I can't hear you over the sound of the grain elevator

Day 28 of this trip and we are in Kansas! The terrain has been vastly different from anything else. Flat in every direction. All you can see is proud stalks of corn and golden fields of grain and marigold-decorated prarie for miles. I swear green and gold are the only two colors that exist in Kansas. And the blue blue sky. The flat land makes it easy to bike forever though, provided its not too hot (read less than 100 degrees) and not too much headwind. In the past 2 days, we've done almost 200 miles. And still into our destination by early afternoon. Kansas is super windy, with crazy wind coming all over the place and blowing your bike every which way. I'm always convinced its coming straight at us, no matter what direction we are riding in.

We have been waking up between 4 and 5am every day, and getting on the road before the sun is up. It's difficult to get up when it's so dark, but that first hour watching the sun rise over the sleeping state and be the only one to witness the brilliant display makes everything so worth it. And the clouds are always so different. Sometimes they are soft and feathery, sometimes thick enough to swallow the sun, and sometimes the day is perfectly clear with not a cloud for miles. Often times I think it cant be real; I'm probably on the set of the Truman Show! I feel so lucky to be able to enjoy that view every day.

Biking and living all the time so close to nature makes every experience so much more intense. It can be super scary or difficult or unpleasant many times, but it reminds me that the very things that protect us from all the unpleasant parts also dulls our experience of the beautiful ones. It make me appreciate both the splendor and fury that the environment exercises on a daily basis.

This trip has also made me appreciate city pools and water parks. We have been dunking underwater as often as we can, and its amazing! Even if we are incredibly out of place on the slide behind a bunch of 8 year olds, we love it. Especially when showers are rare and heat is intense.

We have been treated so incredibly well on this trip, and it just keeps getting better. A few days ago, we were hooked up with free pizza, a free home-cooked dinner at a church, an interview with the paper, a hotel at half rate, a hotel continental breakfast, and all of our snacks at a convenience store payed for by a kind local firefighter. All in one 24 hour period. It's amazing how many people open their hearts to us. And people are genuinely interested in us. I feel like I am really getting to know small-town America, and its restoring my trust in the country.

We are flying through Kansas, and expect to be in Colorado by the 4th of July. We plan to bring fireworks to celebrate. I cant wait!
 

Becca