Day 210 = 12/20/11 – Turner Katy Trail Shelter

North Jefferson to Tebbetts; Distance = 12; People Met = 4+;

The CBS camera man who came out to interview us the previous evening was waiting for us at the trailhead to get some video footage.  We “lucked” out in the sense that we were full packing for the next two days.  Besides providing a more impressive image the larger packs provided shelter for the occasion drizzles that day.

At one point I wondered if my mind was in a fog.  Contributing to this impression was twice coming upon a red brick ranch house, with a white metal barn in the back, fronting an open stretch of the Katy Trail.  On the second spotting of this combination I half-suspected I was in the twilight zone.

We stayed at the Turner Katy Trail Shelter in Tebbetts.  A woman bequeathed this to Missouri’s Department of Conservation for the express purpose of being a low expense hostel for Katy Trail travelers, whom she enjoyed during her lifetime as they passed through.  For us it was a no expense hostel, as it was “closed” for the winter, though the door was unlocked and we were encouraged to go ahead and use it.

We checked around town a bit, stopping at the post office to chat with Rhea for awhile.  Back at the shelter we heard a knock, which I figured to be a local so I opened the door and immediately introduced myself.  The man turned out to be Jack Wendelton from Hermann, who had arranged for us to speak at the St. Paul UCC in Hermann.  His wife Pat had hiked the Katy Trail while he provided van support, similar to our situation.  He was eager to meet us and came down a day before we were to arrive.

Rhea at the Tebbetts post office

The Turner Shelter and Jack Wendelton

Jack drove us to the Mokane Bar and Grill for supper.  One of the customers, Mike Perago, took a very excited interest in us and wanted to buy us beers, but we declined.  We were about to climb into Jack’s car to leave when the waitress Jenny came rushing outside to let us know we were just now on TV.

Mike Perago at the Mokane Bar and Grill

We came back in to see the tail in of this film spot.