When last I left you, I was waking up to (more!) slate-grey skies at the Rocky Point campground on the Natchez Trace.  I joined my generous neighbors for a cup of coffee and headed back up the parkway.  I had mentioned to Bobby that I wanted to go up and ride in the Ozarks, and he immediately said, "You need to go to Mena!"  This was the same advice I'd gotten from Bob Welling - my guardian angel in Clarksdale.  After enduring some rain on Interstate 20, I was in Arkansas - home of the worst drivers I've seen on the trip to date.  Of course, I may change my mind once I return to California.

The ride up and over the Talimena Scenic Parkway was a series of breathtaking vistas in either side of the road...  I was hard-pressed to pay attention to the business at hand.  I set up camp in Queen Philamena State Park at the top of Rich Mountain. (The entire area was the Winding Stair Mountain National Recreation Area - just gorgeous!)  After I set up my tent, I took a little time to read.  I had stopped along the way and purchased a 12" sub at Subway, eating half at the time and saving the rest for dinner.  As I ate, I read my book.  I am almost finished with the Celestine Prophecy.  I will probably read it again when I ride through Zion and Bryce in Utah.  It seems a mystical place for me; perfect for the message in the book.

After I read and climbed into my sleeping bag, an overwhelming feeling came upon me...  For the first time in this trek, I felt very lonely.  The irony of this was not lost on me...  In the altitudinal nadir of the Mississippi Delta, my spirits had soared to their highest heights.  Yet, on the zenith of my trip, I felt my lowest...  I had been traveling alone for many miles (just about 9000 at last count), yet I had not felt lonely until now.  I wonder why?  Is there someone in particular who I wished was by my side?  Am I growing tired of the journey?  Perhaps after camping in the presence of such sweet people traveling as a family, I realized I was totally alone out here on the road...  Whatever the reason, the melancholy and the fading sunlight made for a doleful evening.

In the middle of the night, the winds kicked up and the temperatures dropped considerably.  Clearly, this was my coldest night of camping out...  I think the temperatures were in the low 40s, and I don't even want to think about the wind chill with those sustained winds.  Inside my tent, I was snug and warm, that is until I needed to pee.  Ugh.  Well, one must hydrate as my dear friend Tom Hemingway reminded me.  And, when one hydrates, one needs to evacuate as necessary.  I opened the tent, stepped out and did my business.  There were incredible lights glowing in the valley below me, but for the most part, it was a starless, windy night.  When I returned to my tiny little tent, I was unable to get the tent peg back securely into the ground, so....  My nice, cozy, warm tent now had ingress for the wind and cold.  Ugh.  I shoved my rolled up jeans and rainpants into the corner to stretch the nylon as far as it could go and returned to restless slumber... 

When I arose in the morning, I was all business.  I was out of the tent at 8:05 and on the bike by 8:30 - easily a record time for breaking camp.  Cold and hunger are incredible motivators :)  On the way down the mountain - accompanied by The Band serenading in my cranium Up on Cripple Creek (When I get off of this mountain, you know where I want to go...)  When I get off of this mountain, I know where I want to go - food!  Bur first, there was business to conduct...  I had promised my beloved sister, Kathy, that I would shout her name into an awesome vista.  I found the perfect place at the Sugarloaf turnout and I shouted at the top of my lungs, "Kathy Petronis Forrister sends peace, love and positive energy out to the world...  I love you, Sissy!"

At the bottom of the long, winding, beautiful road, I stumbled into Talihina, Oklahoma, and the Red Arrow Cafe.  Breakfast was fabulous and cheap!  ($4.67 for two pieces of french toast, two pieces of bacon, and coffee)  When I related my trip to my waitress, she said, "You must be very lonely!"  Wow.  Up until now, whenever I'd told people of my adventure, the reactions were typically ones of jealousy, awe, wonder, incredulity, or inquisitiveness.  This was the first time that anyone had ever asked if I was lonely...  Am I that transparent?  How could she know as she watched me sip coffee, study road maps, and ingest my tasty breakfast?  Hmmm...

East central Oklahoma was shockingly hilly and very beautiful.  I stopped along the way to photograph some pretty yellow flowers (I noticed lately that I'm attracted to yellow flowers) and I cool metal sculpture featuring a butterfly atop an outstretched index finger.  I thought about that sculpture for 4.2 miles before I turned around to go back and snap the photos...  I regret, however, that I did not snap a shot of the gas station that I passed earlier that had an official, professionally made sign that said, "GORILLA STORE."  Hmmmm....  That will be forever a mystery now.

Well, as I mentioned earlier, rain awaits me today.  If I were a man on unlimited means, I'd stay here and let the storms pass in the comfort of my hotel.  However, well, you know...

I hope to see you all again soon!

I remain hopeful and happy, despite my loneliness.