Day 33-Highways and hills and prairie dogs, oh my!

He said: Luckily the rain finished overnight and the day started out cool. 31 miles to our first stop where we met a very interesting "character". Larry Taylor. After getting his dog off me, he answered my inquiry about available food by inviting me in to his "bike hostel". In exchange for toast and apricot jam I got to see how he was going to save the town and create a bike oasis, as well as an Iraq and Western theme parks. All this in a ghost town with the economy in his words "is dead". I even got to see the future hot tub for tired bikers (a pink bath tub in the backyard, with a wooden cover and vegetated water inside). Interesting fellow, we wish him well. Onward westward, hit a good patch of road and thought the road situation was looking up. NOT! You'd be surprised what smooth asphalt does to your speed compared to chip stone road surface. That rough surface has done a number on my tire and I had to change it tonite as it was just about worn through. Approaching Pueblo, a good size city, my 2 lane road (65 mph) became a 4 lane divided highway, and the drivers in Colorado are the closest we've seen to east coast drivers in quite awhile. I guess I left my map at Larry's because as I was approaching what I thought might be my exit, with very little breakdown lane, I discovered I didn't have my map. Good thing Pueblo was the last thing on it. Had to call the SAG vehicle for a rescue. She swooped down like an angel and delivered me unharmed to downtown Pueblo. We hooked up with Andrew, Evan, and their new riding partner from Louisville for lunch. We had a good time, but we needed to get back on the road as I still had 35-45 miles to go. We're not in Kansas anymore. I had to do some spinning, but also got to go downhill at 36 mph, first time I've broken 30 since Missouri. By 85 miles I knew my limit for the day, so here we are in Florence, Co. Oh yeah, failed to mention we are in prairie dog country. Saw 2 of the little critters today. If you ask the locals why you don't see any just over the line in Kansas, they tell you Kansas is too liberal.

She said: When I left this morning it looked like we were going to see pretty much the same scenery, at least till Pueblo. Then I turned a corner and saw mountains in the distance, and the landscape started "greening". Met up with Evan and Andrew, had a nice visit and shared stories of experiences we have all had since we saw each other. They are heading straight west to San Francisco and taking the train to Portland for their flights home. If we make it to Astoria before their flights they want to cheer Paul into Astoria and see him dip his tire. Left Pueblo and saw the terrain change as we went through a small canyon area and saw the mountains off in the distance, getting closer and closer. There were a few good hills for Paul to ride over-a hint of what's to come. Stopped for the night in Florence, Co., out to a nice local family restaurant for dinner, and hope to get to sleep early.

The park across the street from our hotel in Ordway. The fountain was instead of a pool.

Saw the mountains in the distance, about 40 miles from Pueblo.

Paul, Evan, Andrew, and their new friend from Louisville.

Looking back toward Pueblo at the top of the canyon area.

The terrain really changed

It was something to see this after all the plains.

Here they come!

We're getting closer and closer.

The "big" hills off in the distance.

Day 32-The High Dry Plains of Colorado

He said: Started out at the Colorado line. Colorado's roads so far are not as good as Kansas'. Not much in between the starting and finishing point, but about 6 miles from the end of the day caught up with Sharon at a little restaurant. Had some pretty funny conversations with the owner about bikers etc. The town's name is Sugar City. They used to have a population of 2000 built around a sugar plant that had been built in the early 1900's. The plant closed in 1967 and the current population is about 300. I got to Ordway (our final destination for the day) about 3 o'clock. Just as Sharon and I met up it started to rain. We are at about 4500' and the day after tomorrow will climb to 9400'. I guess we will be in the mountains. Alot of the schools in the area, because of the size of the towns, have 4 day weeks with longer days. It is strange to be in these towns with dozens of storefronts from businesses that no longer exist. At one time they must have had a thriving economy, and it doesn't look that way now. 104 miles.
She said: It has been fun sitting outside the small groceries and convenience stores and having people just strike up conversations with us. They are used to bikers coming through the area, and love to ask where you are from, what you do, etc. They also love to talk about their towns and have great pride in where they live. They call this area the dry plains, and I can see why. The landscape is very arid, not much for crops planted, and alot less livestock too. We rode along the rail lines for many miles, and at one point came across hundreds of rail cars empty on the tracks. You could tell they had been there for a very long time. I guess they don't use rail transportation around here anymore. There had to be at least 10 miles of those cars. We checked into our hotel for the night and inquired about a place to eat. Walked to the only restaurant in town only to find out they are closed on Monday. Luckily the next town was only 10 miles away, so we didn't starve. Went to the grocery for our breakfast staples and drinks for Paul for tomorrow. Will try to meet up with Evan and Andrew in Pueblo tomorrow, as they are taking the Western Express route to California and we won't see them again on the trip.

