Drifting Along With The Tumbling Tumbleweeds

Part II
Day 11
Dodge City, KS to Plains, KS
60 miles

We started our day early. Had breakfast at 6 a.m. with road construction workers, Harley riders, and rodeo cowboys. An outsider looking in would have thought us a strange group! We pedaled out of the hotel parking lot at 7 a.m. When we left Dodge City it was 71F, and Clay and I were actually cold. We even had goosebumps!

Our planned route today was to stop in Meade, Kansas, which was 45 miles away. We were really making good time this morning. I think we were pedaling fast to try to warm up. When we stopped at our 20 mile break, it was about the time we are usually getting started. This was a great morale booster. Susan said it has been the best day for her.

We always get strange looks from the cows and horses as we pedal by.

When we took a break at Fowler, Kansas, this morning we heard a train coming. We realized that it was going West, the same as us, so we quickly hopped on our bikes so we could draft him. It was so much fun. We got up to 24 miles per hour. We also got 2 encouraging whistle blows from trains today along with some car honks!

When we got to Meade, we found a Historical Museum. We decided to go in and see if they had anything about our relatives when they came through. We were disappointed that we didn't find any information, but it was a nice museum. The lady there was very helpful! Since it was still before lunch and we were making such good time, we decided to continue on. We ended up stopping in Plains, Kansas, at the 60 mile mark for us. It was Tom and Susan's longest ride to date and also the longest mileage we have done in a day on this trip. Way to go Tom and Susan!!

Susan needing to be helped in after bicycling 60 miles.

Some tumbleweed bushes along our route today.

Seeing all the tumbleweeds today reminded me of something in the manuscript that you might find interesting. Sophronia writes "From farmer's wives we learned how to cook tumbleweeds which grew abundantly along the road side. Tumbleweeds, when picked small before the prickly thorn develops, were delicious! Maude, Rita and I picked baskets full of the weeds as we walked along the road." I never knew that tumbleweeds could be eaten!

This afternoon we went to the Liberal Cemetery and found Harry and Lucy Cousins' gravesite. They were my great grandparents and they were 2 of the 13 that traveled in the 1911 caravan.