Garden City, KS

Somehow I'm kinda glad we're still in Kansas - and that I finally got to see the West part of the State everybody seems to dismiss, even Kansans. I really liked it - as Matt said, "a lot of Americana." One town about fifty miles from Lawrence had what I would call "imitation cobble stone" roads in the center. It actually was red brick - really cool. And the streets that went off the main road all seemed to go out to the fields or into the sky. I felt like I was in a Tom Sawyer/Huckleberry Finn story. Another thing that caught my attention was a hut in the field, near the road, that could have been an outhouse. It was painted with the American flag, but artistic. Kind of like folk art, but so cool in the middle of 'nowhere.'
The countryside got extremely flat after we were halfway through Kansas - unbelievable. I felt like I was in Northern Germany. By the way, I'm very proud to say that I managed to stay on the bike (with enthusiasm) for 390 miles on my first day!!!! My butt was sore as could be, but I enjoyed it all the way! Oh, did anyone mention the incredible winds we were dealing with?!? Wow - we were leaning into the wind all day - with no mountains or trees for protection - it was merciless. Add some trucks passing and you can imagine how the bike starts to wobble... Ah, it's all good ;-) Can't wait to move on!