Pretty dry looking.

This was Paul's view pretty much the whole day. He likes to see a grain silo or water tower on the horizon-it means you are getting close to a town.

Day 31-Toto, we're not in Kansas any more!

Well, technically, yes we are.
She said: Riding through the last of Kansas, and the scenery is pretty much the same. Long distances between towns, filled with acres and acres of corn, sorghum, sunflowers, and empty wheat fields. It was a typical Kansas summer day, blue skies, 103 degrees with lots of wind. Passed into Mountain Time and stopped in Tribune, Ks. to wait for Paul. Not much open on Sunday, but we went to the grocery store, got a Gatorade and sat outside talking to many of the towns folk, and watching a harvester company ride by with truck after truck of harvesting equipment and trailers. A woman told me they travel north as far as the Dakotas and work their way back harvesting fields. It was early, and we were having trouble securing accomodations for the night so Paul rode to the Colorado border (another 15 miles) which will shorten the ride tomorrow. (It was another 43 miles to the next town from the border.) We met up with Cole (from Westport CT), Doug (from Boston) and Sonny (from Illinois) who we had met a few days ago in Scott City. They are headed for Boulder and then back on the Transam further north. We may run into them again later on the route. We are staying in a cute little cottage in Tribune tonite. Tribune was named for Horace Greeley, founder of the New York Tribune, and champion of the common man. Horace was from New Hampshire, but apparently the people around here felt a kinship to him and named the town, county, and many of the streets here after him.
He said: Ditto. 63 miles.

These are feed lots. They feed the cattle, fatten then up, then send them to slaughter.

With all the wind here, we were wondering why we didn't see more of these.

Yippee! Another milestone.

The harvesters on their way back to Hays, Ks.

Cole, Doug, Sharon, Paul, Sonny (from left to right)

It doesn't really look to colorful yet.

Our home for the night.

Sometimes we both get tired. I have a great SAG team, she's working very hard.

Our little cottage is very homey. A nice respite from hotels and city parks.

Day 30-Meet the Kansans

We said: Taking a day off from riding, so we "slept in" this morning. Went to the local donut shop for breakfast (couldn't find another place to eat). When we walked in, there was a couple who sat near us at dinner last night sitting inside. They looked at us and said"hey, weren't you at the pizza place last night?" We also saw them at the grocery store after dinner. Anyway, I guess they knew we were from out of town and struck up a conversation. Talked to them and their neighbor (and several other customers who came in) for quite awhile and got a feel for the area. Took a ride about 15 miles or so out of town to the Monument Rocks (pictures below). It was a 7-8 mile ride on an unpaved road through fields of corn, empty fields where wheat had already been harvested and were being fertilized, and sorghum (that is what we have been seeing acres and acres of). Then all of a sudden you see these rocks off in the distance. They were huge, up to 70' tall, formed by limestone deposits in the ocean that had once been there. We left there and went to Lake Scott State Park where we thought we'd see some wildlife. There was a small lake there, which there aren't too many of around here, campsites, and El Cuertalao (pueblo)-the remnants of what is believed to be the site of the northernmost pueblo. Didn't see any wildlife, just some campers, and the homestead of the first settler there-early 1900's. Making it an early night-back on the road again tomorrow when we will pass into MountainTime and Colorado!
Before we sign off, Paul wanted to make everybody aware of a little known problem around here that no one will talk about. Animal suicide. There has been an abundance of road kill all the way across the country, but something different is going on here. I mean come on, you can see for miles in every direction, very little traffic, and yet just yesterday there was a dead rabbit, numerous armadillos, even birds, and some turtles. Now most people stop and help the turtles, I say survival of the fittest. But, something is going on, what's causing these creatures to commit suicide? Just the other day there were 2 raccoons dead next to each other. Murder, suicide? I don't know. If anybody knows anything about this, or if there is a hot line I can leave a number for, let us know. Where's PETA when you need them?

Monument Rocks off in the distance.

Still working on that timer thing!

Got it.

The Monument Rocks across the street.

They're pretty big

More rocks

We thought these were nests at first-but we think they are shell or coral deposits.

The other visitor gave us a good perspective shot.

We had to wait for him and his 3 friends to cross the road in front of us.

