Day 23 - ending at Burlington, KS - Following the Ponca Trail

August 6, 2024

Day 23 - ending at Burlington, KS

Day 23 - Emporia, KS to Burlington, KS

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I was hoping to wake up earlier than I did - at 5:45pm. My weather radio said the high yesterday was 101F. However today is totally different, with the cool breeze from the north and a high predicted to be only 92F. I packed up as quick as I could, but apparently it takes me 1 and 3/4 hours.

On my way to downtown Emporia at 7:30am. I was hoping to eat at Commercial Street Diner, but they're closed on Tuesdays. Went farther south to Griff's Diner. The ham I ordered with my eggs and French toast wasn't what I expected. It was like lunch meat ham, but cooked. However, this is the second breakfast in a row where I've had a very attentive waitress. I left there at 9:05am. When I got outside I was surprised to see it was overcast. Almost looked like it would rain, but that wasn't forecasted. The north wind was there all right, and it felt really nice. I stopped at Casey's a little further south along the way for Gatorade. They were almost out. One cashier told the other the truck hasn't been in yet.

Destination today is Burlington, Kansas, where there is a city campground next to the Neosho River. I had it figured at 42 miles.

I crossed the Cottonwood River south of Emporia at 9:23am. I surprised myself today. Most of my routing was paved roads. I was making very good time. At a break, I tuned in KANH, 89.7 MHz, Kansas Public Radio out of Emporia. That was good listening until the signal faded.

The paved road I was on was RD130. I got off that onto a gravel road a few miles from Hartford. Just before town I stopped at the Flint Hills National Wildlife Refuge building. They have very nice informational displays. It was noon when I got back outside: 22.1 miles. A tailwind on paved roads sure makes a difference!

I rode around Hartford some, and had a brief conversation with a 73-year-old who was driving his pickup truck. He said his joints would keep him from doing anything like I'm doing.

I went south out of Hartford to 16th Road, which took me east some. It was a little hilly, but I didn't have to walk any hills today. I was on a few gravel roads later to get to a picture location. Tanks that hold oil pumped out of the ground lined both sides of one of the roads I was on. I could smell the oil in the air from time to time. I saw two cows at different times outside their fenced-in areas today. The second cow was wanting back with the group, and it seemed the group wanted him back also, for they came up to the fence where he was.

The last few miles into Burlington were on a paved highway. Minimal shoulder but also minimal traffic. I was ready to eat, but was more interested first in seeing what the campground looked like. I arrived here at 4:01pm. There are just 8 sites, all set up for RVs. One site - Site #8 would work for me, since it's electrical box is next to a grassy area. No one was camping here, so I figured it was safe to bicycle back into town and have supper before I claimed my site.

Cilantros Mexican Grille was a 2 minute bicycle ride away. Even though they're not really set up for guest wifi, I was given their password. It was so complicated, I never did get successfully logged in. But I appreciated their efforts.

I was back at the campground at 5:10pm. No one had taken my spot - or any spot. After I set up, I helped a young kid carry a cooler full of water over to the outlet at Site #7. He plugged an aerator in for the cooler so I'm thinking there are fish in there. He and another kid with bicycles have been fishing. Later they gathered up driftwood and made a fire. They may be planning for a fish fry, just the two of them.

There's a dam here across the river, and people are fishing. I've been sitting in the shade of my tent working on picture selection and report writing. The sun is setting and I don't really have a good view to get a picture of that. That north breeze is still here, and dare I say, it almost feels cold?!

One of the kids just came and got a fish out of their cooler. I asked what type it was as he walked by - a gar.

I really enjoyed today. The bicycling was good. The food was good. The conversations were good. It's been a good day!

Jeff