Killing Time

When you are facing 100 degree temperatures, a headwind, and scenery that doesn't change for miles, you tend to find anything to do to pass the time. I remember reading an article written by a professional bicycle racer in which he was talking about what he and the other riders did to kill time during long races. He told a story about a scorching hot day riding through Spain and all of a sudden one of the riders got angry at a street sign and threw his water bottle at it. This sparked a competition among the other riders trying to hit roadside signs, fire hydrants, or any inanimate object. The novelty wore off once the participating riders had no water bottles left. The situation become a bit more frustrating and complicated when they all realized that it was over one hundred degrees and they were racing their bicycles, which requires drinking massive amounts of water.We did not partake in any games that were as consequential as the water bottle tossing, but there were games played to kill the time as we pushed through 100 more miles of Kansas farm territory. Kansas highways are littered with grasshoppers, so we played "Dodge the Grasshopper". The first one to crunch a grasshopper lost. Then we played "Guess What Song that Farmer is Humming". My guess was always "Ol' MacDonald". I'm guessing I was way off. My least favorite game was "Count the Hay Bails". That one killed the least time with the highest rate of boredom.

Highway 50 has plenty of historical markers dotting turnouts throughout the highway. I stopped at two and was fairly disappointed. I don't mean to be insulting, but I just can't see a historical marker being needed to mark a spot where cowboys would stop to water their cattle. I could figure that out on my own seeing as the only water around was the Arkansas River, but thank you for drawing me off the highway to tell me a rather obvious portion of rather meaningless history.

Tomorrow we arrive in the heart of cowboy country. We will be travelling to Dodge City, Kansas. Miss Kitty's Wild West Show is on the menu, which is basically a high school talent show, just without the talent. It should be fun. Oh, and I want to clear something up. My good friend Brit emailed me to educate me on toilet engineering. I made a comment about tall handicap toilets and Brit informed me that this is because it is easier for handicap persons to slide back into a standing position rather than working their way up from a lower position. Looks like we can close the case on that one.