2024 Trip 1 - Day 18

May 18, 2024

After the storm I had the night before, this past night was really quiet.  No rain.  No wind. And because the other party in this loop left for the night, no neighbors.

I got up about 6:30 and started putting things together while I updated this blog.  I had most of it written but attaching photos was difficult and this morning, while it’s really slow while working through a hot spot on my phone, it is getting the job done.  For breakfast I had the other half of last night’s dinner which I heated up by adding a bit of hot water.

Everything loaded up and ready for departure by 8:30.

I checked the map and made the decision to ride the 2-lane option today.  Time and mileage were about the same so I figured I’d get to see some little towns along the way.  The destination is Prairie Dog State Park in Kansas making this the first time on the trip where I started out and finished the day in the same state.  I really don’t know anything about this park and am just hoping that I can get a spot.  If not, I have a couple others as backup.  The route:

The ride out was pleasant, in low-70s and not much traffic.  The scenery is flat farmland with the occasional hill.  I noticed that quite few farms also have an oil well or two at work.  Near Piedmont there was a rest stop, usual for state roads, so I stopped and while there shot a few photos.

I was stopped for construction for a few minutes somewhere.

It started getting warm and the temperature got up to the mid-80s which was fine when riding but hot when stopped.  The route took me around Wichita and for one mile through an unpaved road.  

In Lyons, Kansas I stopped to take another photo of my bike in front of a courthouse, a really nice one.

I rode through Ellsworth and noted the “No Hitchhiking” signs and, sure enough, there is a prison there.  I stopped for a photo or two outside of town.

I crossed a big dam that makes Wilson’s Lake.

The signs for Lucas said it’s a big art community so I did a drive-by of “The Garden of Eden.”

I stopped for gas in Luray.  I felt small compared to the guy at the other dispenser.

Regarding getting gas, I had some negative experiences at several stations earlier.  One was really busy and several of the dispensers were out of order.  The next place acted like it took my card but then didn’t.  Another place took forever as it kept trying to upsell me on loyalty programs and car washes.  And another place refused my card after asking for my zip code (which I know I typed correctly.). 

When I rode past Damar, I had to go see this church as it was visible a mile away:  St. Joseph, Catholic Church.

I texted with a friend today and told him where I was going and he said he lived in Hill City for a time so I stopped for a photo.

I arrived at the Prairie Dog State Park and did a tour of the place.  It’s packed with RVs but I found a vacant site and got myself set up.

Not long after I sat down to write this, a bull snake wandered by.

I sat at my picnic table and started writing this blog entry when the gentleman from the RV across from me stopped by and we had a nice chat.  He worked for Coors in Golden, CO but is now retired and moved to Pagosa Springs, CO.  I'll have to travel there someday as it sounds nice.

It was a 399.9 miles day.  OK, call it 400 miles.

 

2024 Trip 1 - Day 17

May 17, 2024

It’s been quite the day.  I, of course, heard rain through most of the night but I did sleep pretty well.  A bit of water got into the tent but nothing got really soaked and I wiped up what I could with a microfiber towel.  The weather app indicated a break from 7-9 am and the radar view showed that I might outrun it.

I thought that it would be a good time to make a break for it so I got up about 6:30 and headed to the showers.  

The hot water and plenty of it got me feeling pretty good about the day ahead even if I did have to contend with rain.  I wasn’t hungry yet so I got back in the tent and just started packing, taking note of what was wet so I could dry it out later.  The tent itself was soaked and dripping but it just got rolled up as is.

BTW, the pipe nipple splint on the tent poles worked great.

I was loaded up and ready to roll at 7:45 and there was only a slight drizzle when I got things ready to go, an early departure for me.

I shot some photos of the lake on my way out.

I rode back to Hwy 60 which is a 4-lane, divided highway that I’ll be riding for a while.  I hit a bit of drizzle but barely enough to call it rain.  I had put the rain liner in my jacket but mainly to cut the wind because the jacket shell was still wet and I didn’t want to tempt hyperthermia.

Near Mountain View I pulled off for a short break on a road where the pavement ended a few miles from the main highway.  Photo time.

When I got back to the highway I stopped for gas and a sandwich since it was 10 am and I was getting hungry.

While my goal today is to get to Elk City State Park in Kansas, part of the goal is to get there early enough that I can hang my wet stuff out to dry so I’m moving along as quickly as I can.  That said, I can’t go through the Ozarks without taking a side trip on one of their curvy roads and I picked Hwy 137 out of Willow Springs.  Very curvy with lots of ups and downs.  Many of the hills were blind at the top and emptied into a curve.  Lots of fun. Some photos from that area.

