Happy Birthday Mommy!!!!
We were very excited today. We left the campground only to discover that we weren't getting blown back the way we came. Yay!!!!! We biked over to the historic town of Marion for a quick breakfast. We spent some time biking around the town, not more than a mile long in any direction, to see some of the old houses and coomunity buildings. Below is the clock tower, which also housed the library.
Throughout Marion were little rhino statues. Each one was painted differently. This one had nice polka dot shorts.
Street view of Marion:
Soon we were heading East again, and biking through beautiful lush green plains. Wow! Though we didn't go through it, the Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve is at the junction of highways 177 and 50, near Strong City, and is supposed to be a beautiful drive through rolling hills and limestone formations. The prairie looks somewhat like the photo below. Maybe someday we'll come back and see the preserve.
We had a light tailwind today, barely perceptible except for when we stopped and watched the grasses swaying. But it was there! We covered nearly 90 miles today. We both agree we'd rather go uphill than have a headwind anyday.
It was very pretty and provided a nice change from the fields of corn. We saw many cows hanging out in the ponds that dotted the hills. Good place to cool off as there was little shade.
We were about 10 miles from our destination of Eisenhower State Park ( situated on Melvern Lake and renamed about 40 years ago after the only US president to come from Kansas) when we passed through the little town of Reading. It reminded me of Pine Island after Hurrican Charley came through in 2004. There were blue tarps on many roofs, buildings had words in white spraypaint and taped signs displaying their status: safe, limited entry, to be demolished, no entry, do not demolish, etc. The trees were missing limbs and leaves, some vegetation just starting to come back. At first glance you though everyone just had messy lawns, but then you saw the pieces of buildings, shingles, and bricks that made up the debrie. We biked down one of the streets hoping to find a cafe or convenience store where we could get a cold drink and fill up our water bottles. We found a vending machine outside the small fire department building that we could get an iced tea from. Very refreshing. And we also saw the information board, a giant sheet of plywood with postings concerning town meetings and places to get assistance or help with anything from home rebuilding to food and water or even someone giving away free paintings of flowers to cheer up the atmosphere. I did some research later on. A bad tornado came through Reading on May 22, 2011. It killed one person and damaged or destroyed nearly 300 homes and buildings. Below is a photo in the middle of town. The bank is in the forefront, with the safety information. Below the water tower is a little wooden building that remained untouched. It is the old Reading jail, perfectly maintained with only the information sign sitting on the ground.
We continued on towards Eisenhower state park. About 3 miles before we got there, there was a nice sign saying "Pavement Ends". Oh.... that isn't supposed to happen. Thankfully it was mostly well packed gravel and our thick touring tires did a great job managing the terrain. Despite how great our bikes were, we got quickly tired of the bumpy ride. It was nearing sunset and we still hadn't seen the park. Suddenly the road was paved again and we turned into the park entrance. It was really pretty! Vibrant green grasses, gentle rolling hills, randomly dispersed thickets of trees and bushes, and small creeks created the landscape leading up to the lake. The lake itself was a dark blue, sparkling in the fading sun. The sky was a rainbow of orange and pink hues.
We stopped by the camp store, only to realize it was closed. But luck was with us and the camp host, who runs the store, was out walking his dog. We talked for a short bit, talking about places we've been. He actually grew up in Jacksonville, FL. He then offered to get the key and let us in the store. We got a drink and some ice cream to help us cool off. He wouldn't let us pay, and said it was on him. It was very nice and we were super happy to have something cold. Despite the beauty of the landscape and sky, it was still just under 100 degrees.
We set up camp on a peninsula, and no one else was camping there! We had it all to ourselves. There was a brisk breeze blowing off the lake to help us cool off and to keep the bugs away. We sat for a while and relaxed. The moon came out and sparkled off the lake, silhouetting trees along the shoreline.
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