After a good night's sleep at Becky's, she saw me off in the morning and gave me her phone number in case anything happened. She said she'd travel up to 3 hours (by car) if I broke down or needed help, I thought that was just amazing of someone to go so far out of their way to help someone. SHe also reminded me that I now had a home in Kansas to stay if I ever came through again. I now know why everyone who knows of her speaks so highly of her.
Leavinging Eureka and traveling west, I hit Cassoday which didn't have much of anything, and then started into the first "dead zone" of my trip, an area where the map notes "no services on route for the next 38 miles" so I made double sure I was carrying enough water, especially in this heat!
Here is where I crossed into the Flint Hills, a section of Kansas with abundent rolling prairies where farmers send cattle to fatten up before selling them off for meat. I started seeing larger and larger praire lots filled with cattle. Also, with praire comes a lack of trees, and a lack of places to stop in the shade.
Making my way out of the dead zone in the afternoon, I hit Newton and found Fire Station #2. They let cyclists stay in a training room in the back, and they had it set up nicely! Ground mats to sleep on, A/C, showers, laundry machine, and a computer in the room for internet access. The Newton fire dept has professional firefighters that are there in 24 hour shifts so there were always people around. I spoke to the battalion chief for while and he must have given me 15 different suggestions on where to grab dinner. They even had a little who are you / where are you going form to fill out and then they took my picture and added it to their cyclist book!
I ventured across the street to a cajun place called "Taste of New Orleans" I got a good meal full of rice, beans, and sausage and chatted up one of the regulars, who told me I was on "honorary brother" after checking out my cyclist's tan. Afterwards I walked back to the station and fell asleep. They had warned me about call alarms that would go off at night, but I slept so deeply I didn't hear anything!
Start: Eureka, KS
End: Newton, KS
Distance:
77.75 miles
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