The Best Fudge Comes From Uranus

I'M SORRY!! I had to do it. That was an actual billboard along I-44. Let me backup for a minute. Last night, I got a comment on my post from world traveler and long-time Americana connoisseur, Janet Jackson-Ranheim. When she saw where we were, she said your almost to Uranus and described it as "the most Route 66 place on all of Route 66". Now I don't know if that's true or not, but it absolutely became our destination for the day. The potential material for this evening was simply too good to pass up.

The ride today was rough. The morning wasn't terrible with some surprisingly flat stretches offset by an annoying headwind. Unfortunately, it appears that breeze might be with us to stay for the rest of the week. We covered 43 miles to Rolla in the morning and stopped for lunch. By the interstate, we had about 20 miles to Uranus. Unfortunately, this particular section veered away from the highway for almost the entire way. I was in a panic. I had developed a severe case of FOMS - fear of missing signs! All those wonderful billboards on the highway about Uranus would now go unread. On top of that, we had two very hard climbs. I am not a strong climber. I'm a steady climber. I know how much resistance I can handle and I can find a gear that will eventually get me to the top. The downside to this is pretty simple math. The more time I spend grinding my way up, the more exhausting the climb is. By the time we got to Uranus, I was done (we still had almost 4 more miles to go to the hotel).

Uranus, Missouri did not disappoint. It's not a real town. It's a roadside attraction with a bunch of different storefronts and picture opportunities. They are most famous for their aforementioned fudge factory. If you are not a fan of this humor, do not look at the pictures below. Personally, I found them hysterical.

The day seemed to be off to a good start as we rolled through Bourbon, Missouri. We did not stop at the Bourbon Family Fun Center where they had beer, liquor, guns and ammo.