 14 I think in total), we sat and exchanged stories for a bit. We set up camp, showered, relaxed a little then it was off to bed for a good night's rest!

The Garmin information for today is as follows:

Day 37 Double Lake State Park to Silsbee by wegotguts at Garmin Connect - Details