Day 16 - ending at Columbus, KS - Tri-points on the Tri-speed

May 29, 2013

Day 16 - ending at Columbus, KS

Posted via email Thu May 30 06:12:01 2013 PDT

Awake at 4:20am, with help from my travel alarm clock. It was a great night for sleeping in the tent - the temperature was just right. The tent was dry, so packing proceeded quickly.

Left campground at 6:25am. Hoped to find a place to eat in Sarcoxie, but didn't. Took Apple Road west - very flat and made good time. At 7:30am, I stopped to eat a crunch bar. Laurie will be happy to hear I moved a turtle off the road at 8:05am. A Phillips 66 station with a "Pump and Pantry" came into view at 8:30am, so I used this opportunity to get something to eat (breakfast sandwich, cake, and coffee). Left at 9:20am.

Arrived at Joplin city limits at 10:00am. Lots of rebuilding going on. Mostly stayed south of Joplin, which brought me to Saginaw Park at 10:42am. Took half-hour nap before getting on some busy roads, including MO-86. I took a break from the traffic to enjoy a large bowl of "Cinnamon Roll" ice cream at 12:10pm.

Continuing on, I arrived at "Tri-point 19" (KS-OK-MO) at 1:20pm. No official NGS benchmark that I could find, but the site is well-marked.

Proceeded northwest into Kansas on US-166. With the flat roads and the south wind, I was adding miles now! Went through Baxter Springs, then continued west. Stopped at a farm lane pull-off to refill my water bottle. Checked my rear wheel while I was at it and found a broken spoke! Apparently, also, I hadn't parked far enough back off the road. The gust of wind from a passing truck flipped the bike 360-degrees into the ditch! It was awesome to watch. The only damage was a hole in the water jug, and the safety flag pole splintered a little.

Back on the road, I turned north onto US-69. Wide shoulder, flat road, wind at my back - a fun ride. I did pull off at Beasley Cemetery at 4:06pm for a short nap. There was some type of bird there in a juniper tree singing about half a dozen different tunes, and flying back-and-forth every once in a while.

Arrived in Columbus at 4:46pm. Decided to eat a quick supper at McDonald's before determining what to do next. My destination was Big Brutus Campground near West Mineral, Kansas, but storms were on the way for overnight. I called the campground to see how late they were open and if they had self check-in. The lady who answered recommended that I stay in Columbus at a camping area near the city park, since strong storms were predicted, and I'd be closer to shelter here if needed. The campground at Big Brutus is out in the open with no shelter. I could see the storms coming on the BlackBerry radar, and decided I'd just go for a motel. Besides setting up camp, I'd need time to change out that broken spoke.

So, I'm staying at the Budget Inn, room #34. Found I actually had two broken spokes. Got them changed and the wheel aligned pretty well - something I've never done before.

Took a shower, worked on report, made a cup of decaf coffee, watched the Weather Channel, and fell asleep at 10:00pm.

Jeff

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Spent: $7.98 (breakfast) + $3.50 (ice cream) + $8.66 (supper) + $57.40 plus $2.50 (motel) = $80.04.

Day 16 - Sarcoxie, MO to Columbus, KS

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