I was quick to break down camp in the morning. The great state of Colorado lay in front of me and I was anxious to put Kansas behind me. I had about 70 miles left of riding in Kansas; it would be flat and windy but the end of Kansas. Certainly not the end of the wind.
Early on in the day I passed my first badger of the trip. It was dead, but I was too excited to not get a photo of it. While I was stopped, I was passed by a trucker hauling one blade for a wind turbine. The blade was probably two and a half normal freight trailers long. Shortly thereafter, I was passed by the remaining two blades.
There aren’t many towns in this part of the country, so when I passed through Goodland, KS, I was anticipating a bite to eat and not much else. To my surprise, as I rode into town there was a huge rendition of van Gogh’s “3 Sunflowers and a Vase.” It is massive and about the only thing in town. Fortunately, there was a water spigot, so I ate a melted Snickers, drank water, and left.
The next town I came to was Kanarado, which had to mean the end of Kansas was near. About five miles outside of town, my stomach turned over in a bad way. There was no where to hide in order to do my business. I was wishfully searching for a couple of hay bails near each other, or some form of cover. But no luck. Then I made it to Kanarado and was delighted to find a city park.
It was completely dilapidated and appeared to be rarely used. I found the toilet, which was barely more than a hole in the ground. The toilet seat was made of wood. For being this close to a city and fairly major road, there still wasn’t any running water or sewer. This shitter would be more in place in the middle of nowhere in the wilderness. But I was in the middle of nowhere. And I would shit on Kansas before leaving the state.
After my appointment with the wooden throne, I retreated to the shade of a nearby shelter. For as seemingly unused as the park appeared to be, there was a recent flyer for the city’s events. One of the upcoming meals was an all you can eat buffet of Rocky Mountain oysters. Unfortunately, I would have to miss the buffet.
I mounted the Horse for my final ride in Kansas. About a mile outside of Kanarado I passed by the Colorado welcome sign. What a relief! No more Kansas, no more flat roads and wind, and there are mountains. Except this part of Colorado is exactly like Kansas. And I couldn’t see any mountains.
So my first day in Colorado wasn’t really all that different from Kansas. About the only difference revolves around some legal issues. But I’m no lawyer. Burlington was only ten more miles on, so I rode safely into town.
There weren’t a lot of dining or sleeping options, but I eventually settled on America’s Best Value Inn. While signing the paper work, I noticed an early checkout option. I’ve only used late checkout, so I asked the attendant what an early checkout was. He calmly replied that truckers sometimes use the shower and take a nap, or a young couple needs some private time. You could rent a room by the hour in Burlington, CO. This thought would haunt me my entire stay here.
Once I had showered, I headed to the grocery. I was hungry and needed beer for the night and for the USA World Cup game in the morning. I had a microwave, so I whipped up a gourmet meal of hot pockets and chips. And beer. Delicious beer.