Katy Trail 2012: Day 3

Day 3

Tebbetts to McKittrick/Hermann 30 miles

Highlights: Cold, Meyer's Bed & Breakfast on the Hill, Joey's Birdhouse, Hermann, Tin Mill Beer

God bless Tebbetts and the Turner Katy Trail Hostel.  This shelter was a former grocery store around the turn of the (twentieth) century.  It has now been restored and maintained by the Conservation Foundation of Missouri Charitable Trust.  It is a functioning hostel with hot showers, a fridge, toaster ovens, microwaves, and various mugs, plates and silverware.  It houses over 40 bunk beds, and though they operate on a first-come first-serve basis they have never all been filled.  Someone commented on how much the rows of bunk beds resembled the illustrations in the children's books Madeline, only with less nuns. We made it to the hostel past 9 o'clock that night.  Though it was locked, we had instruction as to where to find the key; outside, available for anyone who knew where to look.

We arrived cold and wet and tired.  We took a few minutes to explore the place and I confess to totally geeking out about how neat it was.  Granted it was a little spooky being there alone at night.  If any of us would have had unprotected teenage sex and/or drugs I'm sure a guy in a hockey mask and machete would make us pay for it, but we were too tired for debauchery that night so no homicidal maniacs. 

In addition to the furnishings listed earlier there was a large picnic table inside and two more outside.  Aside each bunk was a lockable cabinet to store your stuff should you decide to leave the hostel unencumbered for a time, we of course didn't need it as we had the whole place to ourselves.  Upstairs there are more bunk beds and even a ping-pong table!  Nice.  There is a spacious balcony good for enjoined the sights of Tebbetts;  You can clearly see both grain silos from there.

But without a doubt the best feature of the hostel is their bike room.  It has a ton of tools, some donated bikes available for day use, and even a bike stand to prop your bike up with while you work on it.  We stored our bikes here overnight and the next morning spent several hours getting them back into working condition.  We removed the caked on limestone crud, oiled our chains, and tightened our shifter cables.  All of this plus a luxurious breakfast caused us to get a very late start, not leaving until 1 or 2 in the afternoon.
 

Farther down the road we spoke to a B and B operator who was voicing concerns about the hostel.  It's openness could possibly lend itself to unsavory characters.  I can see that possibility.  All the websites and guidebooks I've read recommended bringing ear plugs in case there is some wild party going on.  Alone, I'd be a little concerned about my safety and I certainly wouldn't leave my wife there by herself.  All and all though I'd say this place is great.  Tebbetts didn't seem like a big place, but the presence of this oasis at the half way mark of the Katy makes this town a milestone that I will never forget and will continue to visit every time I ride the trail.
 

Even at one in the afternoon, it was cold that day.  We had originally intended to do another 60+ miles and head from Tebbetts all the way to Augusta to all but end our journey, but with our late departure from the blissful bunks of the hostel plus my new leg injury and a cold front settling in we compromised.  We opted to used our wiggle room day, Easter, and divided the 60 miles up into two days.  We would make it to Augusta after a night in Hermann, MO, an interesting town we heard a lot about.  It seemed fitting that we go there.  One of our close friends, Mr. Kirk Herrmann - two "r"s and two "n" - helped me begin another hobby of mine.  His name bears a resemblance to an attraction in that town, the Hermann Brew Company.  While the brewery has changed it name to Tin Mill Brewery it seemed worth investigating.

So Hermann is 30 miles down the Katy and then 3 miles off the trail, over the Missoruri river at a trail spur near McKittrick.  We bundled up and headed out of the Hostel to the wide open trail.


It wasn't long until we stopped, however.  We didn't make it but a few feet out of the Hostel before we realized we needed more clothes.  We bundled up more so, some with socks on their hands, and looked into accommodations for the night.  There didn't seem to be any formal camping anywhere near Hermann, but just outside the hostel we saw advertisement for some B&B's in McKittrick.  We called up two of them and our friend's got a place at Joey's Birdhouse, my wife and I at Meyer's Hilltop Farm.  Although it seemed a shame not to camp and to spend all that money, it was a weekday so it'd be cheaper and the low that night was 38!

The trail that day was more of the same.  I'm not saying that it was mundane but after a few days of the same scenery and a leg injury to dull your senses it becomes difficult to appreciate.  We made good enough time and warmed up with our blood moving.  The rock faces seemed more eroded around the river's bend, plus the steel railroad bridges were more frequent.  We were in the Missouri river delta and markers could be seen marking various floods over the years, some over half way up this rock!



