September 25, 2022 - Eads to Fort Collins, CO

We hit the road and headed toward Kit Carson on our way home. Neither of us have been there and we thought we'd go to the museum. The website said they are open 9-5. The sign in front said they are open 9-5. HOWEVER, they were not open. We looked around for a few minutes and read the informational sign telling about the rail station, then got back on the road.
On Highway 287 there was some construction, but it wasn't bad. Tobey said he wanted to bike on that shoulder. Not only was it wide, it was protected by those large orange barrels! Maybe next time!

We got home around 2 this afternoon and got the RV unloaded, most of the inside cleaned, and laundry going. Tomorrow we will finish the laundry and tackle washing the outside of the RV before we get it winterized.

It was a fun trip, but it is good to be home! Until next time, travel safely.

September 24, 2022 - Scott City, Kansas to Eads, Colorado

We said goodbye to Phil and Marcia this morning and they made their way back to Colorado driving, no biking. Tobey got on the road about 9:15 - he wanted it to warm up a little before heading out! It was still in the low 50s, so he was still bundled up a bit.

He spotted some nice painting on one of the buildings heading out of town.

While the traffic on Highway 96 hasn't been too bad, much of it has been huge cattle trucks. Often they were empty, but still a pretty steady stream. We couldn't figure out where they were going until today when we passed several large feed lots. In Colorado when you go by them and notice the smell, you just remark that "it's the smell of money." With beef prices in the grocery stores now, there was a lot of money on this road!


Tobey took several pictures on his ride.

The wind turbines were all along the route today, too.

Before he got to Marienthal he saw this bicycler sculpture and saw the sign for the Country Oven Bakery. He planned to stop and get some fresh donuts, but they are only open Monday-Friday! Bummer.

We stopped in Leoti, Kansas for lunch and a break. Coming into town Tobey snapped a picture of this sign - he knows how much I love quilts!

He rode around town and spotted these quilt patterns painted on the buildings. I somehow missed them all! You definitely see things differently on a bike than you do in an RV.




The first part of the morning he had a tailwind, then it switched to a crosswind. The temperature was rising so he shed some layers before he took off again.

I hung out in Leoti and went to the Wichita County Historical Society Museum. What a gem!
The main museum collection includes an original 36-star American flag that is supposed to have a connection to Abraham Lincoln, extensive military memorabilia from the Civil War to current day, quilts, wedding dresses, and all things about the town of "Old Leoti" and more!


The uniform belonged to Quincy A. Whitham who served during the Civil War. Co. K, 12th Indiana Inf., August 1862-June 1865. Pretty amazing.
They had a large collection of wedding dresses dating from the late 1800s to modern day.
There were several rooms and I spent an hour. If you wanted to read all of the signage, it woud take much longer to go through. This museum has free admission but accepts donations which I happily left!

Tobey was putting the pedal to the medal as he was getting closer to the finish line! He said the wind had died down also, so that helped him power through.

Soon, the ride was coming to an end. We entered the Mountain time zone and said goodbye to Kansas!
This is supposed to be the Welcome to Colorful Colorado sign ... not sure where it went, but we are here!

Today's ride was 64.2 miles making the total for his 14-day journey of 847 miles! We loaded his bike and drove on to Eads, Colorado where we are spending the night at the library (with the Sheriff's permission). Tomorrow we will drive on home.

September 23, 2022 - Ness City to Scott City, Kansas

It was another chilly night and Tobey and I slept in - 7:45! Phil was up and riding by 8:00 so Tobey was going to have to ride catch-up. We left the city park and went to the library to post yesterday's blog, so it was about 9:15 when Tobey finally got on the road! He was bundled up because it was about 53 degrees and - surprise - the wind was blowing again!Several of the streets in town are brick which added to the rough conditions for Tobey.

I spotted this old car on my way out of town.
Not far outside of Ness City was an historical marker telling about George Washington Carver's homestead site. He came to Ness County in 1886 and built a sod house there.

The clouds and wind hung around most of the morning into early afternoon. This was the view for miles ... vast open plains in Kansas. We finally asked a couple local folks and they confirmed this crop is sorghum. (but there isn't much difference from millet, they said!)

I did spot these guys on a hill and wasn't sure if I should be worried! :)

We stopped in Dighton briefly and the guys were able to shed a few layers of clothes. The sun was out and the wind was shifting from a head/cross wind to a tail wind! YAHOO!

This was an old gas station on the main street as we were leaving town (Highway 96).

Tobey snapped a few pictures on his way into town. He was happy to see the temperature was 79!

We are staying at the library tonight and the director was really nice. She gave us a couple recommendations for restaurants for dinner. We walked to Tate's and were not disappointed. Tobey and Marcia both had the shrimp dinner, Phil had a Cajun fish, and I had the country fried steak. Everything was delicious and they even offer a senior citizen discount!

On our way back, we stopped at the Maria DeGeer statue. She was 55 years old when she and her daughter left Garden City, Kansas and set out for the far western part of Kansas with the intention of starting a model community with no taverns or brothels. They pitched their tents in Scott County and she is the founder of Scott City. Her history is amazing! She started the first newspaper and went on to become the first woman lawyer in Kansas in 1887. She was an author, teacher, writer, poet and lecturer for Temperance, Women's Rights and Prison Reform, as well as a close friend of Susan B. Anthony and Frances Willard.

