That is how much rain some places in southwest Missouri got today.
And we got out and somehow avoided it.
We left from Elwood for Ash Grove. That in itself was a good choice as the coming showers could be seen in the north heading southeast.
Reminds me of a Van Gogh
A couple of times we stopped to reevaluate our situation, but the clouds seemed to keep moving on southeast, so we kept going northwest. We ran into a minor sprinkle as we passed the Andy Dalton black powder shooting range, but we forged ahead.
We came upon this creature and promptly did our civic duty by moving him off the road.
The 5th turtle saved from possible death this year. We could have saved a 6th one later on, but the ingrate scampered off into the brush as we came up!
Jan told me to be careful and not get wet on, but nothing happened. I thought it might be a good cyclist and leave it all on the road, but no, it just hissed at me.
We reached Ash Grove at the end of a long downhill road. On the north side of this road is a field that for the past years has had corn.
Here is the field from June 2011 with its crop of corn
Not this year. Wheat is up but not ready for cutting.
Across the road lives Keith Taylor, a fellow sailor and friend of mine. He was out mowing and we stopped and chatted for a bit. In the past he would ride his bike from Ash Grove to Springfield for work and then ride home in the dark, a fifty mile round trip.
A fine gentleman.
His dog, Caffey, came out to greet us as we visited.
This is one dog that did not get sprayed from my bottle.
We made our way into town, discovering that the road had been all torn up by the city for some utility work. It was a mess.
Across the highway from the convenience store was the local Farmer’s Market. We didn’t stop since we had no way to transport home anything we might have bought.
Mainly plants and baked goods.
This road is part of the Trans-America route across the country. Cyclists often come through and the store has a marker board up for people to record their presence.
People for all over have been through here recently.
By the time we got to Ash Grove most the clouds had moved on and the sun was out, but on the way home the clouds moved back in and we would have plenty of rain later on at home.
Heading down the road.
Stay happy,
Two Feet Off the Asphalt 
Great Pictures
I’ve been thinking of doing the TransAmerica route across Missouri back home this summer, just got to find a weeks worth of time and make sure there is a week’s worth of westerly wind.
The first requirement is easier than the second. We always seem to have headwinds both ways!! The eternal situation.
Good route choice, the secret of happy cycling.
Thanks, TP. Jan and I both commented on how we as cyclists had progressed. A few years back we would not even have gone outside with the clouds/weather the way it was. Nevertheless, we were thankful that nothing real serious happened to us on the road. Hope your own roads stay dry when you need them that way.