Total Km = 565

We had planned to start our morning with a visit to the old Dodge City site but with the heavy rain and road redevelopment - mud - on the main drag we decided to "get out of Dodge" when the rain slowed to a temporary drizzle. We did manage to see some of the old western buildings at the center of town as we rode by.

Kansas was just as flat today as it was yesterday. And the wholesome aroma of the cattle stockyards was still pretty evident. Things are very green and lush with the recent weather they have been having. Evidence of flooding in some of the fields and the ditches on the sides of the road. Didn't see too much else with the rain as it is all you can do to keep your eye on the road through the rain drops on the faceshields.

We rode the 565 km from Dodge City to Kansas City in the rain, which surprizingly the US National Weather Service did not predict (we checked on the internet yesterday, this morning and upon arrival in KC when they still would not admit is was raining). The forecast had been for late afternoon thundershowers. At least it wasn't too cold but there were the usual prairie wind gusts to contend with.

Easy to find our way to our hotel here in Independence, Missouri. We are directly across from Kauffman Stadium, the home of the Kansas City Royals. There is a game going on tonight so we can see the lit up stadium from the hotel. Tomorrow night we will see the Royals play the Seattle Mariners. We will spend the evening planning some daytime activities for tomorrow and looking for internet specials for our next destination. As this was to be next year's vacation we had not done any planning thus the netbook (laptop) is proving invaluable for researching what we might like to do/see. Also good for making online reservations, buying tickets, etc. Compact, it fits nicely in the luggage. Don't know how we traveled without one in the past.