We got an early start out of Lakeside today and were followed by a dog for 10 miles... no kidding! When he finally gave up, his tongue was nearly dragging on the asphalt. We would like to have rescued these various animals, who seemed to have been out all alone in the middle of nowhere. But we had no place to put them... and there was nobody around to alert. 

The towns along SR-2 were very small and did not have much in the way of services. At Hyannis, we found a place to refuel ourselves. The terrain was relatively flat, the Sand Hills were adjacent to us, and long trains would pass by in the distance. The pedaling was nearly effortless and we were able to make excellent time.

We arrived in Mullen at 1:30 PM with 74 miles completed, nearly the same mileage that we did all day, yesterday. It was 96 degrees Fahrenheit. Luckily, Mullen had a town pool with two beautiful female lifeguards. They took a liking to us and allowed us to come in for a swim and a shower. That was very nice of them. It was a refreshing stop and timely. As we were getting ready to leave, a big thunderstorm moved in, so we waited it out at a cafe and laundromat. When we finally hit the road again, it was 7:00 PM and still very warm. The remaining mileage to Thedford (about 26 miles) was completed in 2 hours and 15 minutes and without much difficulty, as the gentle terrain continued. 

Thedford had a town park that allowed camping. It had water and electricity. There were a few adjacent homes around with residents sitting on their front steps but nobody seemed to pay attention to us. That was good. Paul and I discussed riding strategy for the road ahead. We decided to try and moderate our days a bit because these long days were becoming grueling. The flip side was that these roads were flat, straight as arrows, and there weren't too many options for stopping for an evening. Hopefully, the further East we would go, the towns would be closer together and the services more plentiful.

The air is very heavy and thick this evening. It seems inevitable that a storm will occur. Out here on the plains, we could see lightning and hear thunder far off in the distance. None of it reached our location, thankfully. We're happy about that, as being in a tent during a vicious storm is not a whole lot of fun.