After dinner the guys wanted a rematch at Sequence, but were disappointed when we beat them 2 games to 1. Maybe next time ...

Tobey rode 56.5 miles today. Phil and Marcia are leaving us tomorrow because they need to get back to Colorado so Tobey will finish the run to the border on his own! 

September 22, 2022 - Great Bend to Ness City, Kansas

You have probably heard the say, “What a difference a day can make.” Well, I think that is true today! Last night the temperature had dropped from the mid-90s to the low 60s by 9pm and the rain was just starting as we went to bed. The rain continued all night and was quite heavy at times. I woke up at 4am and got up to dig out the down comforter because it was cold! When the alarm went off at 7, neither of us wanted to get up. It was still raining, dark, and the temperature was about 53! Around 8 am we packed up and moved the RVs so we could connect with WIFI for a while hoping the rain would let up. Finally, around 10 am the rain was mostly stopped, so the guys geared up and took off. Marcia and I waited another hour before we followed behind them.

They took a couple breaks and after lunch Tobey took off before Phil and they agreed to meet in Ness City.

We did see one other biker on the route and he stopped to talk to us at the lunch break. He was an older gentleman from Switzerland riding unassisted. He started in New York and is hoping to make it to California!

At the Alexander rest stop they had an historic marker which gave some history of the area.

Fun yard art!

It was a pretty uneventful day and not much to see along the way other than the open plains and some farm land. Clouds and intermittent mist were the order of the day, but fortunately, there wasn’t much wind.

Tobey pulled into the city park in Ness City about 4 pm after riding 64.2 miles. The temperature was still pretty chilly! Phil arrived shortly behind him. We had time to play a few games of Sequence before dinner and I am proud to say that Marcia and I beat the Tobey and Phil, three games to two!

They are planning a little later start tomorrow since it is still a bit rainy and should be stopping by 8:30 or 9 tomorrow morning. Welcome to Fall, and on to Scott City, Kansas!

September 21, 2022 - Sterling to Great Bend, Kansas

In order to beat the heat, Tobey and Phil were up and ready to ride by 7 am. The sunrise was beautiful as the guys were starting out. It was a little cooler, but the wind! Yikes, another miserable day with the winds blowing from the southeast 20-35 mph! Of course, later in the day as they were heading north, it shifted so it was blowing from the northeast. They just couldn’t catch a break.


Ready to go!

Marcia and I did a grocery store run and then followed them along the way.


The first part of the ride went through the Quivira National Wildlife Refuge which is located in south-central Kansas within the transitional zone of the Great Plains. The refuge has over 22,000 acres of wetlands and prairies. There are different plant types and the Big and Little Salt Marshes which attract over 300 species of birds. During the fall the area is supposed to attract up to 800,000 ducks and Canada geese as they migrate to the Gulf Coast and Mexico!

Marcia and I stopped at one of the hiking areas and walked about a little more than a mile. We saw a few birds, but nothing we could readily identify. When we reached an open field, we turned around and headed back.

A few miles down the road we met up with the fellas at one of the overlook areas.
They had some interesting signage about the history of the area, as well as the plant and animal life in the area. We also noted how windy it was by watching the clouds as they were flying by!

Tobey saw this painting on one a farm house as they were going by. Pretty fun.

We stopped at Highway 281 where the route turns north into Great Bend to have lunch and a rest break. It was turning hot, but the wind was still gusting and rocking the guys and the RV. The headwind made it slow going for them, and we waited almost two hours before following them on the last 15 miles of their ride today. Phil ended up loading his bike about 6 miles outside of town but Tobey trudged on.

Just on the south side of Great Bend, Tobey spotted The Barton County Historical Village and told me to meet him there. He rested while I toured the museum. It has a very impressive “village” set up with several buildings on site to tour.
St. Paul’s Lutheran Church from near Albert, Kansas were moved to the site. It was built in 1898, but it wasn’t open today to tour. There is a school house that was from 1876 and post office from 1871 that was moved from Castleton, Kansas.


I especially liked the little Rock House, the Dodge Homestead which was built by the E.J. Dodge family in 1873. It was moved, stone by stone from its original site in 1976-77! They had eight children!

Inside the main museum building were several rooms filled with displays relating the history of the area. It is quite a treasure to see and a bargain at $5.00 admission!



After the museum, Tobey finished his ride into the First Congregational Church where we are spending the night. Tobey rode 50 brutal miles today. After a short rest, we needed gas so Tobey and I took a little tour of the downtown area of Great Bend and stopped at the courthouse where they have a “quilt walk.” It wasn’t exactly what I expected, but it was interesting. The “quilts” are patterns in the concrete on the sidewalk surrounding the courthouse.

The first one is the “Kansas Star” pattern and the second one is “Kansas Troubles.” There are seven designs all together.


I did like the bike rider ironwork I saw on the walk.

I visited with Pastor Mike when we got back before we settled in for the night. The weather is definitely changing – after the last few days of extreme heat, a cold front is settling in and we have changed into jeans and sweatshirts! The forecast is for rain starting tonight and tomorrow’s forecast is a high of 59.