At first glance, Kansas does not strike you as the most visually appealing state. I had pictured roads lined with green pastures and giant sunflowers (Kansas is the Sunflower State, after all). Not quite. Colorado was beautiful. The Rocky Mountains always loomed ahead on the horizon, a reminder of the challenge to come. In Kansas, there is nothing on the horizon. Not even a tree. But whenever you do see a tree, it is bent toward the north and looks ready to topple over because of the tremendous, ever-present wind in Kansas. It looks like the trees all have scoliosis.
Kansas is a different sort of beauty. For being next-door neighbors, the scenery in the two states couldn’t be much more different. It is much more serene than Colorado. Looking up at the mountains in Colorado was exhilarating, anticipating the struggle up the mountains and the thrill of the descent (Doc’s specialty). Kansas is relaxing and dependable. You always know what you’re going to get with Kansas. Though the serenity was broken up by the Gray County Wind Energy Center. There are enough wind turbines there to supply electricity for 330,000 houses. Or at least I think that’s what I read. Bill Nye the Science Guy would be proud of Gray County.
We have tried to make it a point to explore local restaurants for dinner. We try to avoid chains because you can try those anywhere. Saturdays and Sundays we try to stick to sports bars and catch up on our fall football fix. So in Kansas, we wanted something you can only get in Kansas. What comes to mind for you? Last night, we ventured to the Peppercorn (which, unbeknownst to us, is actually a local chain) and just about everyone ordered the biggest steak on the menu as we split a few pitchers of beer. We met some Kansans at dinner and they taught us about pheasant hunting and milo. Dave and Tim also gave us a great tip on the best breakfast in Dodge City. And let me tell you, the Golden Pancake House did not disappoint. And even better, it is not a chain.
We like to take the recommendations of locals whenever we explore food in a town. La Veta, CO is at base of the Cuchara Pass (the nicest of the three) and one of my favorite towns on the trip. Near lunch we rode up the main (and perhaps only) street in town and asked people on the street where we should eat for lunch. Obviously we took the advice of the girls we passed over the middle-aged men with a dog. But, the Main Street Diner was a real knockout.
This trip has exposed how ignorant Jay and I are on bikes. The bike we are using has turned out to be a bit small for me, and checking out the pictures you can see how poorly Jay squeezes onto the bike. We are slightly different heights, so every time we switch riders, we have to adjust the height of the seat. But we don’t really know how high the seat should be. I usually measure from the tips of my fingers to a distance that seems reasonable above my wrist for my seat height. Any bike riding hints would be greatly appreciated.
Now to something that I need another opinion about; Jay and Patty were watching “Coming to America” while I was in the shower the other night and they decided I look like Arsenio Hall. I’m not so sure. Maybe Jake and put pictures up of me and Arsenio side by side and you the people can compare and comment. I’m pushing for Jake to add more fun interactive things to the website. I want polls and games. If Sakofs looks like Paul Giamatti, who do the rest of our friends look like? I want some suggestions and discussion.
