BAK 2010: Day 8

June 11, Friday

Today was a good day. I don't take weather for granted anymore, and the weather was clear and warm. Ottawa was to be the lunch stop, but it was too early in the day, at around 10 a.m., so we went on. We made a pit stop there, though, at our first Casey's on the trip (a gas station convenience store chain that I like). Had to stop for a cookie and 16 oz. of cold chocolate milk! I've been craving the milk. Amy says it has an excellent blend of nutrients you need when exercising. Boy did that go down good!

At an early Sag Stop we were set up in the entrance driveway to a working farm, maybe 50 yards from the house. We were all self-absorbed in cooling down and eating something and topping off our water bottles, so it was easy to miss a young boy and his toddler sister watching us from their house steps. Amy and I noticed. I grabbed the camera and went over. Struck up a conversation with the young man, who spoke with confidence. He told me it was his Grandma's house, and she was inside with their dog. The dog is really nice but doesn't like big groups of people. He was here visiting his Uncle. He also pointed to the pasture where he has a horse. I asked if I could take a picture and he was happy to get his sister positioned, and at the last minute put his hat on her. It was the cutest thing. Great kids.

One of the Sag Stops today had a theme of Kansas History. We were all asked trivia questions from a book about Kansas. The success rate for correct answers wasn't particularly good.

We made it to Baldwin City for lunch. Found a non-chain pizza place called Wheat State Pizza. Their crust was a whole wheat blend, and they had a lunch buffet going. That hit the spot. The day was getting hot and the air conditioning felt good, too. We stayed a while.

Made it to Eudora, to their HUGE Middle School. It big and new. In the demographics of Northeast Kansas, Kansas City and Lawrence are growing communities. Between the two is Eudora. People wanting to live out of Kansas City but still work there move to Eudora. Good tax base thus good school facilities. They brought out a couple bands to play for us, turning it into a mini festival for BAK and their community. All the concessions were there so we didn't have to ride into town, which was probably good because it's a big town by BAK standards. Ran into Bill and Robin, fellow 4-H Venturer volunteers. Nice chat, and BAK veterans in their own right. They plan on doing it again soon.

At our nightly town meeting we heard the news that we have a 40% chance of rain tomorrow, our last day. That puts a damper on things!

67.1 miles
Vavg 13.1 mph
5 hrs 5 min
Night: Eudora