Larned Kansas to Ness City

Kansas is the Sunflower State

All of these box cars are waiting to be loaded with wheat, guessing over a mile long.

The behind my back while riding shot of Ted

The Fort Larned

Aloha Everyone,
Today we pulled out of Larned this morning a little later than usual as we had 66 miles to go. I think we were afraid to leave afraid of the wind. We had a continental breakfast at the hotel. We took the scenic route out of town and Ted said he enjoyed that, good cause I did not realize until it was too late that we could of gone straight out of town instead of going back tracking atleast we got to see the prison. Then before you know it we are at the Old Fort Larned, the military stationed here were to protect the Santa Fe Trail from the Indians. The wind was not too bad. We got 30 miles down and pulled into Alexander in time for the lunch crowd at Effies place. I have never had so many french fries for one order before. When I went to pay for lunch the waitress got this look on her face and I thought I was going to get scoldings so I was thinking what have I done. She goes you know that lady who left with the pig tales, I said no I'm sorry I don't well she wanted to pay for your lunch but she only had $3.00 so she donated her $3.00 for your lunch, I was so humbled and I said where did she go and she said you will never meet her. So I had to be happy with never being able to thank her verbally, but I did let the waitress know how gracious complete strangers have been to us, it really is amazing. And told her if you know who she is please tell her thank you so much what a special gift. Upon leaving the restaurant we headed to the gas staion in hopes of gatorade but no such luck so we just got water and Ted noticed he had a flat tire on his bob trailer, so he changed out tube and tire we rolled on and the last 33 miles were pretty good, we did stop at a rest area and I did my usual soaking of myself only after walking in on a lady in the bathroom but her response was Oh honey that's ok. We made it to Ness City about 5pm showered gathered our dirty clothes, washed the laundry found the taco place for $4.50 all you can eat tacos and now I'm just chillin. We passed the 2000 miles mark yesterday I can't believe it.
So as the saying goes until next time keep the rubber side down and enjoy the ride.
Lisa

The Land of Oz

Aloha Everyone,
We are making our way through Kansas. Ted's family came to visit and took us out to chinese buffet. Was so delicious wish I could of taken a to go container for later. We rolled out of Newton Sunday morning not being in a big hurry as the temperature was great for a change and we only had flat riding ahead of us. There are very few places to stop and fuel up along the way especially as we make our way west. Well Yesterday was sunday so it was even tougher. We stopped in Hesston at a stop light and met Bob who was out cruising and during this time James came out and gave us each gatorade for later wow that was sweet. Then we got to the gas station and they had air for no charge yipee I topped off my tires and we rolled on. We made our way to Buher just in time for lunch but oh oh. Nothng is open it is sunday in this small town and no body opens. We thought ok well we have a few items in our handle bar bags and we can get a soda outside the gas station so as we were turning around a car came up and asked if we were looking for lunch we smiled and said yeah but nothing is open. They said well we just came from church and we had a bake potato and cake session after church would you like some of that and I said sure where do we go and he pulled over and his wife handed us a bag of baked potatos, fritoes and about 6 pieces of various cakes, we were so grateful and thanked them huge amounts, they said if they were not on their way out of town they would of invited to their house. Thanks. As we settled down for our lunch another guy stopped me and told me if we needed water to come to his house behind the post office I said great we will be there shortly. We got our water and talked story for a short while and we were off again. Wow those people were so kind to us strangers. We rolled into nickerson and were so thankful the quik stop was open 24 hours we got a cold drink and headed to the park for the night. We met a couple guys staying at the park from sweeden. This morning we rolled out of town under near perfect conditions weather wise. Saw alot of wildlife today. Birds, Birds and more birds. The road was so straight if we could of we could of pedaled with our eyes closed. Then the wind came in and it got real hot again. We could not find any shade to have lunch so we kept moving as there were not any facilities for 58 miles today. We reahed Larned Kansas I told Ted I think this has been the longest 20 miles of my life. We stopped at the department store and got cold drinks out front then we found the Best Western for the night. AAAAAA Nice cold air conditioning................. Sleep well everyone,
Till next time, keep the rubber side down and enjoy the ride.
Lisa

Clean pictures

We thought we should take clean pictures of ourselves so everyone can see we really do clean up half way decent. We are trying to decide if we have the energy to go to the movies

Newton Kansas

The sun coming up this morning.

Another cute Cow she stood still till I snapped the photo

This photo is from last week Ted climbing one of the last hills in Missouri

Teri this photo is for you. I thought you were the master packer but I see this Man has you beat. ;-)

Daisies or Weeds I'm not sure which

Sending My Aloha to Everyone.

