El Dorado, Kansas to Buhler, Kansas
Rain came overnight. Had to scramble to get rain-fly over tent in a hurry. This came as a surprise since the night sky had been so clear and the storm of the day before had seemed long past. Plus - the radio reports never mentioned rain as a possibility and when it WAS raining they mad NO mention of it. Don’t get me started on weathermen - it’s all a big GUESS! The 5 day forecast is a BIG LIE, people! The weather is simply whatever it is at the present time. I dare you to ever find a 5-day forecast that is accurate (except maybe in San Diego). Go ahead - track any 5-day over a week and you will notice that as the days roll by the predictions change. Pick one day and write down what the 5-day said for the next 5 days and you will see the 5-day forecast is B-U-L-L-S-H-I-T!
OK, so as I listen to reports on the radio 3 hours after it started raining, the announcer mentions a storm that “snuck in overnight” - Flood Watch in effect for Butler County, KS until 9:45 AM!
I am camped on the second hole of a 340 yard par 4 of the American Legion Golf Course in El Dorado, KS (pronounced El - Dor - Ay - Doe). It is a water hole with a creek 75 yards out. I was on the other side of the creek and had to cross a small bridge. The creek was swollen to the point that the water was even with the bottom of the bridge and much of the fairway was flooded, too.
On the plus side - winds out of the southeast today, which may mean a tailwind! We’ll see.
Breakfast finds me at Spangles, a 50’s malt shop style place and no overhang . So I park my bike at a closed KFC. For the spelling cops - they have a sign that says: Wensday 18 pieces $7.99 - right out there on US Highway 54.
OK, so it’s still pouring rain and since it’s cell phone free minutes - unlimited Saturday, I decide to call everybody, hoping the rain will let up.
10:30 - OK, time to go. It’s not going to stop. Not on the road for 15 minutes when I head north into major headwinds. The wind comes out of the north today - fiercely - and the rain is extra cold. I know now that there is a big difference between August rain and September rain. I am pedaling about 7 miles an hour and it is not fun when you combine headwinds and cold!
Total for the day: 68.11 miles. 5 hrs. 53 min. 1889.5 miles
Stopped in Whitewater, KS for post office and a cafe to warm up in after 22 hard miles. The husband of the dishwasher struck up a conversation with me. He said he had heart a problem and the doctor said he should ride a bike 5 miles a day. So he bought a stationary bike and rode across the country 5 miles at a time - virtually! Plotting his imaginary course on a map. While I had him there I figured the old-timer could answer a lot of my questions that had been building up since I began riding through Kansas. First, he explained what a feed lot was. How cattle are brought there to be fattened up to 1100 lbs. from 500 or 600 lbs. They are fed a high protein diet of special grains. The demand has changed over the years from marbled meat being desirable to now leaner meat. So the grain composition changed to create the type of meat that the public wanted.
I also got the lowdown on the oil derricks. They are either electrically powered or gas powered. Some are pumping out oil and some are pumping water back in to keep the source primed. The water pumped back comes from the oil pumped out. It rises to the top of the oil and travels through underground pipes to the storage tanks. It’s drawn off and pumped back into the ground.
I find it interesting as I ride through agricultural fields and see the vegetable crops and the cattle animals on the surface, peppered with derricks connected to the mineral commodity down below. Animal, vegetable, or mineral? You can find them all in one spot here in Kansas.
I turned to leave the cafe and notice the rain is more torrential than before. Went outside and started to ride and stopped to put on some warmer clothing.
Next goal was Newton, KS about 20 miles away. Eventually arrived there and found the library. Haven’t checked my email in more than 2 days. The librarian was originally from Harleysville, PA - near Philly. When I got done with the computer and went outside, the rain had stopped! Decided to try and make it to Nickerson, KS but only got as far as Buhler, KS.
Photo of birds on a wire Photo of irrigation system Photo of patriotic tin man mailbox
I’m in a part of Kansas now where every town has a grain elevator. The towns are spaced pretty far apart, but from 3 or 4 miles away you can see the grain elevators rising above all else.
Arrived in Buhler around 7 PM and the TAT guide said there was a park you are allowed to camp in. I swung by it to see where it was. It looked great - nice little pond in the middle and lush grass. Opted to go eat first, then come back and set up the tent.
Riding through town, I met Cliff Riggs. He said the Grape Vine Restaurant was the only place open. He happened to have been from New Castle County in Delaware. Me, again with the curiosity to understand things I see, asked him all about the grain elevators. He explained how they can hold different types of grain which is dumped into receiving bins and augured up to the top. Then it’s dropped down into the appropriate tower as governed by the operator in the head house - a small control shed atop the whole operation. Grain in the towers is constantly churned with air flowing through, 24 hours a day, to keep it fresh. I also had to ask him how you end up in the middle of Kansas after living near Philly. Job layoff at Dupont in 92 or 93. Ventured west to start over. Decided to eat before the only restaurant show in town closed and said goodbye.
The Grape Vine - nice little Italian place. Had a great meal, although it seemed light after the 5 plate buffet of the night before. Just as I was about to leave, a couple approached and the man started asking me questions, having seen the bike outside. After about a minute or two, he said, “How’d you like to pitch your tent on my lawn and in the morning I’ll fix you a big country breakfast?” I was shocked. At first, I hesitated, not wanting to put them out plus I had a place to camp in the city park, but quickly changed my mind mainly because I wanted to get to know these people and more about life in Kansas. It’s all about the people, people!
They gave me directions to their home but the last part was 1/2 mile down a dirt road which is unsuitable for my bicycle. So Todd said he’d come back with a different vehicle to put the bike in and he’d drive me there. It turned out, this couple was Todd and Debbie Murray and their daughter, Jamie, was my waitress. They had come by to pick her up from work. While Todd went to fetch the other vehicle, I went to pay the bill and the girl at the cash register said, “It’s already been taken care of.”
I said, “Who?”
She said, “He wants to remain anonymous.”
I thought about it for a second and realized Cliff Riggs must have called and told them it’s on him. Wow!! I meet this total stranger, he takes the time to explain grain elevators to me, and then is generous enough to buy me dinner! Wow! Whoa! Wow!
I tell the cashier that I know who it was. I mention his name and she starts smiling a smile but trying to hold back. Finally, I ask for a local phone book. I want Cliff’s address so I can write to him and thank him. She looks it up for me and writes it down on a guest check. I am going to frame that guest check when I get home!
Soon after, Todd returns and we load the bike in his Explorer and zip back to his house. The ride had me laughing because I had not been in a car in over a month. In the last 32 years I doubt I ever went more than a day without riding in a car. The road seemed to fly by at about 500 mph! I could not stop laughing.
Back at the house, Todd said I could pitch a tent but he also had another suggestion. In their backyard stood a small scale gingerbread house, that his 4 daughters would play in. It was 2 stories high with 5 foot ceilings and very cute. A couch downstairs and carpeted floor upstairs. I said, “This will do.”
Then I went inside his house to take a shower and chat for a while. I met his other 3 daughters, Sarah, Rachel, and Rebecca or “Becca” as she prefers. Wonderful kids - all of them, Jamie too!
After my shower, we talked for a while and then Todd gave me a lantern to find my way out to “Storybook Land”. I tried to write some trip notes but was way too tired and fell right to sleep.