I woke up to cloudy skies on Saturday morning. We were able to sleep in bunkhouses at Camp Lost Pines last night so we didn’t have to pack up wet tents. They have been experiencing several days of rainfall in the area and the ground is saturated and streams and creeks are overflowing. Our planned route today has been modified for the first part of the morning because of road closures. The weather forecast was calling for thunderstorms again today so I got on the road early with another cyclist just before 07:30.
Late in the morning we arrived in Burton and stopped at the Burton Cafe. The American national anthem was playing over loud speakers outside and people were gathered along the sides of the street to watch a parade for the local cotton gin festival. I was able to watch the short parade as I ate German pancakes and eggs.
We stopped briefly in Independance for a short break and to by something to drink. We carried on and arrived at The Check Point Lodging near Richards just after 3pm after riding 87.3 miles.
Bicycle repair garage and laundry.
Large eating area.
The campground is setup to cater to cyclists and consists of a garage and bike stand for bicycle maintenance, a covered eating area, a kitchen, showers, laundry facilities and flush toilet outhouses. There are several outbuildings that people can rent to stay in as well. We camped on the lawn.
Just after 10:30pm a severe thunderstorm passed through the area bringing very strong winds and driving rain. In the morning I packed up a dry tent and wet rain fly.