Changing Gears: Rey's Ride Across America

July 13th — Rest Day in St Louis — We say goodbye to our brother Mark Wilson We drove 60 miles or so north of Chester, IL, and crossed back over the Mississippi to get into St Louis. We had two tasks. One was to get Joan some beauty time at the nearest mall outside of the airport. The second was to drop Mark off to catch a flight back home to Massachusetts. We will see Mark off with great sadness as Markie (that's his nickname) was a great source of laughter the entire two weeks he spent with us. Mark is Joan's little brother, and when we asked him to drive the RV for two weeks he jumped at the chance, never hesitating to help his sister out when she needed him most. Mark had never been to Colorado, Kansas or Missouri so he now knows all three states intimately. Mark, Joan and I want to thank you again for all that you have done for us for these past few weeks: you kept it light and fun while driving the RV, which you handled with great skill. You’re a killer! (inside joke) I can't think of anyone I would rather have with my family keeping them safe while I am biking out there. We love you, man!

Also, a big thank you to the staff at A. G. Miller Co., Inc. from Springfield, MA, which covered for Mark while he was out and a special thanks to the owner, Rick Miller, for being so supportive of our efforts. I can't thank you enough for allowing Mark to be with us so long.