Walkabout on Wheels

We didn’t get to see all that much of the Great Plains type of scenery when we drove through Kansas, since it was dark and rainy. Today we just finished driving the rest of the way through. The Kansan landscape stretches into Colorado, of course, and it really is amazing. I thought I had some sense of what Big Sky country meant in Indiana and all, but I was wrong. When the land is flat and stretches out before you, and you can see miles to all sides, the sky surrounds you completely. The clouds suspended in the sky seem to hang low and they go on forever. This is definitely something everyone should see. Here are two of the best pictures I took. And they don't even begin to capture the beauty of the plains.

2:17 PM CST

Rule #2: Do not admire the scenery when you are almost out of gas!

So after I finished writing that, it occurred to me that Brian had mentioned we needed gas. “Hey, didn’t you say that we needed gas?” I said as we passed by a gas station and its exit. I looked up at our little miles-to-empty estimator, and it said 9 miles to empty. I looked at the highway sign which said 7 miles to Bethune. Uh-oh.

Now, as I was saying, the sky stretches for miles here, and visibility is extremely high. So as we approached Bethune, we saw no BP, no Conoco, just some silos and prefab steel sheds. We pulled over right before the exit and opened the toy hauler. Our situation wasn’t that dire; we could ride the motorcycle for gas. Of course, we then had the problem of how to carry a 5-gallon tank of diesel safely while riding on the back of Brian’s bike.

Just in case there really was a town of Bethune nearby, we took the exit and drove down to the silos we saw. It was the Bethune Granary. A semi pulled out of that intersection, and Brian asked where we could get diesel. Right there at the granary, he said. So we parked the bike and dismounted. The first door we tried was locked. But the second opened to a little store. The lady there told us we could get diesel there, but we would need a gas key and could only pay cash. No problem. Hooray!

So we took the gas key, which was attached to a big wood plank which said DIESEL A1, and rode back to the truck. I drove it to the pump while Brian followed in the bike. No sense putting that extra weight in a truck that was pulling a trailer with only 2 miles left to empty. When we got to the pumps, there were three of them, and the middle one had an open grid of keyholes in rows and columns. We tried the key in A1. It wouldn’t turn. We looked around a little more, and on the third pump, there was a door which opened to another A1 slot. Here, they key turned, but nothing happened. I kind of felt like a character in one of those adventure games where you have to wander around and find a missing part. Resident Evil minus the zombies, perhaps.

Anyway, Brian went back to the office to talk to the lady, who called a guy who knew a guy who knew how to work the pumps. When he came, he banged on it à la Fonzarelli, and the pump started. Yes, the old percussive maintenance! I haven't used that since I had a TV with the knobs you turn to change the channel. That was how I fixed the V-Hold.

So we filled up our tank, drove to the office to hand over an arm and a leg, with gratitude. There were some free mini calendars with Bethune Granary at the top. I couldn't resist taking one as a memento of our doubtless unforgettable adventure. And we were on our way. The rest of our trip was uneventful, both comparatively and by normal standards. Our new stopping place, the Denver East KOA.

Here, we just stopped and rested again. No one felt like sightseeing, not even me! So we relaxed and did laundry. Pretty uneventful. On the way to wash greasy dishes in the utility sink, however, Zorah found a praying mantis! Maybe there aren't any bug enthusiasts in my audience, but if there are, you will understand. They are hard to find, and Zorah just found one trundling along in the grass. While I washed the dishes, she gently harrassed it. She ended up herding it right in front of the door to the store. Since I didn't want it to get stepped on, I picked it up, let it crawl on Z for a bit, then put it in a tree. As you can see, we took a picture of our chitinous friend.

Its fate was much happier than that of a praying mantis my older siblings and I found when we were little. We thought it would be a great idea to tie a string around its neck and keep it as a pet. I believe you can guess the outcome.

I also managed to run into the hitch on the trailer while we were there. I was trying to turn off the backlight on my iPod, and BAM! My glasses got squished into my face. Oops. Usually I walk to the right of that thing and under the trailer. Oh, well. I got a nice shiny bump on my forehead about the size of a quarter for my troubles.

Now, I couldn't possibly end this section without a commentary on the playground. It was very nice, and had one especially distinguishing feature. It had a tire swing fashioned into a rather clever horse! I took a picture of Z on it, but she isn't very happy in the picture. Why? She was sad because some playmates had to leave for dinner. Such is life.

After a few minutes, she cheered up enough to play with her usual abandon. Here she is happily climbing the slide.

The next day, we decided to head for the Rockies. We found a place called Tiger Run RV Resort in Breckenridge that seemed to be worth a try.

# posted by Rissa and Zorah @ 2:28 AM