We passed through many small villages with their own grain silos, but one that stood out was Rhineland.  It wasn't particularly hospitable, no trail head or water service, but it did have a glorious church, a baseball diamond and a strip mall.  For those of you with a keen eye and close attention to detail, just past the strip mall in a cave in the bluffs near a small farm, you might see this little guy:

Hullo

Partially because I stopped to take 80 pictures of this guy and partially because I was injured in the first place I fell behind the front runners in our pack.  I really pushed some pedal to catch back up but after 15-20 minutes of this my leg started to remind me what a bad idea it was.




Our party was often split up, but usually for a good reason.  It turns out McKittrick was just around the corner from Rhineland and the sun was setting.  A few of us pulled ahead and met up with Rich, who opened up Joey's Birdhouse, a one room converted store house with a kitchenette, a claw foot tub, and a Murphy bed.  My wife asked Rich if he knew where Meyer's Farm was and he pointed to a hill.  Go up that hill, he said, take a right and when you see another hill go up it. And up and up and up, he said.

Meyer's Hilltop Farm, is a Farm on top of a hill.  If that's not descriptive enough then I should note that at the highest hill in McKittrick, is another hill. Yet another hill that sits in the middle of that one marks the start of the hill Meyer's Hilltop Farm is atop.





After desperately pedaling the first hill, my wife caught the Meyer's sign at the entrance of the second hill.  She switched to her granny gear and took it.  I said "nope," got off and walked.  Halfway up that hill is a hollowed out trunk of a massive tree.  Six bikers could fit in it!  My wife was still pedaling when we passed it, though I was walking faster than her.  At this point she dismounted and we both pushed our bikes up the hill, wheezing, as Leon the Donkey looked on.




The Meyer's were lovely people, but at that point we weren't.  We entered their gorgeous home and after only a short conversation this morning via cellphone, they welcomed us with open arms.  It was a little intense at first; meeting new people in the condition we were in and seeing their warm sunny smiles while our miserable countenances betrayed our graciousness.

But without much ado we were led to our rooms.  We both felt better after a shower although I still had to limp up and down the stairs.  Maggie, the kindly matron of the establishment - originally from New Jersey - welcomed us once again with an assortment of menus for the evening.  The menus were from a variety of restaurants in downtown Hermann, across the river.  We picked an establishment from the menus and Eldan, Mr. Meyers, drove us into town and picked us up when we were ready.  It was great to be ferried across the river and Eldan was even so kind to give us a tour of his fine city.

As you might have guessed Hermann was settled by German immigrants.  It's downtown was filled with large brick buildings ornate with gables and pillars; fine masonry only a German's meticulous hands and could build.  There were shops and hotels, large festival hall, an old mill, and the former Concert Hall, now a tavern. In fact it is the Oldest Operating Tavern West of the Mississippi!

If you were wondering how Germans got to mid-west Missouri, then fear not I have an explanation.  A large population of Germans settled in Philadelphia, PA.  Some of the more well-to-do members of the community made their way out here on the railroad and admired the rolling hills and winding path of the river.  It reminded them so much of the fatherland, they brought many others from PA to settled the area.  Passing though Rhineland, MO earlier it all suddenly made sense.  The Germans were so in love with the area and optimistic they built the streets of Hermann twice as big as the streets of Philly, thinking it'd grow to twice the size.  I guess they couldn't stand the inefficiency of street congestion.

In Hermann, the German traditions remain, and unlike more conservative areas of the mid-west, their attitudes towards good times seem to be positive.  Their festivals are supposed to be quite a spectacle, and the fact that it is attached to a bike trail lends itself to a safe good time for everyone.  There are two wineries in town and a third not far away as well as a brewery, Tin Mill, in the heart of downtown that makes wonderful, traditional German beer.  We were only in Hermann for a night and another afternoon, but you could feel the sense of community through the town.  At dinner they served the local beer and wine.  The aforementioned tavern's wine cellars were filled with local vintage, and though they had Bud and Coors in cans, their draft was strictly Tin Mill.  My wife particularly enjoyed the Midnight Whistle Dopplebock and I their Red Caboose Amber lager.  Gotta admit that was the best full flavored lager I've ever had, sorry Abita Amber.

Eldan picked us up at the tavern around 10:30 and was happy to drive us home to a warm bed and rest.