Resting on a hilltop in Kansas....

Get out of my sleeping bag, infernal cricket!”
My first words of the morning, as I awoke from a beautiful night’s sleep under a mini pavilion roof in a rest stop just thisclose to Beaumont, Kansas, a map dot about 40 miles due east of Wichita. The locale is one of the most amazing and good uses of public funds I have yet seen---it sits atop a hill, almost mesa, really, and has a 360 degree view of what has surprisingly been an incredibly varied Kansas landscape. While paid for with tax dollars, it is surprisingly free of bureaucracy. Ill explain.
When I walked in last night after 27 miles on the road, I saw a sign that said “Wireless Internet” and since I am all about “Wireless Internet” I knew I had to see for myself. My goal had been a slightly pricey motel in Beaumont, a mile further, but I still had time. I wanted to bed down in a cool atmosphere and have some good eats, and the motel/B&B sounded like the ideal, if a bit expensive for my Spartan existence out here.
Sitting down to rest outside the restroom area, a woman, mid to late 40’s, engaged me. Her name was Susie, and she provides the maintenance here for 14 hours a day. She said that the rest stop was okay t stay overnight in a camping situation, and that I was welcome to do so. She gave me her not-so-encouraging take on the motel, and since she lives here in Beaumont, I took note, but since the rest stop lacks any food or vending services, and I was hungry, I decided to head for the motel after a brief rest. Susie had offered to run me to a burger joint a few miles out of the way, a kind gesture but after 13 hours of walking I didn’t feel suited to riding in the car with a stranger, and a woman no less. I thanked her and headed out. I was weighing my options and common sense hit me before I reached the end of the drive, and I turned around. I do carry emergency supplies for this situation so I figured I’d dine on those and replace them in Wichita.
Susie was still sitting where I had left her 5 minutes earlier and I told her that I decided to stay since I would have wifi and water and it was cooling off. Why waste 60 bucks?
She then surprised me by telling me there was a small janitorial type basin in her office that I was welcome to use for a shower/washoff and I happily jumped on that offer. When I was finished, she told me that she would be right back and left in her car. Fifteen minutes later she returned with a huge plate of food, chicken steaks, a baked potato, salted and buttered, creamed corn, and onion from her garden and a drink. Also a banana and a cinnamon roll. If this is what all rest stops are like in Kansas……
The view from up here is amazing. The wind is a constant presence but it is not cold, just cooling, and it adds a special feeling to the entire scenario. I used to go on cruises to the Caribbean and my favorite tine on them was riding up on the front of the ships as the breeze flew past, and this is almost same feeling.
There is a windfarm a few miles off, about 100 windmills, very visible and magical to my eyes, though Susi told me that rancher who put it up is not the brightest man in the world and neglected his cattle, causing a lot of bitterness among his neighboring ranchers. He has weathered a bunch of lawsuits, is still facing a million dollar suit, but will likely win that one too. Part of the problem is that the power that is being generated is being sent to Missouri, where the company that funded the windfarm is located, and that has caused a bit of consternation among the locals as well. As an outsider, I have no real knowledge about this at all, but my instincts about human nature tell me that there is plenty of jealousy in the mix.
I also met three bike riders, from Flint, Michigan. Tim, a thin blonde young man who just graduated from college in Flint, a petite young lady, and a Korean exchange student whose mastery of the English language is at about 50 percent. They are also going cross country to San Francisco, and then up to Portland, Oregon. Tinm, who is the only one I have had any real contact with, told me they are also connected to a hunger charity called World Vision. They collect donations as they go, with 25 percent going to the charity, 25 percent to a local charity and the rest to fund their trip. I presented them with three John Lennon “Imagine No Hunger”pins which Yoko Ono donated to WHY for their distribution. I had about 100 of them to give away and still have about 30 remaining. I try to give them to people I think would appreciate them.
Susie told me an interesting story. Her dad bought a red barn, a mile or so down the road. He also bought a zebra, which had been residing in Busch Gardens in Tampa, Florida. Don’t ask. Anyway, he decided that he would try to cross the zebra with a donkey to see what might happen. Well, there are now a few striped donkey mixes there and Susie encouraged me to take some pictures as I go by. (Like I need encouragement for that? Ive been taking pictures of dead animals and crippled Muppets).
So I finally got the cricket out of my sleeping bag. He had hopped in while I was trying to roll it up and since I didn’t want to have a surprise guest later when I use it again, I had to gently encourage him to leave. Off he hopped. And off I go, well rested and in search of striped donkeys.