May 6, 2014.  We traversed the rest of the long State of Kansas, passing over endless farmland so green, organized and industrious it makes you wonder how anyone in American goes hungry.  Brad was interested in seeing the huge grain elevators being emptied by cranes into trucks for distribution along the wonderous Interstate system.  We also noted that Kansas (being located in the Great American wind tunnel) has as many wind farms as Oklahoma.  We drove close to some wind mills and I was able to see just how huge and complex the deceptively simple things are and why they cost over $1 million each to manufacture and install.  It was like looking at a butterfly close up and taking note of its central bug.  Each arm is the size of the wing of a jumbo jet and the turbine in the center is the size of a Class A  motor home.  There is a small set of steps at the base leading up to a  door in the “stem”, which must contain either an elevator or a pretty awesome step latter to carry people 300 feet to the top to do whatever they do up there.  Brad explained to me that three arms is the optimal number for balance.  Although a single blade would be far more efficient from a pure wind-power standpoint (the blade leaves a wake of air as it turns, which interferes with the next blade), it would be mechanically impractical maintain a one-armed windmill.

Brad worked his now-expected magic for selecting a great campground.  This one is in the tiny but historically significant village of Arrow Rock, MO (population 56) on the Lewis and Clark Trail.  In the 1850s, the town had a large (for then in the West) population of more than 1200, but the Missouri River changed course, the railroad re-routed and the town was abandoned.  A few years ago, local residents raised money to renovate the beautiful dilapidated buildings and bring the town back to life.  They were able to obtain governmental grants (either State or federal or both) due to the historical significance of it being right on the L&C Trail.  Today, the beautifully restored old town has five small B&Bs, four nice restaurants, several shops, a remarkable local playhouse staging eight productions a year, and 56 very lucky residents!  They host a fall festival that attracts hundreds of people — I wish it were here today.

The campground in Arrow Rock state park is a 1/2 mile stroll from the middle of town.  We are the only ones staying here tonight!  Our site is absolutely beautiful, by a lake (0f course) in a field of new-mown, impossibly green, grass in a grove of maple trees.  The only set-back is the temperature — 89 degrees at seven pm.  We sat outside by the lake for a while, but finally retreated to the air-conditioned Airstream to watch the end of the Braves game — a win, finally, against St Louis!   Somehow we must have left the door open for a few minutes, as hundreds of small flying bugs (type unknown to us) got in and terrorized me.  It is my custom, when touched by a bug of any kind, to scream and throw whatever I am holding across the room.  I had to quit reading my Kindle.  Brad had to kill 300 bugs.  After that, we slept peacefully in the AC, covered by a thin sheet.

Today (Wednesday) we head out across Illinois and perhaps into the bottom tip of Kentucky.  We had hoped to see a lot of Kentucky horse county, but we’ll leave that for another trip.