Aloha,
Wow we are here after 74 hot hot hot miles. Our first town the store didn't open till 11am and it was only 9am so we pushed on to the next town hoping for food. We found a wonderful bbq buffett in Cassoday Kansas the Prairie chicken captital of the World. After lunch it was before noon for us we had 38 miles to go. We mounted our steeds and rode with the sun. We had nice riding conditions easy traffic good to clear your head. We came upon this Mennonite church with a water spigot outside so I had to do my ritual of soaking myself, I swear I saw steam coming off my skin. I refilled my water bottles and felt like a new person. 26 more miles nothing to do but keep going. No shade really. So we rolled into Newton about 4 pm and were thankful to find our hotel was right here off the route. Yeah............ Ted's family is coming from Topeka tomorrow so we get to rest our bodies and replace our fluids. I am amazed at how my clothes are covered with salt form my sweat. I'm use to a little bit but not this much. We passed a total of 8 Eastbound riders today and it was nice to see other towing a bob trailer like us.
Until next time ,
Lisa

Kansas Pictures

I don't know if you can read this sign. but it says Masons of the Fidelity Lodge. I wonder if the folks at the Infidelity Lodge have more fun?

Can you see the End?

Me Myself and I

Here she is the one who kept giving me the Tail

Midnight at the Oasis

One Horse Town Toronto Kansas
I thought this was the shower.

I would of taken a dip too except they poop in there.

The Shamrock Gas station. Cold Water

Kansas the Sunflower State

Aloha Everyone,

Well today is like a half day of school for us. We are slowing down so we can meet up with Teds Family in Newton Kansas on Saturday. We are currently only 70 miles from Newton here in Eureka Kansas, so we are spending 2 nights here in Eureka and will leave at 5:30am Friday morning and do the 70 miles to Newton. Kansas has proved itself with her only little set of challenges mainly the Heat. Riding into Toronto Kansas yesterday afternoon we had lunch and then went to the libraby to cool off and one little girl told me her thermometer at home read 110 degrees I believe. The heat really zaps any energy you may of thought about keeping. Nope gone nada bon voyage hasta lavista baby. I cooled off for 2 hours and then made my way to the state park to set up my tent. Our site was right on the lake which was real cool, we found a shady spot. For dinner I had some doritoes and 2 granola bars. Really had no appetite but knew I had to eat something. I managed to get 2 showers in before finally going to bed. The inside of the tent was like a furnace until about 4am this morning when a nice cool breeze came in. AAAAAAA nice. We got up and moving early so we could keep the heat at bay as much as possible, rode to the store and had biscuits and gravy for $2.50 met the cutest dog inside name Nicki. On my way out the door the local kitty cat was making her way over saying where is my breakfast I know you were in there feeding that DOG so give me some too. I think I will buy some cat treats for in the future. She was so cute and playing hard to get I was trying to take her picture but she kept flipping me her backside. We cruised out of town and met up with a couple other guys heading East. Then we started seeing all these other guys going real fast with no gear heading east. We finally figuered out it was the Race Across America, they do this trip real fast the funny part is one guy rode past us and I'm giving him the peace sign and zoom he never even knew we were there.

Some Statistics I just thought about during today's ride

Women drive faster than Men. It's because we are multi tasking
Men wave more often or should I say Gawk. Sorry guys you know it's true.
I think Ted has been drafting me the entire trip:-)
Some signs don't make any sense at all.
Big trucks pass close by because they know it makes my shirt go up.
Melissa Etheridge song says Work, Eat, Sleep it should say Ride, Eat,Sleep
Can I remove the Hills from the Flint Hills?
Cows should be kept as Pets, they are smart and cute.
Don't look in your rearview mirror and expect to keep going straight cause you won't
Bowling alleys and theaters are tough to come by
Wear dirty clothes after 10 minutes youwill smell bad and be dirty so who cares
You know you have entered a big town when you are approaching 150th st.
All small towns have a main, cherry, and 1st street.
All dogs love a good run, cats are too sophisticated to act like that
Everyone is talking about the weather

Ok, It's Hot outside I am waiting for the sun to drift a little more westerly so I can go for a swim in the pool. So as you can see from above my mind is alive and well, I had more but I can't remember them.
Take care Ya'll and know how much I appreciate your cheers.
Till next time Keep the rubber side down and enjoy the ride,
Lisa

