Day 19 was a short one, just enough to get us from Hindman to Hazard, where there's a Holiday Inn Express. We'd planned to follow up several intense days with a rest day there, and we only had to make it a little over 20 miles — small potatoes at this point.
But first, we spent the morning lounging and having way too much fun with some... things... we found at the Hindman Baptist Youth Center:
I mean, this place had it all. Giant plushy heads, big plastic swords, wigs, rubber monster limbs. We could have started a band that was somewhere between Switchfoot and Gwar. It ruled. And was strange. And ruled.
Soon enough, we got on the road for our short day. Which ended up being stupidly hotter and hillier than it needed to be when we took an ill-advised detour and ended up sweating up big inclines in the full afternoon sun on a too-big-for-comfort road. Ugh. But oh well. We made in to our hotel right enough and rewarded ourselves with embarrassingly large margaritas. (Hazard isn't a dry city — woo! — but also, the beer selection here includes things like Country Boy Brewing, with its offerings of Cougar Bait Blond Ale, Shotgun Wedding Brown Ale, and Cliff Jumper IPA. We demurred.)
Day 19 saw us pass out after dosing ourselves with our favorite brainless-but-brainy TV indulgences (Travel Man and QI). And Day 20 brought us a simple day of chilling, putting time into Ye Olde Blog, catching up with family and friends, and preparing for the next leg. We're headed for the Mississippi River, y'all! Tomorrow — we ride! Tonight — we eat cheap queso and snooze! Onwards.
Day 19: Hindman to Hazard, KY. 20.7 miles, 1350 feet of climbing, 4 oversized margaritas, appropriate amounts of Richard Ayoade.
Day 20: Sweet F-All.