The Wild West

Yesterday afternoon we walked to the "Dorothy's House". Liberal decided to be the location in Kansas that is associated with the Wizard of Oz. They identified a house that serves as Dorothy's house for tourists wanting to make a connection.

Last evening we had a nice surprise. Our friends from Santa Fe were in Liberal for a viewing. They called about 8:00 p.m. wondering if we wanted to go out for ice cream. We had known that there was a Braum's in town but it was too far to walk. We were delighted to accept their invitation.

Today was a great day for biking. Just a few clouds and relatively cool when we started. We rode about 85 miles from Liberal to Dodge City, KS. We had little elevation gain. There were crosswinds for the first 60 miles and a tailwind the last 20+ miles. A great way to finish a ride! Just a little over 5 hours of riding time. Lots of wheat fields and and great Kansas scenery.

We had a slow leak in a tire at a rest stop. That worked out very well. We are getting pretty efficient at changing tires. That is a total of nine flats in case anyone is counting.

We went through Meade, KS. This is where the Dalton Gang had their hideout. The Dalton Gang were notorious for train and bank robberies in the late 1800's.

We rolled into Dodge City around 1:00. Texas cattle were driven to Dodge City to be put on the railroad for eastern markets. It had a reputation for many gunfights and the cemetery was named Boot Hill for the cowboys who died with their boots on.

It was great to end our biking by early afternoon before the temps reached their predicted high of 90. There was a DQ about .4 miles before our motel so we took advantage of that opportunity! DQ's are a welcome sight and are always on our route map if one is in the area.