Incredibly, early Thursday morning the weather looked like it was going to be OK.  Overnight there had been sprinkling.  There still was no sun, but the overcast was high and non-threatening.  With luck, no rain today, and certainly no tornadoes.  Other than some business trips to Saint Louis, I had never been in Missouri before.  It's much like Kansas - more great plains.  The same for southern Illinois and Indiana, all new territory for me.  The vast wonder of our great nation begins to sink in when you can ride all day at 75 miles per hour without a hitch.  Very impressive.

     Well, almost without a hitch.  Hitting Saint Louis at about two in the afternoon, I expected to sail right through between the lunch rush and the evening rush.  Unfortunately, several construction zones and very heavy truck traffic presented the worst delays I encountered all the way from Utah to Virginia.  I'd hate to see what it was at rush hour.  Anyway, no harm done.

     Two years ago I read that the Mississippi River at Saint Louis is normally about 20 feet deep (and can flood to 45 feet!?).  I had always thought the great rivers were eight to twelve feet deep, so it really is twice as big as I thought.  Riding over it with that thought in mind made it all the more awesome.  Certainly, the highlight of day four.

     The directions to Fort Knox sent me south from Louisville, KY, on US-31.  That much was very clear, but I was surprised to discover it would be about 18 miles to Fort Knox.  It was already 8 PM, so I wasn't pleased.  Total distance on day four turned out to be 640 miles, the longest day of the trip.  On this part of US-31 it becomes clear that an Army post is nearby.  It could be a road near Fort Bragg at Fayetteville, NC, or near Fort Belvoir south of Alexandria, VA.  I knew Fort Knox couldn't be far.  Once inside the gate, it still took 15 minutes more because Wickam Guest House is on the other side of Fort Knox from the gate I entered.

     While I was oiling the chain of the XR650L in the parking lot (10:00 PM by now), the sight of three military families arriving at the guest house brought back some nostalgia.  How many times had our family done that same thing - kids bursting out of the car after 13 to 16 hours on the road; toys, clothes, luggage all over; trash headed for the barrel; and two very weary parents glad finally to arrive at temporary quarters at their new post.  So let me put in a plug here for our Armed Forces.  Your Army, Air Force, Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard people work very hard for you.  They put up with a lot of personal sacrifice and hardship with an inherently dangerous profession, family separation, limited services, frequent moves, and low to moderate pay.