The State of Misery....

This is a state that I think I want to get out of. While my time in Branson was a blast, and the two people I met there, Cricket Heaton and Terri Pribeck, are beautiful people who I will remain in touch with, the rest of the state has left this experience a bit, shall we say, lacking. It’s not the fault of the state, which is lovely by any standards. Really lovely. I walked through the Mark Twain National Forest today and it was beautiful, although the serpentine roads have left my knees in tatters. I came in to Missouri in a truck due to tornadoes and had to accept a short ride out of the forest today when the lack of shoulders on the sides of the road and the heavy traffic almost got me clobbered. By a cop, no less. A family of 4 in a pickup came along shortly after and basically talked me into living a longer life. In between the ride in to Missouri and today, there have been tornadoes, flooding and more is expected tonight. I am going to head to Joplin tomorrow or Thursday, to see the damage for myself, but also because by some coincidence my route is taking me through there anyway. I am not—I repeat, NOT—setting these disasters up in advance. Really, I swear.
Tonight the forecast is for more heavy storms and yes, even a tornado is possible, and maybe Joplin won’t exist after this. I hope they are okay there.
As for me, Im stealing wifi from a hospital and its about to rain so I am outta here. And in a few days out of this sad and beautiful state of Misery…I mean Missouri.
PS--The photo is where I slept last night, after a full day of walking along mountaintops with heavy and continuous lighting and rain.