July 31, Fun in the Midwest

This morning when we got up to leave the fairgrounds, there were only a couple Cowboy trucks left. Those are the really nice livestock carriers. Anyway, they were pretty much gone. Last night, after I finished the blog, I kept hearing one lone horse that seemed a bit upset. He was sending out a constant barrage of whinnies and neighs. Maybe he was hungry, or lonely. Not sure which. After I went to bed, there was the sound of a horse running up to the area we were at. I figured someone else was riding around. Well, after a few minutes, several sets of headlights pulled up, and I heard them talking. Apparently the little horse had gotten loose and ran down towards the river. Some fellow came over and snagged it with a halter, and off they all went. Quite a little commotion. I wondered if it was the same one that kept up the noise.

On his way out of Hill City, Jeff managed to get some pics of the town. It was a cute town. Larger, as it was a county seat. And as I was leaving, I found a lady selling fresh grown tomatoes on the corner! Of course I bought some. We had them for dinner. They had amazing flavor!

Jeff wears a size 11 1/2!

   

The rodeo and fair must be a really big deal here! 

     

We didn't have time for the Oil Museum. Looked
interesting, though.

This building is made with the same local stone
that was quarried for the ranch we saw yesterday.

   

Front of the building.

They had a time capsule! And it wasn't anywhere
special, just stuck in the ground on the sidewalk!

     
Once we left Hill City, there wasn't much along the route into the next town, which is Stockton. It seems we are pretty much going county seat to county seat. We did go through a little community called Nicodemus. The sign explains it in detail, but apparently during the time period after the Civil War, there were a number of African American communities started up in the Midwest.

       

The scenery has been changing daily here. I was worried that it would be just flat farmland all the way across Kansas!

There is still corn...

There is shade on the road ahead!

       

Stairway to Heaven?

Love the limestone formations popping up!

  Although Jeff didn't really find much on the side of the road today, I actually did! Nothing quite as cool as he usually finds, but stuff nonetheless!

Another battery contraption on the fence! Must be
a cheap and easy way to electrify the fence.

Must have been some wind storm to blow this 10' aluminum
tank onto the side of the road!

     

I found a little toad, although he was not quite as small as Jeff's.
This one was about the size of a quarter.

Although we didn't see very many sunflowers today, I did find a lone soldier that was watching over us.

Jeff did have his daily confrontation with a dog. This one was no threat to him, though. I have heard some, but not really seen any.

I wanted to include here the comments that Jeff had on our Facebook page regarding Colorado. He usually tries to make some comments about each state as we finish it. He was a little late in getting this one done! But it is interesting to hear a bit about what Jeff thinks, instead of just me!

"I have not done my review of running through Colorado. I hate using the phone
Colorado really had two sides...maybe three. We came into the state on rolling hills. We all know the mountains. Ugly as sin plain
Mosquitoes don't have a 10,000 foot ceiling. 
Found like no money on the side of the road
Normal driving habits
Kind garbage men , they stopped to give me water
The state needs a state smell...burning brakes
The state claims the highest everything, except for peaks
It has a lot of people going from nowhere to nowhere on roads with no shoulders
Takes the award for change , from. 3.2 beer to recreational pot
Has the most dead trees on the west
Has no road kill east of the continental divide
Did I mention how ugly dry farming is during a dry year?
Oh, and they have both biting flies and Mosquitoes in the plain
Oh, way fewer coal trains and shorter coal trains than I remember
Did mention that one day I wasn't bit by anything... But just one"
So we motored into Stockton about 6:30 this evening. I had already found out that they had a city park with hook-ups! I drove through and checked it out. It is a very nice park! The one thing we were determined to find was a laundry, though. According to google, there was not one in town. So I called one of the local motels to ask if they had any machines. She told me there was a laundry right next door to her. And sure enough, there was! With nice new big machines. So we got the laundry done. Then we went back to the park, which was just as we entered town. There is a disk golf course, a huge lit tennis court, and a ball field, and about 6 RV site. We are the only ones here. It was really nice sitting outside, as there was a slight breeze, and no bugs were bothering us. We actually ate our dinner at the picnic table. Dinner was T-bone steaks that I bought at a grocer just before leaving Hill City. They were $7.99 a pound! That is half what that steak would cost us at home. Then after we ate, Zilly and Zada got to gnaw on the bones for just a bit. Pinkie can't stomach steak now. She tosses it after about 15 minutes.

Another thing about this area. People stop to ask if you need help a lot. And many of them are already aware of what we are doing, at least when they see Jeff running. I'm still getting my 4-5 miles in each day, too. I figure that otherwise, I am sitting on my butt all day with no exercise. And, I usually go when Jeff is having lunch or needs a mid day break. That way we are still moving forward! People are really willing to help if they think we are broken down!

Did I mention that it is usually feast or famine on the Mailbox of the Day? Well, today Jeff struck gold juste as he was leaving the county fairgrounds!

Kinda looks like Woody, but I think it pre-
dates him!

Tractors are a popular motif.

       

As are water pumps!