Mood:  a-ok

I'm leaving Manhattan this morning.  It has been wonderful renewing friendships with my cousins, but I must start eastward again.  The weather reports last night forecast a 30% chance of rain, but further north they were projecting 5-6".   What will today bring?

I woke up several times during the night,and each time it was raining prety good.  So when I got up at 6 AM, I took my time.  I don't mind riding in rain.  I just hate to start when it is raining.

When I left at 8 AM, the rain had stopped.  The skies were completely overcast, looking for all the world like it was going to start dumping water at any minute.  Manhattan is fairly big, and it took a while to get through town.  Soon I was heading south towards Council Grove, about 38 miles south of town.

The countryside was beautiful--all pasture, some of it the original tall grass from before the white man's arrival.  The cloud cover was exceedingly low, with wisps flowing over the pasture.  With all of the green hues, it suddenly struck me what this scenery looked like:  Ireland.  It was a fun, but slow ride.  No rain yet.

Lunch was had at the Hayes House in Council Grove.  This is a very old hotel that was restored in 1974.

My objective for today is Osage City.  It has several thousand citizens.  Towns that size almost always have motels.  Osage City, however, did not.  I thought I would double check once I got there.

It was another 40 miles to Osage City.  The shoulder of the road varies from county to county.  For the most part, there is no shoulder.   As usual, the drivers were courteous.  On the way to Osage City, I crossed paths with my cousin, Garalyn Tout.  It was her house that I was staying in in Manhattan.  It was nice to rest and chat with her and her husband R.C.  I hated to leave them.  I told them I was tempted to take their cat with me.  R.C. and Garalyn had ridden through the rain, but I must have had the proper karma, because it did not rain all day.

Entering town, I noticed a police car behind me.  I flagged it over.  I asked if there were any motels.  He said no, but I could camp, for free, in the city park if I wished.  That is what I decided to do.  There were no showers but it did have restrooms.

Three boys, between 10-12, were fascinated by my bicycle and the whole adventure.  When I mentioned that I was going to walk up several blocks to the BP Convenience Store for some beverages, the boys begged for me to ride instead.  They wanted to see the bike in action (apparently the rider didn't count for much), and they wanted to ride their bikes too.   But first they had to get home for supper, so I promised not to go to the BP until they returned.  It didn't take long.  It reminded me of what it was like to be that age, in the hot days of summer.  The boys were really fun and nice.  Their parents let them have the run of the town.  There are still places that are safe, I guess.  However, they were concerned about some older boys that they said were drug dealers.  They were also in the park.  The younger boys were not concerned about the drugs.  They were concerned about my bike getting stolen.

Tomorrow I head to Louisburg, KS,which is 4 miles from the Missouri state line.  It is about 70 miles away.  It will take me a while to break camp but I would like to on the road by 7:30 AM.

Will McMahan