Day 29-What a Difference a Day Makes

He said: Knew today was going to be the last day before a break day, so hoping we could finish out strong. The weather cooperated, a beautiful blue sky Kansas day. The incline is more pronounced now, which I like, because I can't see 17 miles ahead of me. Yesterday was all strong head winds, and today the only wind was usually a gentle cross breeze. Not enough to bother you, but enough to help keep you cool. Stopped at 2 historic marker rest stops. The more interesting one was about George Washington Carver, who homesteaded here prior to getting his college degree and Masters and heading Tuskeegee Institute, where he worked for over 40 years and had about 500 uses for crops. So, it was a great riding day. I actually passed a train (it was sitting still on the tracks) 111 cars long. Camping in a nice city park, and the nice Chamber of Commerce lady told Sharon where we could go swimming and take showers. So, life is good. Tomorrow is an off day. We are going to try and see some Buffalo and Elk at a State Park. 93 miles.
She said: Took a ride this morning around Lacrosse and then met up with Paul for breakfast. The road is long and straight, we don't take any other roads for the rest of this whole map, over 300 miles into Pueblo, Co. We finished the 5th map this morning (out of 12) and Paul has done about 2100 miles! I tried to take some pictures of the Great High Plains-but you need a panoramic camera to really capture what we are seeing. I can't believe how far you can see! Met 2 young guys heading west, one from Westport, CT and the other from Boston. They are staying in the city park in Scott City too. That's where we are tonite. The towns we have been going through are all small, none with a population over 3500, and they all have beautiful parks, schools, swimming pools and an active community. Doing laundry after a swim, showers, setting up camp and dinner, so we really have a whole day off tomorrow. Working in the libraries has really been great. They are all nice buildings, and the people who work in them are all friendly and very accomodating. They are always busy, with many people taking advantage of all they have to offer. A great way to see local tax dollars at work!

The skyscraper of the plains in Ness City, Ks.

That clump of trees is probably at least 5 miles away

Don't know what this is-wheat or sorghum-whatever it is there is a ton of it growing here. The county we are in has 90,000 acres of sorghum planted.

Day 28-On the Santa Fe Trail

She said: Left Buhler under a beautiful sky, and Paul with anothr big day ahead. Tried stopping at several towns on the way to use the library...alot easier than working out of the car. Most of the libraries in these small towns are only open part time. Finally sat outside and worked until the one in Hutchinson opened. Worked there and then left to meet Paul in Nickerson for a late lunch. Between Nickerson and where we were planning on spending the night there were 58 miles and no services (gas station, water, grocery...nothing). I stopped at another National Park Historic Site (Fort Larned) and took a very nice tour. The fort was established as a military post to protect traffic on the Santa Fe trail. It operated as a fort from 1859 until 1878. Passed Paul with about 12 miles left to his ride, and I went ahead to find us accomodations. No showers at the City Park, so we got a motel. No showers 2 days in a row and 200+ miles of biking was a no go. He said wanted me to add: 111.5 miles.

The morning sky in Buhler, Ks

Paul made a new friend on the road. He'd be a handy traveling companion on those 58 mile stretches with no water.

He was very friendly!

VERY FRIENDLY! Heard a hee-haw just after putting the camera away-the donkey wanted in on the publicity!

The tin man in Kansas.

Fort Larned

The barracks-4 guys to a bunk-2 on top-sleeping head to toe, 2 on bottom-sleeping head to toe.

More of the fort.

Entrance to the Park



Huge grain storage facilities everywhere.

Day 27-Kansas is beginning to look alot like Kansas

She said: So about 3 in the morning I was awakened by very loud thunder, the sound of pouring rain, and lightning-it was a good thing we decided to stay in a hotel last night. Took a bike ride in the morning and it started to rain just as I got back to the hotel. Took off to meet Paul, and it rained the whole time I was catching up to him. Sat in a little store/diner in Cassoday, Ks while the rain let up. There were no services at all for the next 38 miles, and all I could see ahead was dark skies with an occassional bolt of lightning thrown in. In Kansas, it's hard to tell how far away all of that actually was. Made it to Newton with no lightning strikes-just Paul a bit soggy. The skies cleared a bit for the last part of the day, and we are staying in Buhler, Ks. in the town park. The pool closed yesterday, as school started today-so no swimming. It is a lovely facility with a pond, several pavillions, ball fields, and a gazebo. Went downtown to Joey's Diner for dinner and will hit the sleeping bags early.

he said: more rain in the morning, but overall a good day. been talking to a few locals, and now it is almost 9 so this will be short. 107 miles


To thewest (the direction we were heading-doesn't look too promising-saw lightning bolts in those distant clouds)

To the north

To the east

.....and south

They went on forever....

as far as you could see.

Lots of oil derricks in the fields

The train station in Newton, Ks. It is open from midnight till 8 am. I guess that's when Amtrak passes through these parts.

That's a long road!