I Wanna Travel First Class!: August 4, Another County Seat

It always surprises me when those days that seem to stretch on with nothing happening, ends up with a ton of pictures! And I usually only use about half of what Jeff takes. So, if you want to see them all, be sure and check out our Facebook page, Support for Firefighters. He posts them all there, along with the daily good morning video. So, today started out as they all do, with Jeff leaving early. He knew it was a long way to the next county seat town, Clay Center. No time for playing around! I didn't really want to hang around the dead convenience store by myself very long, so I got up, showered, and hit the road, too.

The road ahead with the sunrise. It was a nice morning.

According to the map, there were not hardly any little towns along the way, so I figured this would be a long day of leap frogging with Jeff. However, I was pleasantly surprised when I decided to take a small, 1 mile detour off the highway to check out Miltonville. This little town had a lot to offer! As I pulled into town, I noticed first the wonderful park and playground they have built. Let me just say right now that they probably used the entire city budget for this park! There was a public pool, which I've noticed most of the towns out here have. There was a little amphitheater, and there was play ground equipment galore! And really cool, expensive, creative play ground equipment. And the playground/park was clean and kept in great shape!

Once we made it the few blocks into the city center (I went back and waylaid Jeff to see the town!), we actually found a gas station, a bank, a store with ice, and of course the usual fire station and post office. We also found the Kountry Kafe, which was open and serving lunch. We went on in, since it was after noon. After lunch, Jeff got the last piece of apple pie. Sorry, no pic, but it was huge! And, right across the street was the bank, which had the time and temperature displayed. We watched as the temp climbed towards 100. It eventually made it later in the afternoon, on down the road.

They had more than one "station"!

The library was next door to the Kountry Kafe.

The restaurant had a lot of stuff to keep kids
busy while the grown ups ate!

And some of the patrons were very colorful!

The main fire house.

The town also had some really great houses. One thing I have noticed, also. As we were going through Oregon and Idaho, there were for sale signs everywhere! And here we are in the heartland, in these little, dying towns, and there are hardly any for sale signs. I wonder what happens when Gramma dies? The kids just keep paying taxes on the house? There are certainly a number of them in disrepair, and some just plain falling down. But not for sale? I guess there are all kinds of theories you could have here. I just like looking at the prairie houses with the big front porches!

Along the way, there were some interesting things to see.

This looks like a water sprinkler or a
see-saw. I think it is just a sculpture....

This is the second credit/debit card Jeff has found. He said the
new motto should be "don't arrive home without it!"

If I had a farm, I would want to do all the cool
creative stuff to it!

Hmmm.... newspaper delivery at the local cemetery.

There are plenty of opportunities for scenic shots, too. I think we are entering the Flint Hills geographical area. The little town, the Prairie Chicken capitol of the world, Cassaday, is in the Flint Hills area. That is where Jeff ran his first 100 miler.

Speaking of 100, here it is! And I also learned today that I need to take my "turn" on the road to give him a break, not early in the day, but when it is hot and miserable. Oh, well. I am doing it mainly to help him out and give him a little break. And to get myself off my butt for an hour! Might as well not enjoy it! Lol.... actually, it is rather peaceful walking out on the side of the road in the middle of America. And lots of people stop to ask if I need help. I must look pretty terrible!

I know this is a funny pic, but Jeff is doing an amazing job! He just keeps going and going and going!

He made a couple of friends out there today, as well.

This lady stopped to see if Jeff needed a ride.

I later met her and her husband in the laundromat! She
is an arm wrestling pro!

Another cyclist, probably going across the country.
That is very popular with cyclists!

I found a flower that I have not seen before. It is a really tall, really yellow, daisy looking flower. Although they had come through and mowed, they left this little patch!

We finally made our way to Clay Center. Although I went on ahead to scout out the fairgrounds, and to get the laundry started. The county fairgrounds had a number of FREE RV hook-ups, with electric. There was also water and a dump site available. So, I quickly took another shower, put clean clothes on, and went on over to the laundry. Where I ran into the arm wrestling lady. I cannot remember her name! I am sorry, if you are reading this (hope you are!). We got done so late, and made our way over to the fairgrounds, hooked up, made our dinner, and shut it down.