Fredonia to Andover KS. Wed 7/1/2015

Good riding today.  Wide shoulder on US 400 West.  Andover is just on the outskirts of Wichita, KS.

I have never seen a rest stop that was as clean as this one.  It has a full time caretaker and he is there everyday keeping it immaculate.

Pretty pond

This is a backyard pond

River scene

This grain elevator is huge.  It seems that I could never look around and not see a grain elevator.

Pittsburg to Fredonia,KS Tue 6/30/2105

     I apologize for not being up-to-date on my blogs. Most of the time after I eat and take a shower I'm falling asleep.  There have been times when I fell asleep waiting for the pictures to upload to the blog so I could publish it.  This posting I am putting together on July 19 in Dolores, Colorado in an effort to try and catch up.
     From here I chose a more direct route to the west on US 400 because of the wider shoulders and fewer miles.

Seeing lots of grain elevators

This explains the following three pictures

Now I see where the name "corn row hairdo's" gets its name

A steam tractor

Some muddy river I crossed over

Another of many grain elevators I passed

  

Everton to Pittsburg, KS Mon 6/29/2015

     Finally made it into Kansas.  The terrain is starting to level out a little more.

Moving the equipment from one field to the next.

Farm operation surrounded by crops.

Now here's a bouquet of flowers.

Cattle country

Lisa and Jenny from Norway.  They're riding the same route I am but they are making better time than I am.  Young kids.

Leo from Minneapolis, age 65.  He is biking from Astoria, Oregon to Yorktown, Virginia.  He's done several long bike rides and obviously has figured out what he can get along without.  I haven't done that yet.

No state line sign here.  However, this is also the state line into Kansas.

Provisions in Pittsburg , KS.  When my working colleagues, Kay, Cindy, or I suggest that we need provisions during the teaching day this is what we get.

Met Dan Rank in the grocery store in Pittsburg.  Nice young man.  He played football for Pittsburg State University.  That's the local university

Sunday in Everton, MO Sun 6/28/2015

     Tim and Debbie Goodman have a beautiful home and a beautiful family.  I got to meet some of their family.  They knew LaVard and Mabel Wilkins who had moved to Missouri 47 years ago.  We attended church in Bolivar so I could see Mabel.  LaVard had passed away a few years ago.They were our next door neighbors 50 years ago when Sharon and I were young marrieds and Curtis, Russell, and Scott were all under age 5.  Also, met a Sherwood there who is a cousin to Dan and Sam Sherwood, former students of mine at Mesa Junior.

Mabel Wilkins, a dear friend and neighbor from years ago.  What a thrill it was to see her again after all these years.

View from the back of the Goodman's home.

The grandkids catch fish from this pond in their backyard.

Looking back at the house from the pond.

Looking away from the front entrance of their home.

Main entry to their home.

This is Roger Snow, son-in-law of the Goodman's.  He's married to Corene.  He's a great guy, a school principal in Utah, and a fellow cyclist.  He bicycle raced in college.  Naturally, he and I really hit it off.

Mother and daughter, Debbie and Corene

Tim and Debbie Goodman.  You won't meet finer people.

Somehow I had to get my mugshot in here with Tim.  FYI Tim was an "A" student in my PE class at Mesa Junior High.

Mountain Grove to Everton, MO Sat 6/27/2015

     Long day today.  Good ride though.  I was riding into Springfield, Missouri from the south.  A former student of mine at Mesa junior high, Tim Goodman, lives in Everton, a few miles north of Springfield. He and his wife Debbie picked me up and took me to their ranch and put me up for the weekend.  It was a great weekend with some great people.

I autographed the floor at Uncle Roosters Restaurant in Seymour, MO. A little shaky but it'll do.  

The cute waitress that gave me the pen to autograph the floor with.  She reminded me of my own granddaughters.  Uncle Rooster is posing between us.

Phillip and Marlena McCullah.  Visited with them at Uncle Roosters Restaurant.

He barely drove this Harley off the showroom floor. He wouldn't trade modes of transportation with me.

Missouri countryside at hay cutting time

Chris Van O'Linda owns a feed store outside of Springfield, MO.  Phillip and Marlena McCullah had stopped at his store and told him about some crazy guy from Arizona that was riding his bike across country.  I pulled into his parking lot to have a snack in the shade of a tree and he came out and told me about the McCullah's

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Van Buren, MO to Mountain Grove, MO Fri 6/26/2015

     This was my longest ride  so far, 81 miles.

Van Buren Main Street at dawn.

Now this is much safer and easier riding.

Nice tree silhouette created on the horizon.  The round bales of hay in the field each weigh between 1000 and 1200 pounds

I'm glad I'm not between that white line and the car

Millions of years tell the story of these rocks' formation

This train with box cars loaded on it seems to go on forever and ever. There must have been well over 100 cars.

Fredericktown, MO to Van Buren, MO Thu 6/25/2015

     Headed south on US 67 to get to US 65 West.  I like the 12' to 15' paved shoulders.  Much safer even though more traffic.  Five miles out of Fredericktown had my first flat tire.  Tube valve stem tore.

A sheriff stopped and asked if I needed help. He said they got a call from a motorist who said a bicyclist was broke down on the side of the road and was rubbing his leg as if he were injured.  I don't remember the injured part because it was only the tire that was giving me pain .

All fixed and ready to reassemble.

CJ Herbert stopped to offer help.  He drove me south away from my destination to US 60.  He is a real outdoorsman.  He lives back in the Ozarks in a cabin with no electricity, no gas, and he lives off the land.  Heats his cabin with one candle.  Quite an interesting person and a big help to me.

The back of CJ's van with his Chihuahua Guard dog, Phoebe

This is Big Spring. The worlds largest single springhead.

This is the beginning of this river

So there's water has come from as far as 100 miles underground  

This is Andrew. It works at the Motel I was staying in.  He drove me to the grocery store so I could pick up a few things. He then asked me if I wanted to go see big Spring, about 5 miles away.  He was very anxious to show it to me and I was greatly rewarded with how beautiful it was.

Another view of Big Spring