Day 46, Eureka to Newton, Kansas.

This is Tom, east bounder #6 we saw today. He is going from San Fransisco to Maine.

Cassoday has a large concentration of Mennonites. The migrated here to escape prosecution in Russia.

We stopped to get water and cool off at this Mennonite church.

The sign speaks for itself. How ever, we did not see any prairie chickens any where.

We did see cows though, and plenty of them. That bull thought I was after his women.

That's the post office in Rosaria that was so kind to me. I'll explain tin the post below.

Lisa, right after her break. We only took one kind of break if you know what I mean.

While I was on break, I took this shot. It was one of the few places that you could hide and not be seen by passing motorist.

We ran across this water fall on our way out of Eureka. It was early, so the lighting sucked.

The water wasn't at all that appealing either.

We saw these axis deer. Yep, Kansas has axis deer.

The one and only store in Rosaria was closed. They don't open till 11:00AM.

This bird wouldn't move till I took his picture. After that, he still wouldn't move.

In the heat of the afternoon. Even the harvesters stop for a break. But the left the machines running.
This old wagon and that water pump is probably older than all of you put together.

These three east bounders were moving too fast to stop for a chat.


These to guys were pulling trailers. "Right on dudes, trailers rule".

I've been staring at Lisa's butt for over a month now, I can't decide if it's getting smaller, or the seat is getting bigger.


Day 46, Eureka to Newton, Kansas. "The Dog Days Of Summer". 74.98 miles, (1907.7 miles total)

It's hard to believe that we've been on the road for 46 days already. When you are away from home that long, you tend to lose track of time. Lisa and I constantly ask each other what day it is. Most of the time we agree, but on a couple occasions, we had to enlist the help of a calendar. I've also noticed more gray hair. I don't know if I've had them before the trip, or if this trip is actually the cause. At least I manage to shave regularly to keep myself looking half way decent. I must smell bad when I walk into a store pouring with sweat. I can just imagine what everyone is thinking.................................. This morning, we were up at 5:00AM. We wanted to be on the road by six, but you know how that goes. It was a gallant try though, we only missed it by 15 minutes. It's the earliest start we've have since starting this trip. It was kind of neat, a lot cooler than usual, and we were able to cover a lot of miles early in the day. By noon, we had gone over 50 miles.

As we left town, we came across this bridge. The river had a water fall that we stopped at to take pictures. This was by far, the best scenic attraction of the town of Eureka. Too bad it was so early, the lighting wasn't quite what I would have liked.................................. We rolled along un molested by vehicle traffic. In the early morning hours, we were able to ride mostly on the road instead of hugging the imaginary shoulder, (There is none). We spotted our first two east bounders early. Two guys pulling trailers just like ours. They were coming at us down hill with tail wind, so stopping to chat was not an option. I thought the first guy kind of looked like my friend Mike Curiak, so I shouted out; "Aloha". I figured if it was him, he would have known it was me................................ At about mile 20, we reached the town of Rosalia, where we thought we would have breakfast, but the only store in town didn't open till 11:00AM. So we sat on the bench in front of the store and ate some snacks we had with us. At this point, I had to use the bathroom bad. You know, number 2. I went to the Post Office next door hoping they were open, and asked the Post Mistress, she gladly obliged. People around here are so nice, and they are always intrigued by what we are doing.

As we rolled out of town, I noticed a large high fenced pen with what looked like Axis deer in it. I stopped, and took out my camera to zoom in. Sure enough, axis deer in Kansas. I felt right at home. They also had a few other game in there also. Other deer, some real dark ones, alpacas, and maybe even elk, I couldn't quite make them out, they were way on the other side in the trees. A short time later, we saw a group of three east bounders. They too were moving fast with the tail wind at there back. We waved at each other while I snapped a shot with my point and shoot. About a mile up the road, we met Tom. He had seen us coming from a distance, and stopped to chat with us. We were glad he stopped, we were interested about facilities ahead since we really didn't have a decent meal yet today. He told us that at Cassoday, which also happens to be the prairie chicken capital of the world had a store that would be open by the time we got there. That was another 17 miles down the road, but you take what you can get. Next time we'll eat first............................... After leaving Tom, we turned onto another Interstate. Surprisingly, not only did it have a nice shoulder, but the traffic was light as well. Not too far down the road, something caught our eye. Coming from the right, a fast moving object darted across the road no more than 50 or 60 yards in front of us, barely being missed by a big semi truck. It was a coyote, so I thought. Lisa then corrected me as to a fox. What ever it was, it was fast, and it was lucky to be alive. Sorry, no picture. As fast as I am myself, I wasn't able to get a shot...................... Tom was right. We found the food place. Sorry, again no picture, I forgot. We got there just in time for the buffet lunch. All you can eat ribs, baked potato's, tossed salad, baked beans, peppers, etc., etc., etc. Oh yeah, and desert. All for $7.95. The food was a welcomed experience. I ate enough for myself and Lisa, but she had her own anyway.

We left Cassoday well filled, and ready to continue. The problem was, it was hot by now. I'm not complaining, because it's not going to do any good. I just wished you guys could be here for about an hour just so you can understand what it's like. Anything over a hundred is bad. Especially in the sun in a place where shade is far and few in between. You could die out there, and the only people would find you would be an east bounder. Just hope he's not going to fast with the tail wind. He might not stop.

After a couple of hours of riding in the above conditions, I noticed way up ahead what looked like a couple of bicycle tourist. I pointed them out to Lisa, and got out my camera so I could take a shot in case they didn't stop. Good thing I did, cause they didn't. Altogether we saw 8 east bounders today. The most we've seen to date. At the start of the ride this morning, I asked Lisa how many she thought we would see. Two days ago we saw two, and the day before that, three. Lisa said she thought we would see two today. By the way, half of the riders we saw today were pulling trailers.

The rest of the ride was uneventfully. Unless you count the heat as an event, then it was exciting. But other than that, it went on without a hitch. I must admit though, that toward the end of our ride. I noticed a lot of big semi trailers hauling grass with out the gr. They were moving. I'm glad they could see us from afar, and gave us a wide birth. The wind those things create when they pass you at about 80, is like someone trying to push you off your bike from the side. It's mean.

Tonight we are at the American Value Inn. Tomorrow is a rest day. My mom and brother folks are driving down from Topeka to see us, Yippee............................

Aloha everyone, thanks for tuning in. Ted.