Oct. 10 – Rock, Chalk, Jayhawk

This nonsensical phrase is the chant for the University of Kansas, and relevant today because only minutes into my ride today I crossed the border into the Sunflower State – my fifth state of the tour!

It was a beautiful, cool morning and I knocked out the 20 miles to Tribune in nothing flat. Was again hoping for a decent breakfast, and although Tribune was a nice and tidy town with many businesses…..no place to have breakfast! I had made oatmeal and coffee back at Towner, so I wasn’t starving – a stop at the grocery got me some chocolate milk, bananas and trail mix. That would have to do. I ate on a bench in front of a nice-looking library and then went in and asked the library ladies if I could use their wifi to get my blog caught up. They were very friendly and happy to oblige. I hope you enjoyed the posts! Then I was on the road again with my sights set on Scott City – about 45 miles further east. It was a nice ride through farms of milo, corn and wheat with a couple of little towns along the way that I did not stop at. They definitely looked more alive than those in Colorado did. My theory is that Eastern Colorado is the “red headed step-child” of the state when compared to the beautiful mountains, hence it is downtrodden and forgotten…..whereas Kansas is all flat farmland – so they make the best of it. Makes sense to me! I also crossed a time zone today, so I had to move my watch ahead an hour to be on Central Time. I decided to get a motel tonight at there wasn’t camping right in Scott City and I was ready for a shower anyway. I got a reasonable room at the Lazy R Motel. It’s a decent little place, and oddly – owned by a Mexican family from Cuauhtémoc – a town we drive through on our way to the orphanages in the Copper Canyon. Small world. Then I ate fajitas at a little cafe next to the motel that was owned by a family from Chihuahua City and they confirmed that there is a big Mexican population in Scott City. Who knew? Scott City is a nice little town, the only downfall (other than being a small town in the middle of nowhere) is the pervasive odor coming from the cattle yards that surround the city. The residents probably call it the smell of money and are used to it….I was not!