We stopped by Fort Kearny again this morning. As the trailblazers before us, we checked the signs of the road and signs of the sky. Looks like we are headed in the right direction. Looks like rain could be our companion. We won't worry about the rain right now, because, "the mail must go through!"

We visited the Rock Creek Station in Nebraska and were impressed with the lonely beauty of the place. Up above the station was an old prairie schooner, marking where original Oregon Trail wagon ruts remain visible.

We sailed across the not-so-amber waves of Kansas to the Hollenburg station. There a kind man helped us choose some souveniers from the gift shop. We found another town named "Morrill", but it was off the trail, so we didn't stop by. We will have to check out its history when we get home.

We stopped at a station in Marysville a quaint little Kansas town just a few miles from St.Joe. They had turned the original barn into a museum. It was interesting to see that the riders and horses stayed in the same building. There was a replica of an original want ad for riders -- seeking young men who could risk death daily, orphans preferred. After riding from St. Joseph, the riders would stay here for ten days waiting for the return mail from the west.

It was a short sprint from there to St. Joseph. We were thrilled as we crossed the Missouri River. We found old town and followed directions, almost flawslessly, to the Pony Express Post Office. There we had our keepsakes date stamped next to the stamp from Sacramento. We felt a certain pride as we realized that we had accomplished our goal. The mail had gone through!

We found the Patee House, an old Hotel which served as the end terminal of the Pony Express. Right next to it was the Jesse James home, where he had been shot to death. Jesse James, outlaws, huh? Sounds like a topic for another ride!

We had avoided, up to now, the Harley Davidson Dealerships, but felt like we needed shirts and pins to celebrate. As you can see by the picture of the shop, it is getting late, the sky is dark with rain clouds and the wind is blowing. We still have a little while to go before we can stop in Liberty, so we bravely hit the road. The rain hit us about 20 miles from our destination. It was really heavy and we got very, very wet, but it was no Gillete (where we met a major storm during the Ride 2) It was still daylight, there was no horizontal hail, no lightening, and our goggles didn't fog. A woman pointed to us at the hotel and said to her children, "See, Kids, real bikers ride in the rain." We felt real, allright.