Day 11 Thur. Sept 25

I left Baltzell Motel when the sun showed enough light on the busy highway. Baltzell Motel is an old mama/papa operation erected on Hwy 40 W to obtain business on its way west.

I prepared my own breakfast and tip toed around the room to keep Pam in her slumbering mode. She needs a great deal of rest because she is the glue that keeps the Cyril Paul Scholarship Fund together.

The route was clearly prepared for me by Pam. The old Mapquests were inadequate because they went form town to town. We really need directions that go from Motel address to Motel address. Pam has the responsibility of taking care of those details. It’s not easy when you don’t know whether or not you have adequate funds for gas, food and lodging for an unknown number of days. So sometimes she decides we should sleep in a mom/pop place to save money. Other times we want a clean, comfortable place, where everything works. Super 8’s are often a nice middle ground.

I rode on keeping my eyes on the signs going south and west. Great Bend, like most other midwestern towns and cities located on the plains, is spread out and appears to be a hub for all highways coming from all directions. In addition, the signs on the road are not clearly defined and are very scarce.

There were wheat fields on either side of a well-paved highway. The highway patrol was in high demand. They are very scarce, but I was rescued from going the wrong way once again.

The distant green hills, thick with tall trees created a sort of barrier from the constant winds, resulting in a speedier ride. The night before there must have been a steady rain because the fields were quite damp, with pools in them. And the rivers were filled with mud and small branches.

We stayed in Dodge City, KS at the Super 8 on Wyatt Earp Blvd! There seemed to be quite a few cowboy attractions, but we didn’t take any time to visit them.