Day Sixteen - Sunday, 6 July - Part II

Right, lovely Simon came up with the goods so I can show you what the Tourists got up to on this day. As usual, he had some interesting stuff to share.


Seeing through his camera reminds me how remarkable some things are that I grew up taking for granted.


I'm guessing these cattle were in western Kansas.


Then they found Old Fort Bent, one of the National Parks. It is located off the highway between Las Animas and LaJunta in Colorado.



I only know this because brilliant Picasa Web Albums has a map feature that allows you to zoom in close enough to figure out the location and do more research. Simon told me yesterday that the mapping is the tedious part of using Picasa, but I'm pleased he took the time.



And as always, Simon found a bird that would pose while he took dozens of pictures.








This is the cabin and the cook out I told you about the other day. The mosquitoes were quite a nuisance but we managed to stick it out anyway and no one seemed to end up with too many bites.





With my usual keen sense of direction I kept trying to get things out of the wrong RV. Fortunately no one was at home to catch me out. It gave the others a good laugh though.



And so, another day.

Day Sixteen - Sunday, 6 July - Part I

Bill’s Road Book

Day 14, 6 July: 277 miles, 6 hours.
Hwy 50/400: 53 miles to Garden City, 50 miles to Syracuse; Mountain Time, clocks forward 1 hour. 16 miles to Coolidge, 14 miles to Granada, 17 miles to Carlton, 62 miles to LaJunta: Jct Hwy 287. turn right then 90 left. 65 miles to Pueblo.

The next morning we oldsters had a wander around the touristy area of Dodge City. None of us was wildly impressed. I had the impression that Dodge City was important in historical times -- and it is still clearly a major centre for the beef industry, but the town has modernised with time and only too late realised they possibly had tourist appeal. It looks as though at that point they threw up something to appease visitors and did it badly. I don't know exactly what I expected but whatever it was those expectations weren't met. Even Simon called it Dodge-y City. So we left and carried on to Colorado.

(Everyone had to have their picture taken playing in the choo-choo-train...)

Not too far out of Dodge City, we came upon this sign

and all the vehicles stopped and everyone, but me, went to see the sights.

They were gone long enough I decided to check it out, only to be impressed that they could spend so much time looking at so much nothing.

I took a picture of this sign because I knew you would want to know all about the campsite where the US survey team stayed for 11 days in 1825 (and no doubt I'm failing to properly appreciate what they accomplished whilst they were there).

These pictures represent how I see Kansas. These are the views in every direction from the little pavillion over the sign:

You see what I mean?

There is one advantage to a flat horizon, mind, a characteristic I got used to growing up in Oklahoma: you can see what's coming at you.

The terrain changed a bit as we entered Colorado, but more about that tomorrow. At the RV park at LaJunta. Bob, Bill and I stayed in the RV, all the others rented a cabin. There was a BBQ that night, but the mosquitoes probably had the best feed of all. I kept worrying about West Nile Virus. We used lots of spray and Helen put out candles, but we really shouldn't have been out at dusk, which is their feeding time.

Curious about Bill's chances at Grandfather-hood, I asked Martin if he liked children. Of course his response was the classic about not being able to eat a whole one. Then he went on to report that he weighed something like 13.5 pounds at birth, so I just take it that Helen (about 4'11" if that) will be practicing her birth control meticulously.

I've nagged Simon to upload more of his pictures and he promises he'll get right on it...I'll add them as they become available.

Day Fifteen - Saturday, 5 July - Part II

Bill’s Road Book

Day 13, 5 July: 200 Miles, 5 hours, Note 5

Hwy 75 N: 8 miles to Deer Creek, turn left on Hwy 11, 10 miles to Medford, Cross Hwy 81
Hwy 11: 15 miles turn right on Hwy 11A; 5 miles to Wakita
Hwy 11A: 5 miles to Jct HwY 132, turn right; 5 miles to Manchester, Kansas Border, 10 miles to Anthony
Hway 132: 6 miles to Hwy 160, turn left, 30 miles to Medicine Lodge
Hwy 179: 40 miles to Coldwater, turn right onto Hwy 183, 22 miles to Greenberg, turn left onto Hwy 54/400, 8 miles to Mullinville, See Map
Hwy 160: 12 miles, turn right; 23 miles to Dodge City. Turn right, enter on E Trail St (US 400)
Hwy 183: turn left down N. 2^nd Street
Hwy 400: then left onto Cherry Street (Water Sports RV Park)

