August 5, Made the First Manhattan!

Jeff got a really good early start in the morning out of Clay Center, knowing that it was going to be a long run to get to Manhattan by dinner time. I got all the usual stuff done, ice, dump, shower, etc. Didn't pick up much at the grocery since there is a Walmart in Manhattan. Things are generally less expensive there. Not that I shop much at Walmart outside of this trek. I really prefer Whole Foods and Central Market.

The road ahead with the shadow!

We have changed geography.

         
Jeff indicated that it would help him more if I did my few miles later in the day, when it was really hot and he REALLY needed a break. Crap. Oh, well. I am doing it mostly for him. And it will probably really help him more. So, today I waiting until he was ready for me to go. And luckily, it was somewhat overcast most of the day, and certainly a few degrees cooler than yesterday! And I went an extra turn, also.  And I found something on the road! Yeah!

My first dead cell phone! 

I found a stuffed fish! 

       

So then later, Jeff found a stuffed whale, which Zada just loves!

As I mentioned, we have changed geography a bit. This part of Kansas looks a lot like the area in Missouri where I lived for a while. It is rolling hills and lots of trees! Really pretty.

        

Ok, so it all looks very similar. 

We passed through a couple of small towns today. Some of them weren't really worthy of being called towns any longer. Really sad. But it seems like the little towns are getting bigger now. Maybe because we are getting closer to Kansas City.

Every small town must have a water tower. That is
how you know a town is coming up!

Leonardville was a cute town. 

     

And firefighters get preferential treatment! Wonder
if I could have parked there?

The library and the fire station. Next door. Usually
they are competing for resources.... here they play nice!

       

A log tree house!

This was the town.... or all that I could see.

       

Awesome churches abound out here!

And patriotic people. Love this house, too.

         
And how could we resist the flower of the day when a bed of impatients is so colorful?  Then, Jeff found another square telephone pole. He has been looking for one to photograph for a long time! These really turn him on for some reason.

          

We finally, after a really long afternoon, limped into Manhattan. Well, actually, there was no limping, but it was hot and we were ready to be done. On the way into town, Jeff got some pics of the KU stadium, for all you sports enthusiasts out there.

        

         


On the way into town, we also stopped at the first fire station we came to. It happened to also be their admin building and training facility. The guys were really nice, and very cool. It was a quiet fire station, so I think there must be something fishy here.... ;)

          

I drove on to the Walmart parking lot, in order to check it out for later, while Jeff ran the rest of the way in. About the time he arrived, this guy pulled up in a pick up truck, and started making conversation about the RV. Then the panhandling began, which I was totally not expecting! His story was really fishy. He needed $20 to buy gas to get himself to Topeka, where his daughter was in the hospital because 2 drunks hit her. Really? Two, and not one? That right there sealed it. So I began telling him how we are doing all this for donations....

I googled a Mexican restaurant, as Jeff wanted Mexican food for dinner and I hadn't thawed anything. And, I really don't feel right cooking in the Walmart parking lot! I found one that ended up being over near the campus, a few blocks off the Greek section (fraternities and sororities). It was a really cool area, too, as you might imagine. And very crowded, even in summer. The restaurant was awesome. We had a Margarita while waiting for our table.

Since the population has been denser, we are finding more cool mailboxes! Hope you enjoy the Mailbox of the Day!

This also has the Pledge of Allegiance written on it.

        

There are many leaning, sleeping cowboy things. What is
the message? I wonder. Do cowboys sleep standing up?
Or just all the time? They can't stand up? Sore from the saddle?
I really wonder about this!

The mailbox from the Manhattan Fire Department.