Post 18, Sunday 3 July, from Eads, Colorado

Colorado, State 6.

Well, now in Colorado! But I was sad to leave Kansas, which has treated me well.

Of the nine days of cycling in the State, I had headwinds for only three, so I can't complain. And, although Kansas is famous for thunderstorms that blow up from nowhere (and even tornadoes), the only storm was last evening, which I watched from the safety of my hotel room.

Kansas storm, brewing up!

The colours of the landscape, especially in early morning when the sun is low, have been almost unbelievable, all under the enormous wide Kansas sky.

Wonderful early morning colours.

There was no obvious frontier to mark the 'State Line' between Kansas and Colorado, and indeed the terrain is very much the same.

Today's ride was through yet emptier countryside; in fact, one stretch where the vegetation was only green sage-brush and short grass, was one of the most featureless landscapes I have seen anywhere. I had gone up a slight elevation, and could see perhaps 30 miles across the open plains, and there was just nothing, nothing, on the wide horizon....

Picking up the observations I made last time about the Indian Wars, today I crossed Big Sandy Creek, close to the site of an appalling massacre (the Sand Creek Massacre) of a Cheyenne and Arapaho encampment in 1864 by US soldiers. The US commanding officer was subsequently condemned by the Army. (The bloody story, slightly fictionalised, was made into the film "Soldier Blue", in 1970.)

I am impressed with the speed with which things happen here. Less than 24 hours after I (slightly) complained in my last Blog Post about the absence of renewable energy, I saw a large wind farm yesterday!

The first wind farm I've seen.

Indeed everything seems large here on the Great Plains, except the tiny towns linked by the railroad.

Scott City decorated for 4th July

Outside Scott City, yesterday I passed several enormous holding areas for cattle, where I believe they are fattened up before going to market; the holding areas must have been half a mile square. And today the wheat fields I have passed must I guess be measured not by the acre but by the square mile. (One which was ready for harvest I measured as more than a mile long.)

Names... "White Woman Creek" is a river close to Tribune, where I stayed last night; presumably it was Native Americans who gave it that name. I wonder what story lies behind it?

Curious, I wonder why...

A couple of times today I have seen a road sign restricting the operations of snow ploughs - in the middle of nowhere! There must be a reason, but it escapes me.....

Nature notes. One never knows whether a warning is exaggerated... I had propped my bike against the signboard of a workplace just off the main highway yesterday, and the driver of a pick-up truck kindly stopped to say, "Watch for rattlers there! This area is bad for them....". (Whether or nor exaggerated, I did heed it!)

So, these are very happy days. The cycling has been good, encounters with others stimulating, and my "loopy adventure" continues to exceed expectations.

Rare photo of me, taken by passing cyclists on a tandem!

The day after tomorrow I should get my first glimpse of the Rockies. Then a rest day - to get the bike checked over - in Pueblo on Wednesday, and on Friday I will start serious climbing in the mountains.

Next Post from Pueblo. And till then, my thanks as always for your interest and support.

All best wishes, Ken