June 10, 2013
Day 28 - ending near Elkhart, KS
Day 28 - ending near Elkhart, KS
I was going to sleep-in this morning, but my alarm clock - still packed away - went off at 6:00am. By the time I found it and turned it off, I was up. Worked on report and packing, then at 8:00am, walked across the street to Wildcat Cafe for breakfast. Back at 8:38am. Ready to go at 10:00am.
I headed south through Elkhart until I came to CR-A, then turned west. Eight miles to Tri-point #16, or as indicated on my map, "Eightmile Historical Monument". County Road-A follows the Kansas/Oklahoma boarder, and is a dirt/gravel road outside of town. The wind was strong from the south (and maybe a little from the west), but because of the condition of the road, going fast wasn't an option anyway.
Arrived at the tri-point right at noon. No NGS marker here to be seen, but I think I read it's below the plate in the center of the road. There's a windmill tower nearby that also marks the spot.
Left at 12:36pm, heading north into the Cimarron National Grassland on Route Number 799. It didn't take me long to find out I couldn't ride this road (sand), so I walked it. Had to stop four times to open and close barb-wire gates. I was amazed when I arrived a mile later at CR-B without two flat tires. It was 1:37pm. I'd walked at 1 mph. Decided that these roads indicated on the map "Not Maintained for Passenger Car" were no good for a bicycle, either. Did some re-figuring, referring to my map, to get north on better roads. I took CR-B east four miles, CR-5 north two miles, then followed Route Number 709 west and north until I arrived at Route Number 600 at 3:36pm.
At 4:00pm, I took a break on the road near one of the limestone posts marking the location of the Santa Fe Trail. Noticed rain had developed a little ways to the north.
At 4:45pm, I was at the Point of Rocks area, where there's a great view of the Cimarron River area below. Wasn't sure which way the rain was moving, so I kept moving - on down the road to Middle Spring. I arrived there at 5:05pm, and was happy to see a water pump which worked, and had cold water.
After my break at Middle Spring, I resumed my trek northeast on Route Number 600. Near the intersection with KS-27, a fellow in a pick-up truck stopped to hear about my trip and to offer me water.
I turned south on KS-27 to get to Route Number 700, which would take me to Cimarron Recreation Area, where I planned to camp. Passed a windmill actually pumping water. Arrived at the campground at 6:50pm, and had decided on campsite #1 by 7:00pm.
Set the tent up on the north side of an evergreen tree (the only one in the campground), hoping to be shielded some from the strong south wind. Then replaced one broken spoke and removed thorns from the tires.
Decided to eat the other MRE I'd received in Hugoton - this one was Chicken with Noodles - not what I'd normally eat, but it was good with the included hot sauce. There were also fixings for making a P&J sandwich. Made the orange drink (using cold water here at the campground), and also got the coffee heated this time with the MRE heater.
It was nearly dark when a camper from a site a ways off came over with a plate of food and a bottle of water. There was an amazing variety and amount of food on this plate Mark had brought over: potato salad, noodle salad, cheese slices, pickle slices, a brat, and steak! I ate what I could, thankful for such kind people.
Jeff
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Spent: $9.49 plus $2 (breakfast) + $7 (campsite) = $18.49.
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+ plus signs indicate pictures added after returning home from the trip +
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Today's ride: 34 miles (55 km)
Total: 1,136 miles (1,828 km)
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3 years ago
A Reference Mark - that makes sense to me. I should have looked around some.
Jeff
3 years ago