Note 5 Dodge City: This might not be a good day to visit Dodge City. We may get there after everything shuts on Saturday night apart from the saloon/music hall and then it could all be closed on Sunday morning. It’s a holiday weekend and so some stuff may be open. At the moment my preference is to leave after lunch get to Pueblo but we gain an hour today with the change back to Mountain Time at Syracuse so we might be able to stay a bit longer.

So, back on the road again. This was the real start of my first RV Experience. Unfortunately, we were headed through Kansas. I have to say up front that I’ve never been a fan of Kansas. Whatever one can say about how flat or boring Oklahoma might be, it goes 100 times over for Kansas. Mind, if I were flying to a major city there I might see it in a completely different light. As it is, every trip I’ve made to Kansas has been by car and I can tell you it’s flat and boring and largely empty.

First we had to get out of Oklahoma and Simon was taken with this sign, given that he lives in Manchester England.

Then we were in Kansas. Fortunately we didn’t have too far to go to get to Dodge City, where we were to stay the night, but I think anywhere is a long way off if you’re driving through Kansas.

That said, there were a few bits to look at here and there - interesting roadside artwork. Whilst the RV only slowed a little to observe, The Tourists were able to stop and really take it all in. I don't recall where these flowers appeared, but they came some way before the next place, which defied the imagination. Yet again, Simon has taken some amazing pictures.

If you want to read more about the artist and his work, here are some links. They say he’s not the most popular guy in his small town. Given the strength of his opinions and the risque nature of some of his work, I'm not surprised. They also say he's not mad; meaning, he's not angry (sounds like denial to me). I might argue that he is mad, whether he's angry or not. Then again, either way, I think he puts Mullinville Kansas on the map.

We pulled into Dodge City and found the RV park. It has been noted that RV parks don’t tend to be in the nicer areas of town. This was no exception. Our next-pitch neighbours were an interesting group of 2 men and a woman drinking beer at the picnic table outside a small caravan at the picnic table in the afternoon heat. They were all spare and brown and looked like they spent a lot of time in the sun and the heat. When one of their 2 small dogs burst into a yapping fit they were quick to shush him and assure us he was friendly – which he was. The woman was somewhere in her 40s or 50s with long, straight, multi-coloured hair, parted in the middle. She walked slowly, as though worn down by the heat and work. When I asked directions to the showers, she was very pleasant and spent some time explaining the facilities to me. I gathered they stay there for long periods of time and my even live at the site.

We had a view of the small lake, but swimming was discouraged. I say discouraged as we watched a couple wading in spite of the “No Swimming” sign. We were all out there trying to placate Bill as he was piqued that we were all sitting inside the RV chatting and eating. I was enjoying being in the RV as a novel experience but we abandoned that and sat outside for a while instead.

Again, the youngsters chose to stay in a motel rather than in the RV. They had also opted to go to some sort of shoot-em-up and saloon event that we passed on for some reason, probably because we were hungry and tired. I think Bill would like to have gone to that as well, but it was all rather vague at the time and I chalked it up to the downside of travelling with such a large group. It was nearly impossible to get everyone to agree to do a the same thing at the same time.

We acquired some more neighbours later in the evening, two men in their 30’s on motorbikes. They had tents and many comfortable conveniences, like mattresses, Bill noted. They also had fireworks which they set off just after we went to bed. No one got up and complained, mind. One wouldn't if one sported a Union Jack flag on the back of one's RV, would one? Anyhow, it didn’t go on for too long.

That was my first night in the double bed at the back of the RV. Jane had warned me that it was bouncy and it had made her ill. Whenever anyone else moved in the RV, that back part did bounce! Though I wouldn’t say I was ill, for the rest of the trip I did have the same feeling as I do when we take the ferry across to Amsterdam, a sense of being in motion and slightly off balance, even when sitting still.