Newton, KS

Our departure from Ness City led us on a quest for civilization and water. There was a very long stretch (over 50 miles) without services, so before leaving Ness City we had stocked up on provisions for lunch. Stashed in the trunk bag were two Italian subs from the Kwik-Shop and what we thought was enough water. By the time we reached Nickerson, Bob had drained all three of his water bottles and had started in to sharing water from my Camel Back.

We were happy to see the grain elevator that let us know that we were close to Nickerson. We went into the Kwik-Shop (thank God for these places!) and Bob drank a half-gallon of Gatorade before he felt human again. Once we were refreshed, we continued into town and located the cafe, where we had lunch with Kyle, a recent college graduate from New York City who was cycling west. We exchanged information, enjoyed lunch and then went to the library. I didn't blog, since the conversation with the librarian was so lively and so interesting and we wanted to get on the road. She knew the right questions to ask: eastbound or westbound? where'd you start today? how far are you riding? She was a resident of the town in her youth, lived in California for 37 years and then came back to take care of an ailing father. She's now been there nine years and managed to snag the librarian position, even without a degree.

We left Nickerson and headed toward Buhler, a town with a good campground and a great diner. We enjoyed breakfast at Joey's Diner. I don't know if there is a Joey, but somebody has a great set-up there. Kyle had told us about it. He was confused when he went in, since the protocol is to order your meal at the counter and then sit down. For breakfast, customers pour their own coffee before sitting down. Then all the waitresses have to do is bring your food.

We had entered at breakfast "rush hour" so we ended up sitting with a sort of "breakfast club" made up of retired farmers. We had a great conversation about farming, how grain elevators work, the amount of rainfall in various parts of the country, how farming has changed since they were young men, and all those important things that old guys discuss over breakfast. We regretted not getting a picture of the group, since they really had been great company. It's strange to be in an area where people are so used to cross-country cyclists. They all know the questions, and they take it all in stride.

We learned a lot about Kansas farming, especially what we are calling the "Farm Dilemma." What happens in many cases is that people begin farming and have children. When their children reach adulthood, they might still only be in their 40s or 50. They can't give up the farm as their income and the farm won't support two families, so many of the kids go off and do something else. When the parents are ready to retire, there's no one in the family near enough or familiar enough with farming to want to do it. So, many of the original 160-acre parcels are bought up by the agribusinesses. These men remembered hauling grain to be weighed at the elevator by horse and wagon, and plowing and harvesting just sitting on a tractor without an air-conditioned cab. This doesn't sound like much, but when you consider that many farmers and harvesters suffer from lung problems from inhaling dust and pesticides, it makes a difference.

It was a hot-but-short riding day. We reached Newton about 12:30 this afternoon and checked into the Best Western to relax, take a swim and regroup. Supposedly we have one more day of temperatures in the 90s and then a thunderstorm will bring down the temperature to the high 80s. Most of the thunderstorms happen at night, so that's fine with us.

Kansas, by the way, is anything but black and white. Largely, it seems to be green and gold, with touches of purple and fuschia wildflowers lining the roads. As we head east, we notice the corn getting taller and the fields getting lusher. We've learned that passing by a field where someone is harvesting is likely to result in our being covered with wheat dust. The whole process of growing, harvesting, weighing and storing wheat is fascinating.

Tomorrow our goal is Eureka, and we hope to be in Pittsburg (the Kansas version)on Saturday. When we leave Pittsburg, we'll cross into Missouri.