I got up around 6 again and packed my stuff then walked next door to the Park-Et restaurant for breakfast.

I was not really motivated to climb hills today so I lingered at leaving till about 9. I knew I need to get going so I went back and checked out. I got on the road around 9:15.

The hills were long and steady but I was making progress. When I passed through St Mary I passed a side road with a welcome to Illinois sign in view. So I figured why not…

I was on the edge of the river flat now so there were cliffs on the right and flat on the left. The road I was on traveled on both.

I managed to make it to Sainte Genevieve around lunch time. I stopped at Hardees for a burger.
While I was sitting there a guy asks me if i knew where the festival was in town… I said what festival?… Turns out there was a huge art and craft festival not far away.
I decided I should check it out so I road down town to see what was going on. I tied my horse to the railing of an old church and started to walk. Right away I struck up a conversation with man from the church. They had a free water stand out front. We chatted about what I was doing and he gave me some history of the town. He introduced me to a few other people as they came by as well.
After a bit, I left and walked around the fair for a while, It was much like the Uptown Art Fair back home.

Lots of old history here and cool old buildings.

I eventually made my way back to my bike and started talking to the same group of people again. Got some more history on the town and then made my way inside the church where there was a bake sale. Bought a giant brownie for 50 cense.
As I was leaving, I gave out my info to the people I had been talking to and one person gave me a donation toward the cause. I enjoyed my time here.
I knew there was a car show somewhere and was told it was up the road. I road over to check it out.

It was at this old Mansion.

Not bad for a small town… I also ran into some of the same people who had been at the tractor show the day before and chatted again. It is a small world…
I needed to get going again… after all, it was now 3:30 and i had 38 miles to go.
I headed off again and was hit right away with a hill that was about 2 miles long. I thought I was going to die!… I was hoping it was not going to be this way for long. Fortunately it was the only hill like that. Great view from the top though.

I stopped to rest at an old wayside stop from when 61 was the main road before the interstate. It had a scenic overlook and some picnic tables. There was an elevation marking here as well.

There was a couple on motorcycle there as well and we chatted for a few minutes. Then, it was down the road again.
The remaining ride was very scenic with all the hilltops. I rolled into Festus around 6pm. There were only two or three big hotels in town and no local hotels. I rode around for a while trying to find a someplace cheap but eventually found myself at the the Best Western. Good for me, a friend offered to sponsor my hotel today! How cool is that!
I checked in, took a shower then went across the street to the grocery store and got some fruit and chicken for diner. I ended late so the evening went by fast.
Went to bed around 11.