US-50 Coast-to-Coast: Day 7

I woke to the sound of thunder and rain. I stayed in bed for a bit and then was able to hit the road just before 8:00 AM after the rain ended. The road were still wet and kept the air cool at 70 degrees. The highway West was straight like Illinois, but without the bumps every 20 feet. There were miscellaneous crops along the road, along with grass. 

Funny churches in Kansas. One church had a sign that said “It isn’t hot as Hell!”.  Another church had a sign that said “Religion is just like the weather. The lord reigns. “  

Entering Colorado the gas prices jumped 20 cents to $2.75 .  Up until now, the prices have been between $2.45 and $2.55. 

I planned to stay in Pueblo Colorado which was about a 5 hours ride.  I got to Lamar Colorado and I realized that with the time change, I was going to be in Pueblo about 12:00 PM, which was way too early.  So, I decided to head South to Comanche National Grasslands, which was about 70 miles due South near the Texas and New Mexico border. The ride was just an uneventful straight line. I took a right at highway 160 and rode for about another hour into the grassland. Never saw a government building or anything other than a park sign. There were not many cars at all. I could stop in the middle of the road and take pictures without any problem.  I passed through a town called Prichett. I have seen many towns that were dead, but this one might take the award. Many nice old buildings all shut down. At one point there was a utility company making a repair on a high electrical line. I think the entire town was standing in the shade watching the repair. 

There were many insects in the grasslands. There were many inserts that kept hitting my boots that felt like someone throwing rocks.   I guess the grasslands are good to the bugs. At one point a dragonfly landed on my backpack.

While in the grasslands, a rain cloud dumped on a nearby area to the South. I started heading North on a really great twisty road and the cloud kept following me, all the while spitting rain drops as I escaped to the sun areas. The rain clouds kept expanding and followed me all the way to Pueblo.  So far, I had not really been in the rain, other than some light rain in Ohio. 

The humidity is back to the land of the dry since I left Missouri. This feels much better and a welcome relief. The temperature never really got over 90 though the day.  I checked into the hotel about 4:00 PM, which would have been 5:00 PM Central time.

The total duration was 9 hours with 6.5 hours drive time. the total distance was 373 miles. This was the easiest day so far.