Somewhere over the rainbow...

After our rainy/overcast days in Oklahoma, we found the sun again in Kansas. We spent two nights camping in Coldwater and Dodge City and spent our third day in Garden Valley Church in Garden City--it was July 4th.

Some highlights from our brief stay in Kansas:

We finally experienced really flat land again. It was our first time since leaving the flatlands of North Carolina, so it was really a treat. Though it made me start missing the challenge of hills. The days flew by because of the fast biking and great company on the bike. Everyday I biked with a big group of people. Here's us in a big paceline:


I also had some time to bike alone, which has been wonderful to find peace and quiet while exploring the beauty of the US. I've been known to stop at moving landscapes and sit for a while to just take it all in. Here's a respite spot I found by a lake one day in KS (actually it may have been the last day in OK, because it's still overcast):



And the sunflowers I appreciated by the side of the road:


We also had the fortunate (or unfortunate) opportunity to pass through Greensburg, Kansas. Greensburg was a small town hit by a devastating tornado on May 4, 2007. The level 5+ (out of 5) tornado was 1.7 miles in diameter, while the town was 1.1 miles in diameter. The tornado passed through once, and then reversed and went through again, this time sitting on the town for 2 minutes. Needless to say, the town was leveled by this disaster, and as we biked down the streets 2 months after the fact, it was crazy to see the streets without houses--what was left of most houses was demolished because they were uninhabitable. Piles of debris were lying around. Trees lacked their tops and foliage was replaced with debris that had been blown and molded to them. What leaves did exist was whatever had grown in the last 2 months. Tattered US flags were erected at a few sites, like the rubbish piles of a Boy Scout building.




We talked briefly with Ella Mae Marrs who was had lived for the last 59 years on a property (the one that we were staring at which consisted of flat ground, and a newly built garage). She also pointed out 2-3 other properties on adjacent streets that she had owned and now no longer existed. It was a such a stark contrast to see what there was now and compare it with pictures of her house before the tornado and right after when it was just debris. Thank you for sharing your story with us.


Greensburg is famous for their hand-dug well, which we couldn't really see that day, but we did sign our sympathies on plywood that was propped up near it.


Later that day, we encountered these 'whirlygigs', as Ella Mae called them. They're made by an eccentric genius, and really threw us for a whirl...


Fun pictures (from OK, I think):



The requisite haystack pictures that all Bike and Builders must take. Yes, it was like a 45 minute photoshoot =)






Just before Colorado, we hit the Mountain Time Zone: