A pretty dang average day...

Day 19  -  Scott City, KS to Rush Center, KS  -  88 Miles

The wind continued to blow, and ever always in our faces.  Friends, this can be quite discouraging.  It usually throws off one's time schedule, ability to sleep, and sucks one clean of energy.  But that's alright.  That's life, right?  Life has head winds, hill climbs, flat tires, angry truckers, etc.  But never forget that life also has tail winds, descents, caring and hospitable people, and lady bugs that perch upon your bike for miles and share silent conversations.

We rode right through Ness City and they may or may not have had a public pool but we were a bit strapped for time and wanted, mostly, to just get to Rush Center for a good place to settle for the night.

Historical Rant: George Washington Carver, remember him?  Flip the mental textbook back to 11th grade US history class.  Just west of Ness City, KS, Carver, 22, bought a piece of land and constructed a sod house.  A brilliant inventor, out of sweet potatoes and peanuts alone, Carver made soap, paint, wallboard, milk substitute, medicine, cosmetics, and more than 500 other things!  Eventually he grew bored and decided to go to Iowa to pursue a masters degree in agriculture.  By the age of 32 he moved to Alabama and spent the next 40 years teaching and researching.

Headwinds take it out of ya.  Taking a much needed break after battling the headwinds.  This is actually a tree right next to the GW Carver sign.  I wonder if Carver sat under this tree at some point in his young life...

hay, hay, HAY!

This lady bug tagged along for about five miles!  Amidst the wind, bumps, and screaming semis it stood the test and traveled far, far away.  I suppose this is the equivalent of les and I jumping a slow moving train...which...umm...we *don't* plan on doing. :)  But really, it was a pleasant surprise to have another friend along for the ride to take our minds off the wind.

Evidently, this is the place to stay in Bazine, KS.  Alas, we still had 40 more miles to travel.  Our friends, Scott and Jenny Shine, from Montrose (See day 12) rode through this town and stayed at Elaine's Bicyclist bed and breakfast.  As Jenny told us, Elaine caught wind of her town being on the Trans-America route and made a wise business move, and apparently this place is ONLY for cyclists.  Cool, huh?

Interesting, eh?

This is a horrible shot, but that's les passing the sign for "Rush Center," our eventual stop for the night.

Again, Kansas is quite pleased to allow any and everyone to sleep out in their city parks, so we found one (the only one, probably, in the little town of Rush Center.  It wasn't an unusual sight for us to see one gas station, five houses, a bar, and a park as we rode into this four way intersection of a town.  It was quite quaint, but harmless for weary travelers.  We had no problems setting up camp, bathing, eating, and sleeping on this night.

The Fireflies here were AMAZING!  There's just something we miss in being California boys.  Vibrant fireflies, open pastures, running streams of natural water--you just can't beat it.

Don't knock it till you try it ALERT: Here Aaron is eating an "Aaron and Les tour the US" Jambalaya favorite: cooked brown rice, diced apples, baked beans, and honey.  Hey!  I said don't knock it till you try it!  It was actually pretty good!