Now we ARE in Kansas

Saturday, July 22. Butler, MO, to Fort Scott, KS. We awoke to another nice day in the heartland, our second in a row now. The wind was downright COOL and I briefly had the heretical thought that I should don my arm warmers.

Still not on any official BICYCLING route, we of course did not encounter any other cyclists today, and given the fact that we were in western Missouri and eastern Kansas all day, we almost didn't see any other PEOPLE most of the day. It was almost like being back on the Katy Trail.

We passed through the tiny burgs of Virginia, Hume, Prescott, and Fulton before finishing the day in Fort Scott; and although we began the day on the same kind of rolling terrain we enjoyed yesterday, it began to flatten out in Kansas, almost as soon as we crossed the border. We did have a little excitement when three dogs charged from their yard, but my commanding NO! gave us a moment to get some room between us and them. I did have to circle back and charge at one of them, growling loudly as I did, to get him to run back to his yard. But that was it; all the other dogs pretty much phoned it in today.

We almost got a trio of horses to run with us, and before we left Missouri we had a crowd of cows staring at us, perhaps thinking we were bringing them food.

Once in Kansas, we came across a "Share the Road" sign, but with an unexpected twist; instead of a bicycle, the picture on the sign was of a horse-drawn carriage. We are in Mennonite country. The Mennonites came to Kansas in the the 1870's from the Ukraine in southern Russia, where they had settled nearly a century before after being driven from their native Holland. Cartherine the Great had invited them to settle the Ukraine; but the ascension of Czar Alexander II and his "One Czar, one language and one religion" policies caused them to look for a new home. They came to Kansas, and brought with them a strain of wheat called Turkey hard red winter wheat, hardier than the summer wheat settlers were then using. That, and their establishment of mills to grind the wheat solidified the role of Kansas as the breadbasket of the country.

On the road into Fort Scott, we passed a horse-drawn carriage headed in the opposite direction; we figure they make about the same speed as we are now, about 10-12 mph.

And now we are here in Fort Scott, a former cattle town. The downtown area is dotted with buildings that date to the 1880's that sport architectural details that seem a little out of place in far eastern Kansas; as we walked around, we saw three photography studios, numerous antique shops, and more than a few empty storefronts. Most of the downtown streets are brick.

We have a reasonable expectation of good weather for the next several days as we pass just north of Wichita (and perhaps being able to go see Katie and the drum corps there). Tonight we ate at a mexican restaurant that was actually REALLY GOOD. That's not just the margaritas talking, either; the food had authentic flavor we haven't experienced in a great while. It's a shame we have to leave it behind tomorrow, but on we must press to Chanute, KS.

Back to Mennonites for a moment - Floyd Landis, former Mennonite and now leader of the Phonak cycling team, finished Stage 19 of the Tour de France with enough time in front of his competition to effectively win the race. There is one more stage, but it will be a largely ceremonial parade into Paris. Recall it was the Green Mountain bicycle shop that fixed our trailer tire in PA, the shop to which our newfound friend Sandy drove me on a day we might have found no other place open. So, congratulations to Floyd Landis, the first person to win the Tour de France in eight years NOT named Lance Armstrong, and to all the folks at Green Mountain, milk it for all it's worth!