The 53 miles flew by. There was nothing to stop for along the way except one museum called "The Keystone Art Gallery and Fossil Exhibit". It was closed but I stopped to eat my last Clif bar. The significance of this place will be brought up later.
After passing endless fields of corn, wheat and pens of cows that I would "Yoohoo!" at for the joy of watching every head turn simulataneously, I arrived in Scott City. There was a really interesting exhibit there about the Indians and initial Spanish explorers of the 16th century but I accidentally passed it. That bummed me out.
But! I did have a Pizza Hut lunch buffet where I stuffed my insides to the brink. Like I said, they have all my nutritional needs there. The women who worked there were very kind but some of the guests weren't. I spent the majority of today listening to my music, staying within my alternate reality and being introverted.
As I left the Pizza Hut, I went to grab my map now that I was back on route. Reaching toward the bag on the front of my bike, all that the sensors on my hand detected was the velcro where my map was usually attatched. Panic hit me. Where could my map be? The only place I touched it was at the Fossil Museum. I found the phone number and gave the place a call. Surely enough, the man searched the area where I'd eaten my snack and there it was. The question was, how could I get it back? It seemed like too much trouble so I chose to leave it. Hey, just makes the adventure more fun, right? Besides, once I hit Pueblo, I just reach for the next map.
20 miles from Scott City, I entered Leoti where I had planned to stop for the day. However, I still felt good and the ride was too calming and the music too enjoyable, so, I continued the last 24 miles to Tribune. Again, the miles whizzed by until, before I knew it, I had entered the small, scenic town.
And here I am. I just encountered a group of cyclists heading East. There was the father, Darren, with his wife and very young daughter who drove the van packed with food, and all their gear. Alongside them was Brad, who joined the family shortly after beginning in San Fran. They'd covered 120 miles today and were vehement about telling me (again, this annoys me). It's just like they're awaiting my reaction to see how impressed I am. I remained neutral. But! I'm just being a Silly Sandy, they were a very enjoyable clan. I wished them luck and am now back in my secluded sleeping area.
My butt is not happy. The only negative of the day.
A fenced off area that looked like it hadn't been touched since the Great Depression and Dust Bowl. I finagled under a barbwire fence to investigate.
This house was filled with several jackrabbits. Again, I wonder if a lot of these abandoned buildings are from the late 20's/early 30's.
One of the cattle feed farms where the cows are pent up as opposed to the vast areas where they had all the room in the world. Very disheartening, especially seeing some of these pens being empty; the barren dirt sections speaking volumes of where their past residents were presently... likely in my stomach.
The flies (bugs in general) are numerous. Speaking with Brad and Darren, they apparently just get worse. When the Mennonites were some of the first immigrants into Kansas, one of the biggest problems were the bugs. Swarms upon swarms of locust used to absolutely devastate harvests.
Corn as far as the eye can see.
Cookie break
Keep on truckin Ralph! BTW that one pic of the barn looks like Ted Jones' hideout from Pineapple Express..
ReplyDeleteHahaha will do mayne.
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