goodbye Missouri Hello Kansas

What do you say out of the fire into the frying pan. Hello Kansas Flat lands and winds. Be careful what you ask for as you just might get it. We wanted flat land and we got it along with a little added wind to stir things up.
Ok Ok, done with my soapbox.
We are here in Pittsburgh Kansas and saw a sign on farm on the way in that said This is only for you Doug Harms "Nebraska Corn Huskers" thought of you and also thought wow they are brave displaying this in Kansas.
We rolled through Missouri with some pretty tough going. It was Hot and Humid which I remember from my growing up years and working at the swimming pool, hence the word swimming pool being able to cool off every 15 minutes, not so on a bicycle. It is tough to find a tree to sit under for a while. Our water bottles were almost boiling. On our way to Ash Grove after meeting the sweetest dog along side the road and Ted taking a wrong turn as he out ran me and the dog and continued on. I left him a message to let him know he went the wrong way, I am the navigator and knew he missed the turn because after a while I did not see him.. The Hills were none stop, do I sound like a broken record? Anyways I realized Ted is riding behind me which is normal but he is normally right behind me keeping me going. He kept falling further back. When we stopped I realized he was not doing so well and he said the heat is killing him and he is having cramps. I knew this was serious we had to get somewhere pretty soon. Pretty soon was about 2 more hours, we arrived in Ash Grove and I went for a swim in the local pool and Ted sat out at the picnic table. I told him we would go to the store and get him some Peidalyte for the electrolytes and bananas for potassium and we will drink lots of water tonight. I told him he should be peeing every 2 hours and it should be clear. Well he wasn't. So in the morning he was feeling better and we had over cast skies for the first part of the day and then hello heat and humidity. We found a few spots of relief and Ted is doing OK. Just have to consume so much liquid and food to keep us going it is really incredible. Imagine having Thanksgiving dinner everyday. Thats what we feel like, it is so hard to eat this much. I thought I would enjoy the eating but I really don't. It hard to eat when it is soooooo Hot outside. But last night I had a Sierra Nevada Brew and it was delicious! I called Teri and pretended to need help and finally had to confess it was me on the phone because I didn't want her to continue giving me directions any longer or should I say her pretending to know where she actually is. Inside joke for any of you that don't know Teri she can't find her way out of a tuna can. :-) So don't believe her directions under any circumstances...............Today we are resting and catching up on our domestic things like laundry but not till after 5pm as it is too hot outside. I will post pictures as soon as I can. Love to you all, and as always we are advancing West

Alley Springs Missouri Ozarks

Ted climbed to the top of the Forest Fire Look out Tower

Alley Springs 81 Billion Gallons a Day

Alley Springs


Ted at Jacks Fork River Bridge

Jacks Fork Put in For Paddlers

You can click on these pictures to make them bigger Hummingbirds

Golden Rule Tourist Sign Gotta Agree with Them!

Hotel Calico Kitty she was so Sweet and a Mommy too!

Eminence Missouri to Houston Missouri

Aloha Everyone,
Let's see we spent a couple of nights in Eminence Missouri hoping to do a float trip but the weather never cooperated with us to get on the river. Thats ok because I got to float in my own way. We had a good rest day, paying bills, catching up with rest. I sat and watched the rain for awhile and talked to another guy named Sam going East they are almost done. They are traveling with a sag wagon so they have someone picking out what they eat where they do their laundry and where they will sleep for the night all they do is ride 100 plus miles per day. I really enjoy our whole experience of finding food, shelter, and laundry when needed it's all part of the unknown adventure. It is really tough to totally rely on your own legs or bicycle to take you where you need to go infact tonight I am thinking about skipping dinner because I am too tired to find something to eat. I did my laundry in the bathtub. We are in a hotel tonight because the price is right. Today we left Eminence and headed 5 miles up up up to Alley Springs what a fabulous place the water is crystal clear and cold. It's an Old Grist Mill really neat area. The canoe buses and vans were passing us with tourists floating the river if it weren't for them our road would of been almost empty. Today I had to flip someone off because they were just too close for comfort. Just so you know I am not mad or anything just giving them my opinion. When we stopped for a beverage I had an old guy come and ask which way are you going I said West he said good. Why Oh my dogs are back aways I said are they black and brown yep thats them I said oh they did chase us. He says they are coyote killers I told him they were no harm and if they would of been bad they would get the pepper spray. The hummingbirds were out in force and they are so cute I watched them for a good ten minutes before moving on. After Alley Springs we had a huge hill to climb and my thoughts were focused on getting me over the Mountain. It was getting real Hot outside about 94 but feels like 101 with the humidity. I told Ted I have never had so much sweat coming from my body. Literally running out of every pore and running down my legs. We pulled up for lunch with 23 miles still to for the day, I had a sandwich and salad. The waitress brought us 2 pitchers of water so we could refill our water bottles before leaving. Leaving we werer greeted with much smaller hills I can't tell you how happy I was for this as my core temperature was runing hot and I was afraid my legs were going to give out. As another journal writer wrote These hills are demoralizing. But, coming into Houston Missouri we stopped at a coffee bar to get a cold drink, when going to pay you refused our money and said bikers get free drinks Wow, what a gift at this hour we were so thankful. I had an Iced Mocha Latte with Vanilla and Chocolate or something. MMMM Good. Ok, keep the rubber side down and I do think we are done with the Ozark Mountains.
Pictures to Follow,
Lisa

Missouri pictures and a few of Illinois

Black River Missour

This is one of those Hills that just drops off

Corn and Hills

Coal Train Loading station

looking through my rearview mirror

Hello Missouri crossing the Mighty Mississippi

Protected Water of Missouri

Self Portrait right before all Hell broke loose

My sister Maryann

Current River Missouri

Storm Damage Twin Rivers Missouri

Home sweet Home My fire

this was the view from my tent

My Home away from Home

Johnson Shut Ins Granite Art Bobcat

Mom and Dad