Rather than head back to Hwy 60 I routed myself on a series of county roads.  I stopped in front of a church to take a photo or two and to check the map as I needed to find a gas station.  There’s one sort of on my way.

The website for the Elk City State Park said that they closed at 4 pm and I pulled up to the gate at 3:59.  The woman at the gate explained that I could just self-register if I found an open site and directed me to two loops where tent sites might be available.  All the sites in the first loop were either already occupied or had reserved tickets on them.  I dropped down the a lower loop, one right on the lake, and only one site of the 6 or so was taken so I select one right on the water.  I dropped a few things on the picnic table and went back to the kiosk and registered.  $17.25 for the night.

The next task was to get the wet stuff out to dry.  I hung up my travel clothesline and got wet clothes on it while draping the rain cover for the tent over my bike and the tent itself over the picking table.  It's warm and there is a breeze so it didn’t take long for the tent parts to get dry enough to set up.

Once all that was under control, I rode back to the town of Independence to gas up the bike and to get refreshments for dinner.

I boiled up some water and while dinner was rehydrating, I took a walk around to see the sunset over the lake.

It was a 423 mile day.

2024 Trip 1 - Day 16

May 16, 2024

This was the least happening day of the trip and certainly not that fun.  I suppose that it’s my own fault for the route planning but it is what it is.

The day started off well with a short hike on a trail that wraps around the lake I am camped near.  Fishermen are firing up their boats and getting out early under the fantastic weather.

I went to the bath house and had a shower before starting the tear down routine and heating up water for my oatmeal and herbal tea.  I looked at the place where I decided to camp tonight and decided not to make a reservation as recreation.com showed almost every site was available.  Over the weekend it’s completely booked but I figured I’d just ride there and check it out.

For the ride, it was The Slab again.  I looked at the alternative of taking backroads but through this part of Indiana and Illinois the scenery is the same and the 2-lane route is a couple hours longer even though it’s shorter by 20 miles of so.  The Slab it will be.

The first item to deal with is my broken tent pole so I found the Dick’s Sporting Goods in Bloomington and looked for a replacement.  I’d never been to one of their stores but was familiar with them as they are a major sponsor of the Pittsburgh half marathon that I ran a couple years ago.  I was disappointed as 80% of the floor space is clothing.  The sports with balls have more shelf space than camping.  No, they don’t have poles or stakes.  I did pick up a length of rope.

I got back on my bike and thought about the bag that the tent stakes for the tent came in and remembered that it also contained rope, some clips for adjusting the rope, and a little tube about 4 inches long.  I never looked into what that tube was for and all the sudden I had it:  It’s a splint for a broken tent pole.  I headed to a local hardware store and picked up four 1/4” pipe nipples, about 4” long.  This just had to work.

I hit the road on I-69 south which was in perfect condition and almost devoid of other vehicles.  This was big difference from riding I-70 yesterday with all the truck traffic.  I made the occasional rest and gas stops along the way and left I-69 and took I-64 west which had a bit more traffic but nothing that was crazy.  The speed limit is 70 and I like setting my cruise control to 66.  It’s the most comfortable speed and I like looking at my instrument panel and seeing 666.  66 mph and 6th gear.  ;-0

Somewhere along the way I entered Illinois and except for the signs informing me of that, the scenery looked the same: flat, straight roads, green fields.  Corn is about one foot high.

I stopped at a Subway in Mt. Vernon for a sandwich about 3 pm, a much overdue lunch, and then it was back on the ride.  I was now on I-57 south which eventually ended and the road was named “Future I-57” but continued on as Hwy 60.  I stopped in Dexter, MO for gas, beer, and chips and then it was a short ride to the campground.  Well, not as short as the Google navigator wanted as it tried to send me down an unpaved shortcut but I had it reroute me and eventually arrived at Peoples Creek Campground using paved roads.  There is a big lake here and the attendent who checked me in, who was very nice, said that they only have 4 campers now but are booked solid on the weekends because fishing is a big deal here.

As I headed to my assigned site, the sky opened up and I had to set the tent up in a downpour.  Those pipe nipples worked GREAT as pole splints.

Now I sit in my tent and wonder if beer and chips will be my dinner.  It’s been an hour and it’s still raining but the weather app says it should stop by 8 pm or so.

About 8 pm the rain let up for a while and I fired up the stove and made lasagne.  

I settled into the tent and the rain continued all night.  I don't think that I got the tarp fully placed under the tent and with setting it up in the rain everything is wet.  I have waterproof liners, AKA trash bags, in the bags that are exposed to the rain so the gear inside them is dry as are the things in my side cases but there are small puddles in the tent. The place where the tent is won't accept stakes so I can't keep the rain cover away from the inner tent and that brings in a little water around the bottom.  But I am still mostly dry.

It was a 375 mile day.