Day 14 Sun. Sept 28, 2008

The last 2 nights we slept in Liberal, KS and tonight we will sleep in Guymon, OK. I took advantage of the few daytime hours to include a few extra stories before they go forgotten.

My story today is a short one. A distance of 40 miles from the Holiday Inn Express in Liberal to a Super 8 in Guymon. I left the Holiday Inn and turned left on 15th Ave. I was going the wrong way. I sensed it immediately, but I needed verification. There was a police squad car coming towards me. I stopped him and showed him my directions. He turned me around and set me on course. Hwy 54 is referred to as Old Hwy 54, but no “west”. For about 5 miles and still no sign with “Hwy 54 W.” About 5 miles and still no sign with “West.” Again I am faced with a decision. I called my back-up. No answer. I took my chances. Five miles west I saw another sign. This time it said “Tyrone”. I knew I was on the right track.

The highway was well paved with a very favorable wind. My speeds were accelerated. I was traveling at 13 to 18 mph, the road was quite level and mostly straight. Perhaps because of the heat, the remains of a few animals, some of which appear to be domesticated lay strewn on the edge of the shoulder.

On occasions I saw a lonely butterfly (Monarchs). There are other butterflies here, too. They are yellow in color; they are sometimes hidden in the bright yellow clumps of flowers growing by the roadside. There are also grasshoppers and preying mantis.

The flowers seem to decorate my journey and give me a pleasant feeling. During my ride through Kansas I noticed aluminum can trashed by the roadside, seemingly the empty can tossed from a fast moving semi. This was, perhaps, from my perspective, every 2 or 3 miles apart. Frequently, however, the crickets serenade my passing. I feel like an Olympian being cheered on his/her way to the victory stand.

The ride today seemed short and not complicated by too many semis. Relatively speaking there were no hills. I did change gears about 2 or 3 times. One thing is quite noticeable, rambling, tumbling weed inhabit this state. The hillsides are covered with brown grass and the trees are stunted, or appear to be very young trees. I’ve also noticed along the highway, trees are spaced to accommodate enough roots that the moisture in the soil can keep alive. Unfortunately that is not always the case.

Long trains, three of these, passed me laden with cargo, heading west. One mil long would not be an exaggeration. Pam was waiting for me at the Super 8. I sat in the shade and drank a lot of milk. While sitting there, Greg Parks, a railroad worker, came up and spoke to me. He was elated that I was doing the ride to LA on a bicycle. He dipped his hand into his pocket and handed me some money. He took a picture of me on his cell phone and sent it to his wife. Pam took a picture of both of us. I gave him my card. He was surprised that I was 78!. He mentioned his father was 83,but was not doing as well as I am. I told him to start drinking Ovaltine and brandy.