Bazine, KS
Day off – no riding
The view from inside the mesh
This is the view I had from my tent this morning upon getting up…no stars, but bright sun. Yes, I slept in. We arose at 4:30 this morning, but the wind turned very bad overnight and it was blowing in excess of 40miles per hour well before sunrise. There was no chance of a productive ride today and a better forecast for tomorrow. I slept in.
Elaine of Elaine's Bicycle Oasis B&B in Bazine, KS
What to do in Bazine, Kansas? First of all, understand we are staying at Elaine’s Bicycle Oasis Bed and Breakfast. That means there is a local contact to help with local sights and things to do, and one nice enough to loan us a car to do a little touring (sans bikes).
Barbed Wire Capital of the World!
Once I complete
Sallie examines a ball 'O barbed wire
d chain maintenance on the bicycles, we went to Effie’s Restaurant in Rush Center for her famous hamburgers, and then went up the road to LaCrosse to the Rush County Barbed Wire Museum.
Samples from all over the world
In all seriousness, barbed wire was an extremely important advancement in the great plains, preventing large cattle drives from entering croplands.
Rock Post Museum
Then we went to the Post Rock museum. Folks in this part of Kansas did not have access to timber for fence posts, so they used the local sandstone for posts. These post don’t rot, and are still in use all over the area.
Rock post on a fence line corner
OK Philip - this one's for you. Elaine's is a very serious place. Cyclists behave!
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Since today was an unexpected day off the bikes, our dedication from yesterday will continue for tomorrow.
In Memory of Warmer Summers 
Sounds like a good call to have taken the day off from riding today … given the wind today and how hard you have been pushing yourselves.
I hope the threatened possibility of wildfires doesn’t materialize on you this evening and you have fair breezes tomorrow.
Your mention of the stone posts was curious enough to get me digging for a bit more information — and of course my web search led right away to the Post Rock Museum web-site, which tells the fascinating story of their history. Thanks for getting my curiosity up.
Ride safely.
Philip is missing the Big Picture…er…Big Gun…otherwise, he would have commented. I will not the Big Gun along the doorpost. Your ride came up again last night in conversation with my friends Steve and Kathie Lower. What a ride!
Thanks for this post. I’m from that area, and I also appreciate the Post Rock Museum and the Barbed Wire Museum. Good luck on the next leg of your ride!