Posted by scott in Leg 1
04/24 Hello Kansas! It sure seemed like I was in Missouri for a long time. Lot’s of good memories though. Crossed over one very exciting bridge to get into the state. US-59 crosses over the Missouri River on an old, 2-lane grated bridge. Unlike my crossing into Missouri on the Eads Bridge, this time I spotted the Welcome to [Insert State] sign. No picture because there was a line of cars stuck behind me so I only had one chance to take a picture and I blew it. The darn camera wouldn’t focus in time (yes, I was doing this while pedaling).
Atchison, KS is the birth place of Amelia Earhart so of course I pedaled up this crazy steep hill to get to the house she was born in. Not sure how much houses cost in that neighborhood but they must be pricey because they all sit atop a bluff that overlooks the Missouri River. Pedaled back down and grabbed a lunch consisting of fish tacos at a placed called Paolucci’s. The fish tacos weren’t as bad as it might sound–it’s fried little fish nuggets with lettuce/tomato/salsa. I think I was in the mood for fish after seeing the catfish earlier in the day. After lunch I found a Radio Shack on my GPS and went over there to find a new AM/FM radio. That was a success so then it was off to find a place to stay. Motels here are expensive ($57 w/ AAA discount). No camping around here and I have to limit my rides to 30 miles for at least a couple more days.
Saw some crazy things today. While riding down a gravel road in the middle of nowhere I happened upon the only stand of trees in the middle of a huge field. Off to my right was a run down house with a yard that was absolutely littered with junk. That’s where I took the picture of the Toiletree.
It’s going to be hard to believe but the fence that had a dozen rotting catfish heads and carcasses hanging from it was not next to the Toiletree. At first I wasn’t even sure what they were so I ended up circling back to check them out. It ranked right up there as one of the most disturbing things I’ve seen in quite some time. After taking the picture I waved at the resident serial killer and jumped back onto the highway.
GPX Track
| Mood: | Good | | Weather: | Sunny/Warm |
| Wind: | Strong | | Wind Direction: | |
| Avg Speed: | 10.7 mph (17.2 km/h) | | Top Speed: | 32.7 mph (52.6 km/h) |
| Total Ascent: | 1428 ft (435.3 m) | | Max Elevation: | 980 ft (298.7 m) |
| Distance: | 25.54 mi (41.1 km) | | Total Distance: | 2036.1 mi (3276.8 km) |
This entry was posted on Friday, April 24th, 2009 at 5:50 pm and is filed under Leg 1. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
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Man….I have never seen catfish heads up on a fence before, or a “toilet tree” for that matter.
I did see a farm in Mountain Grove, MO where they hung up coyote carcasses on the fence….might be some sort of local custom. You should have asked to couch surf with the guy ….I’m sure he would have told you all about it.
Those are some great photos Scott….you’re getting pretty good at that! I really love the sunset one.
Yeah seeing the catfish was very weird. In fact the whole area had a certain vibe to it that kind of fit with the catfish/fence theme. I took the sunset photo with my Canon 40D and from now on I’m going to use it for anything really memorable. The P&S has been OK but I keep having to crop the pics because the zoom is almost useless, especially when handheld. Its just kind of a pain to lug the Canon out of the bag I have for it.
These were taken in FL south of Lake Okeechobee, but you’ll see them all over the country.
Here’s a closer shot.
Farmers put old boots on top the fence posts to keep rain from soaking down the wood and rotting it.
(That or the boots belong to trespassers who won’t be needing them anymore.)
Very interesting. I think I would be kind of upset if I saw a wolf hanging on someone’s fence like I just read in an article. I guess the ranchers hang them up to try and scare away other wolves. Not sure what was up with the catfish though–it’s not like they wander around on land and if they start doing that I’m calling off my trip.
For some reason, the closer shot URL didn’t translate.
Here it is again.
What? You’re from Florida and you’ve never seen a walking catfish?
I could always count on getting sent out at least once a year to a trailer park near Okeechobee and Military Trail in West Palm Beach to shoot pix of bleeping walking catfish when the canal would overflow.
The had the ability to live out of water for brief periods of time while they would scuttle across the ground.