In Cape Girardeau, I was hosted by a hard-core bicyclist that was a sweet elderly woman with a sweet old house. Right before sunset, she insisted on showing me the bike route out of town and also the trail of tears state park on the north east edge of town.
The Trail of Tears State Park is where the grave of Nancy Bushyhead is located. For some strange reason, local tradition began calling her Princess Otahki, which is such a far fetched abomination of the truth. There is no such thing as a Cherokee princess.
When we were about 1 mile from the park, out of nowhere a deer came out of the woods and hit the car. My host continued driving. I was in shock. Eventually, my host stopped the car. The damage was on the side rather than the front of the car. We skipped the park visit and went home. The next day I biked to the site where we hit the deer to pay my respects. There were no signs of the animal any where, not even blood. By the time I had traversed the area, I was too far away to consider visiting the Trail of Tears State Park, so I continued west to Jackson, MO.
I pondered the significance of this event. I interpreted it as follows. Spirit wanted me to bike to the park not drive there. I don’t know what to make of skipping my visit to the park.
Atone The Removal 