KANSAS. ..."There's no place like home."

A long, long time ago in the midst of last winter, when we were first dreaming about this trip, we pulled out the maps and traced lines with our fingers along possible routes, hitting names of small towns like Otis and Amy and, of course, Lyndon. We wondered, "What will Kansas be like?" Our imaginations created images of vast stretches of open, golden prairies... with a tornado on the horizon, or visions of biking, biking, biking in nothing but flat, flat, flat and blazing sun. Maybe these thoughts came to mind from remembering the Wizard of Oz or anytime anyone has told us dreadful stories of driving across I-70 on family vacations to Colorado and, more than once, breaking down in Hays... "in the middle of NOWHERE... TWICE!" Kansas, however, has been none of these things to us. In fact, it has been a gleaming gem in our experience of miles thus far.

We started our wagon train across Kansas by arriving our first day in Ottawa, a day where the temperatures soared to nearly 105 degree F (over 40 C) and the rolling hills to the east challenged us with radiant heat from above and the pavement below. But once we reached the city limits we were restored with a little bit of air conditioned grocery getting and a rare treat at Wendy's... where Narelle was awarded a free burger just by filling out a survey! SCORE!

That day, we also landed ourselves at the local pool before it closed, and this we have discovered is a brilliant trend that we have added to our days of biking through continual, incredible heat.

The second day in Kansas landed us a short bike distance away in Carmen's ol'hometown of Lyndon, hosted by Darrell and Sandy Sturdy. Though many things had changed in the small town over the decades, some things had remained the same: the people are the friendliest one could find anywhere! And why not? They live surrounded by serene countryside decorated with wide open fields of green and gold, rolling pastures with slow, sleepy creeks and shimmering lakes gleaming in the blazing sun. We spent our time there with a good blend of kicking-back, exploring, and experiencing farm life.

And it's not complete without riding in the back of a pick-up truck...

Toby, the Sturdy's farm dog, accompanied us on one such excursion as we rode the four wheeler down a track between their fields. We hadn't noticed he had followed us until we saw him leaping out of the cover of tall soybeans like a dolphin while running at full speed and out of sight below the green cover. "Man, that happy dog has the LIFE!"

Beyond Lyndon, we headed west and a tid-bit north towards Salina where we stayed with Xiomara Eaves, a past neighbor of Carmen's mom in Michigan. The days before and after were so scorching hot, we found it difficult if not impossible to bike past early afternoon. One such day, the day we left Salina, started later than expected due to running our civilisation errands (attaining food for the road) and getting a flat before leaving town (again, Narelle's bike) thanks to some random, tiny metal shaving.

That day, with it's late start and the mercury skyrocketing soon after nearly landed ourselves in the funny farm due to heat exhaustion! Fifteen miles and only slowly gaining ground into the wind from the west, we hit gorgeous, golden hills and no shade in sight. We pressed on, knowing that not too far off in the attainable, yet just out-of-reach distance, there was... a LAKE. "Somewhere... beyond... the heat... and OH LOOK, the wind is picking up... with GUSTO. Must... keep... pedalling... ... ... Onward... Lake... Shaaade... " Needless to say, by the time we got there we were whooped, and we had only gone about 3o miles since the flat. But the promise of the lake was true, and by the time we got there an afternoon storm rolled through and cooled the evening to a more comfortable, habitable climate.

Hot days continued for us with commonplace temperatures about 105 daily, but those daily storms, or clouds at least, would also visit us in the afternoons. We stayed one night in Lacrosse, KS, and a much larger storm came to visit us just before we were to retire for the night. Narelle was already asleep and somehow didn't hear the enormous clap of thunder from lightning landing nearby when Carmen jostled her awake with the suggestion they get out of the tent and into the park's shelter. Groggily, they both watched the incredible display of constant lightning flashes and later heavy downpour from the slow moving storm until over an hour later they return to their tent for desperately needed sleep.

Late nights like that make it difficult to get up early, but two days later they managed to be up riding before daylight... As if the coolness of the morning wasn't enough, the subtly changing ambient light on the clouds and surrounding prairie made it one of the most incredibly beautiful and appreciated riding experiences of the trip thus far.

Such an early start landed us in Scott City with 60 miles under our belt before noon! It was quite a change from the previous days. There we stayed with friends of Candi and Clint Sturdy, The Rose Family. We had such a wonderful visit with the family and again felt right at home.

Kansas has overall wowed us and won us over. We have found that "WE LOVE KANSAS!" and are very sad to leave this state! Thank you, Kansas, for your kindness and for making us a bit tougher for the long road ahead.
Next ahead is Colorado! That means the start of the Rockies: cooler climates, big uphills, and even bigger downhills! Until then, we will enjoy a bit more of our wide open spaces.