Sunday, May 29,2016 59.5 miles(95.8 km)
After a good night sleep at Cross Timbers State Park I got up fairly early just in case I might have problems with my trike. I ate a quick bite for breakfast at the campground hoping something would be open in Toronto. On my way to Toronto, I noticed a group preparing a cemetery for Memorial Day. They had marked each veteran's grave with a flag and large flags all around the cemetery. It was clear patriotism was alive and well in this small town. As continued on to town a truck pulled up alongside me and asked if I would like a flag to fly on my "rig" and I said sure. I know have an American flag flying from my trailer.
As I rode through the small town of Toronto I found nowhere open serving breakfast so I was glad that I had eaten at least something at the campground and hoped I could find something further down the road. About 3.5 north of Toronto I cam to a small convenience store and they served breakfast. It was called Lizard Lips Grill & Deli and was run by an older couple. I had biscuits and gravy along with coffee. As I was eating my breakfast the gentleman running the store came up and asked about my trip and then gave me a small plastic lizard to keep me company on my trip. (He rides in my bag)
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| Lizard Lips Grill & Deli |
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| Lizard Lips Grill & Deli |
The day heated up and became a bit hillier as I was in the Kansas Flint Hills. The hills were not huge but were significant enough that you knew you were climbing them.
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| Flint Hills Sign |
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| Flint Hills Countryside |
I continued on and had lunch in Eureka, Kansas and it was still sunny. Soon the skies began to darken but it was mostly to my south so I hoped that I would be able to get to Rosalia, Kansas as there my route turned north away from the storm. It continued to darken but there was no rain for quite some time and I thought maybe I would make it. About 6 miles from Rosalia the skies opened up and it was a downpour. The wind also picked up considerably so the rain was going sideways into my face. I continued on for a few miles as there was no where to seek any sort of shelter.
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| Storm Rolling In |
Soon a truck pulled up and they said they were storm spotters and that it really wasn't too safe for me as there was some hail in the area and asked if I wanted a ride. I said I was heading to Rosalia and then heading north.. They said they would give me a ride to Rosalia and there was a school there with an awning I could get under. We loading my trike and trailer in the back of the truck and headed the 3 miles to Rosalia. About half way there the sky turned blue and the sun was out. They dropped me off at the school. I took some time at the school to dry out and continue on my way.
The 17 miles from Rosalia to Cassoday were quite memorable. First I came across this pair of turkey vultures that were sitting on fence posts. Each time I would get closer they would move a few posts down and continued doing this for nearly a mile never flying too far away, just moving forward as I did.
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| Turkey Vulture |
The second is I came across a large herd of beautiful horses in a field. They took notice of me and started running. Some would stop and snort in the air and then watch me.
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| Horses |
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| Horses |
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| Horses |
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| Horses |
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| Horses |
My destination for the day was Cassoday, the Prairie Chicken Capital of the World. I did not see any prairie chickens but I did see their sign.
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| Prairie Chicken Capital of the World |
Once there I headed to the store but they were closed. As I was leaving a young man came out and asked if I needed a drink and I said I was going to get a root beer but I see I was too late He said hold on and came out with one. When I asked how much he said it was covered. Thus on this day I received four acts of generosity from people I met along the way.
I camped that night in the Cassoday City Park and setup my tent in the gazebo. I noticed it was still had it decorated with Christmas lights including twinkling icicles hanging from the eaves. I just had to plug them in after it turned dark.
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| Gazebo With Christmas Lights |
Even though I had been caught in a bad storm the day ended up being an excellent day with no problems from my trike.
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