Bazine,KS

Today the ride continued west and north for 84 miles with favorable tail winds until the last stretch of 20 miles when it switched to more of a head wind. It was a tad warm as well with temperatures in the 90's after noon. At Alexander we passed the half way point in the ride so we continue to make good progress. Sally did some riding early at the Quivira Refuge as we resumed our ride where we left off. She saw what we think were coyote pups and mother. We stopped mid morning to tour Fort Larned. It was built in the 1850's as one of the string of forts along the Santa Fe Trail to protect travelers and local settlers from Indian attacks.

Sally is doing a great job as support driver. Today for lunch she managed to scout out about the only shade(note pic with cottonwood trees over truck. Lots black birds, both red-wing and yellow headed.) conveniently available for our lunch spot at a cross roads. She also provided more cold drinks at strategic times. As we were eating lunch a local farmer, Ron, stopped for a chat. We had a nice discussion about the local farming practices and situation as he patiently answered our questions. The chief crops are wheat (harvest now, as soon as it dries out), maize(plant now, and harvest in October), and some corn. This area gets 22" of rain a year so it is not as dry as locations to the west. Most farms are family owned but there is more consolidation as people retire without a younger generation interested in taking over. Tonight we are staying in Ness City and it has a real western feel to it. This is the only motel in town, and we will probably talk to 4 other bikers, here, later. We think one couple with a recumbent tandem are the ones from WI, we heard about, a few days ago.