Fri Jul 25, 2003
Yee-haa! A waterslide
Chanute Kansas has one of the best public pools we have ever seen. And a great waterslide too.
Day 40: Eureka to Chanute
63 miles
This was the prettiest day in Kansas yet. We encountered trees, hills, rich pastureland and even a lake. We hit two real hills today and had to drop into the granny gear for the first time in over a week. And what goes up must come down. Yee-haaa!
Along the way we bumped into a Scotsman and an Irishman cycling across the USA heading west. They raved about the pool in Chanute we were heading that day. They said it was the best pool they had ever seen and … IT HAS A WATERSLIDE!!!
The thought of an afternoon at the pool pumped us up and we made it to Chanute in no time. We checked in, showered and jumped on the bike in search of food and the pool. After an OK lunch we set out for the pool. We were not disappointed. It was a very hot day and there were a lot of kids at the pool. The pool is huge and the water clear. And there at the far side, in the deep end, stands the water slide. It is big, about 30 feet high with four hairpin turns. Yeeee-haaaaa! We must have gone down that slide twenty times.
That night, back at the hotel, we were treated to a great Kansas light show. A big thunderstorm brewed up in the west and rolled into Chanute shortly after sundown. It was a sight to see.
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The middle of the USA
The Salt Marsh near Newton Kansas is about as close to the geographic center of the USA as we will ever get.
Day 39: Newton to Eureka
72 miles
Our ride to Newton passed as close as we are going to the geographic center of the continental USA. Near this point there is a great salt marsh that is the last remnant of some ancient sea. Strangely, there is a kind of land locked white pelican that still lives here. We saw a group fly over us as we passed and couldn’t believe it, pelicans so far from the sea.
At the same time we bumped into a couple cycling from Massachusetts to Oregon. They left the East Coast the same day we left San Francisco. How funny. We bump into a cyclist a week and just happen to meet this couple dead center in the trip.
Mennonites originally settled the area around Newton. There are still many that live in the area and there is a Mennonite college in Newton as well. Newton was a breath of fresh air to us. We found a great health food store there and stocked up on tasty snacks. The owner of the health food store recommended a restaurant for lunch that is in a yoga studio. How cool is that for a couple of yuppie Californian’s in Kansas. It was really good.
The scenery is starting to change. We are seeing small hills now and more water. Eureka is nothing to write home about so we won’t.
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