The northern route was on my mind because a friend, Paul, lived just outside of Chicago in a small suburb called Crystal Lake. This took me smack dab through Missouri and the thrilling rolling hills at a posted speed limit of 65mph. The Triumph handled superbly with one rider and I made many 80mph leans that sent my heart racing.

Late that day Columbia came across a signpost. I remembered the girls at the campground were from Columbia and the one I was with worked at the local Denny's right off the interstate. Chris was her name. I decided to take a chance and besides I was hungry and needed to eat.

She was so nice and sweet to me that I hoped to see her. I sat down and read the menu. There she was in a little blue and white striped apron with her brown hair up in a single pony tail. Her mouth opened and her face glowed. She was happy to see me! "What are you doing here?" she asked. "Going to Chicago to see a friend". "where's Chuck?" "Back at the farm in Arkansas. I'm flying solo".  She grinned and blushed. "Quick, give me your order before I get in trouble" she said.

I don't remember what I ordered, but it was sure good to see Chris again. She returned in about ten minutes with food and told me she would be getting off in fifteen, so "Eat slowly." I felt lucky.

Chris had an apartment nearby where I followed her to where she changed and we were off again to see the "Mud Pits". Only this time I left my bike and drove her car. It turns out the Mud Pits was a place where highway construction crews dug up massive amounts of clay to build the local interstate over passes. Chris's car was a tiny front wheel drive older model  with manual transmission. As I sped into the opening she yelled "TURN!" and I realized we were on top of a huge hill of wet slippery red clay with a deep drop off into a lake. I panicked, turned, the car fish-tailed in a complete circle all the while slowly  going down the slippery slope into a watery demise.

People were all around us, naked and screaming, covered with clay. Someone finally helped push us into a sideways direction and more people came to the rescue. We made it safely to a place with other cars and laughed our heads off.

Now I know why Missouri calls itself the "Show Me" state. People are always stripping naked and running around in public. We jumped out of our clothes in a second and ran full speed until the ground slipped out from underneath us and slid spinning into the clear green water. We must have played for over an hour, until exhausted, we put on our clothes and went back to the apartment.

I had never showered with a woman, especially one a beautiful as Chris. She had herbal soap and flowery shampoo. We scrubbed each other with a natural sponge and embraced under the spray. We dried our bodies and slid under the covers of her queen sized bed. I suddenly realized how long it had been since I slept in a bed, and fell quickly asleep.

Chris went to college at the local university during the day and worked hard as a waitress at night. The next morning she asked me what my plans were and I told her I needed to find it. "Find what?" she asked. "My creative juices" I said. She said she understood. After all, she wandered about a year after High School until she found out medicine was her creative juice. "You can stay as long as you want." she told me, but I knew it was time to go. It was a tough decision, but it just didn't feel like the right time and place.

I headed straight north to Chicago. Leaving a beauty for the beast. I surprised her by taking her picture before I left. It never came out.

Next Stop: Chicago

Previous Stop: Arkansas