I found a visitor's center in Cañon City that has wifi.
The pics from yesterday were 3rd of July fireworks at my girlfriend's family's house in Munster, IN, Flood debris in Iowa City, The convenience store where all of my discretionary income went when I was at the Univerity of Iowa, and the camping spot in Lovewell State Park in Kansas.
I wrote this last night:
I'm writing this in a tent just outside Pueblo, CO at about 9:00 PM on Monday. I'll have to upload it whenever I get a chance.
So here's a recap of the trip so far.
Saturday:
In spite of 4 detours I managed to get to Iowa City a little early. The funniest thing that happened on the way, was that I pulled into a gas station and got some gas and water to have with the lunch I packed. I was a little worried about leaving all my gear on the bike while I was inside because I didn't want anything to get stolen. So I was watching it like a hawk. Of course, everything was fine when I came back out. And, while I was sitting there, some guy on a chromed out Harley pulled up and went inside. Not only did he leave the keys in the ignition, he left the bike running. Apparently, people aren't worried much about theft around there.
The detours were due to flooding:
When I got into Iowa City I met Cecilia, who I was staying with, dropped off my stuff, and we wandered around town for a while. When I left the University, it wasn't under the best circumstances. They basically screwed me over and stuck me with a bill for $5,000. This is why I took a leak on the Old Capitol building before I left over a decade ago, and vowed never to go back. But a lot has happened since then. I've found ways to resolve things without peeing. I managed to get myself squared away financially and finish school at Eastern Illinois, and since I only made that vow to myself I figure I could let it go. And I'm glad I did. It was a nice little visit.
Cece rider modeling her helmet-and-evening-gown ensemble (*Edited* I accidentally wrote "night gown" the first time. A very important difference, and a good reason to know your gowns better than I do. I apologize.):
My first sticker of the trip from the Iowa City Co-op:
Sunday:
Not a lot to report on Sunday. I left Iowa City at 9:30 and was busting my butt to make it to the campsite and set up by nightfall. Missouri was hot. It was over 100 during the hottest part of the ride. I used the old wet bandana trick, which helped, but the hot air dried it out pretty quick.
Monday:
I stopped at a bunch of places today. I didn't get a sticker in Missouri because I was in too big of a hurry, so I wanted to try extra hard to get one out of Kansas today. I asked in at least 4 places and looked in even more, but no dice. I found Kansas bells, Kansas magnets, Kansas pencils, Kansas Christmas tree ornaments... but no sticker. But looking was fun.
I found a statue commemorating buffalo hunting
Personally, if I hunted an animal to near extinction it's not something I'd be bragging about. I guess people used to actually shoot them from trains just for fun. There aren't a lot of places to hide on the plains. But one of them did manage to get away and survive. I found him hiding in plain sight in a local museum.
He just acts like part of the display and they don't shoot him. Very clever. Eventually he'll find a mate and they'll breed a race of super-intelligent buffalo. Beware my friends. Payback time is coming.
I ate meat for the first time in about 2 ½ years tonight. When I got into camp I had a couple of other campers chat me up. They were impressed that I was in a tent instead of an RV. I told one guy about my trip out west. Later, as I was setting up the tent. He walked over with a plate of food. He said that they thought it was neat what I was doing and that I should have a good meal. Some of it was grilled pork, and I ate some of it. Most of the reasons I don't eat meat didn't apply because it was already slaughtered and cooked etc, and there was no way I was going to give it back and say no thank you. So I ate some of it, and thanked them. And it was pretty good.
One more thing I found today. A road that goes right into the sky...
The KZ is a really cool bike. Totally different from what I'm used to. It's wider, lower, bigger, and it's what the blues brothers would ride if they had motorcycles. It's an old police bike and still has the switches for the lights and sirens.
This might be even sadder. Spiderman is now shilling for some Tijuana club. Oh Spidey, why? (That's an actual person in that costume crawling around on a little scaffold 3 floors above the street.)
They had boxing in the street, and donkeys painted to look like zebras. One guy told us they had everything we wanted. There was another guy that highly recommended a massage parlor. Some sort of walk-in massage therapy clinic I suppose. I sure could have used a massage after that ride, but we had too much to see, and not enough time.
And, a great new sticker for the collection. Really ties the whole thing together don't you think?
