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Our trip from Hays, KS to Clinton, MO (the start of the Katy Trail) was our first adventure in the Wild West. We were surprised, in fact, to discover how much of Wild West history was lived out in Kansas. One could name the famous (or sometimes infamous) towns of Dodge City, Abilene, Ellsworth and others. Westward travelers of old crossed Kansas on the Santa Fe Trail, and cattlemen drove their herds north from Texas on the Chisholm Trail to the railroad lines in Kansas.

Our daughter Melanie joined us for the segment from Hays to Salina, which put her miles to date on the overall trip at 500. We also had the pleasure of seeing some good friends Scott and Lana Braddock, who put us up for a night. The summer heat of Kansas slowed our pace some, but we were able to make our daily mileage nonetheless. Few bike trails this time - mostly on the open road.  

So much history to see and relive in Kansas. A restaurant in Osawatomie displays a working model train suspended from the ceiling to recall the days of cattle and locomotives. In Osawatomie you’ll also see a memorial to John Brown, who led a battle there against pro-slavery militia before the Civil War. Oil pumps dot the countryside reminding one of another source of Kansas’ early prosperity. And, of course, the endless Kansas farmland.

A highlight in Council Grove, KS, is the oak tree where representatives of the Osage and Kaw (Kansa) Indians signed a treaty to allow the white man to cross their territory. Council Grove also boasts remnants of trail ruts from the original Santa Fe Trail (but we couldn’t see them) and the Custer Elm, where General Custer and his men camped in 1867. Wilson, KS, a settlement of Czech immigrants, displays the world’s largest Czech egg.

We also came across a number of unexpected surprises. At one campsite we met Lindsay Monroe, who had recently completed a solo walk across America. Impressive. Traversing a rural road, we passed a herd in the distance that looked like buffalo. While we were looking on a man in a passing truck stopped to proudly confirm that they were, in fact, real buffalo. He was their owner!

Another unexpected site, outside Salina, was a Buddhist temple. Not what you’d expect in rural Kansas. Nor would you expect to see an ornate Catholic basilica, erected by inhabitants of Victoria, KS. It would pass for a miniature of anything you’d see in medieval Europe. Near the Kansas-Missouri border we stopped and ate at an all-bratwurst restaurant (Tom loves brats) - brats of every flavor imaginable, and then some. We ate well that evening.

Not that everything on the trip was all that rosy. Rosy is the right word, since it reminds you of thorns, which was our biggest menace on the trip. If you leave the paved surface at all, which, unfortunately, we did several times, your tires may pick up dozens of minute thorns that penetrate through to the innertube and make it nearly unrepairable. We lost count how many flat tires we changed, how many protruding thorns we pulled out of our tires and how many new innertubes we bought in Kansas. Stay on the road!!!

One reason we left the paved surface from time to time was because of what we came to affectionately call “Google roads.” We use Google Maps as a preliminary plan for our trips since they give directions specifically for bicyclists. What Google hasn’t perfected yet, though, is assessing the road conditions of the routes they recommend. Usually the routes are great for straight-line travel and low traffic, but sometimes Google gives you goat paths to ride, and in Kansas that means right through the thorns.

Taking “Google roads” also led us to some remote gravel farm roads that are jealously guarded by the distance biker’s best friend - farm dogs. This was amazingly our first encounter with the canine species on our trip from NYC here. (We didn’t take time to take their pictures.)  

Our last trial awaited us in Clinton, MO, our final destination point. After taking in a huge car show that we stumbled upon downtown, we thought we’d find a motel for the night. But Nancy, unfortunately, reserved a room for us online not in Clinton, MO, but in Clinton, IL. Have to read the fine print! We then decided against a motel and set up the tent in a city park, which was maybe not the safest choice, since people seemed be snooping around the place during the night.  

The next morning we searched online for the local Greyhound stop to get our bus home, and were surprised to be told that it was about 10 miles out of town. Since we hadn’t reserved that much time for the trip to the bus stop, we hustled down the road out of town to make the bus on time. After 10 miles, 15 miles, 20 miles - still no Greyhound stop. We rechecked the location online on a different website and discovered that the bus stop was in reality just a few blocks from where we had camped.

Having already missed the bus big time, we called a friend, Victoria Ross, in Springfield, MO, who came to rescue us until our daughter could pick us up from her house the next day and drive us home. Some days you’re just glad to be over. But that meant the trip was over as well - until next time!