Fly-over States are HOT

We’re enduring the hot temperatures of the Midwest. Temperatures today hit a high of 97 degrees with 45% humidity. Neither of us are fans of this much heat and humidity. We’re staying at the Blue Springs Lake Campground in Lee’s Summit, Missouri with full hookups thankfully so the loud air conditioner has been getting a workout. It’s been so hot we haven’t been able to explore the bike trail that is right beside us. Darn!

Yesterday we had an appointment at Vandoit, to check out their vans. We’re not ready to make any decisions yet about our travel equipment, but we’ve grown a bit tired of towing a trailer. The van travel we’ve done in previous years has felt much more flexible and easy. Ah well, time will tell. To fit the two trikes in, they spec’d an extra long, extra tall Ford Transit with dualie rear wheels. It will definitely cut into the milage we had on the previous Transit, but again, it’s not time for a decision yet. Much more looking required.

Once we finished with our appointment, we asked our van guru where we should have lunch. He directed us to Joe’s Kansas City Bar-B-Que. We arrived around 2:30 and had to wait in line for 45 minutes. But it was worth the wait. We split a meal of brisket and ribs with cole slaw and potato salad for sides. Yummy!! If you ever go through this area, this is the place to eat!

Before arriving in Lee’s Summit, we had another great Harvest Host experience, this time staying at the Legendary Mustang Sanctuary in Alhambra, Illinios. Our host gave us a wonderful tour of their farm, complete with the history of how the BLM and California Department of Forestry deal with their wild mustang populations. As expected, some horses were shy and had not been trained yet, others were ready for adoption, but all were curious about us. They also are a sanctuary for burros, and they were very friendly. They wanted to check us out and get as many pets as possible. The farm also included two old dogs, chickens and many barn cats. One of the cats thought it should live inside our trailer, and made its presence known by trying to come through the screen door around midnight. Thankfully he didn’t tear the screening, just dislodged it, and I was able to put it back.

Paula & I were able to get out for a 20 mile bike ride on the Nickel Plate Trail in Madison County just a short ride out the front gate of the sanctuary. Lots of farms with corn and soy beans. The trail was in the shade for most of it, and the surface was hardpack. A nice way to stretch our legs after being in the car so long. Along the way we stopped into New Douglas. We have friends with a dog named Douglas, so we thought they’d appreciate the photo below.

Tomorrow we leave Missouri and cross most of Kansas so we can arrive in Denver on Monday. Forecast for WaKeeney, KS is 102 tomorrow. Yeehaw! Wish us luck!