June 19 - Lake Scott State Park

This is the view from our front door at Lake Scott State Park.  We are at the end of the row so enjoy an unobstructed view of the lake.  We biked five miles this morning while it was still cool and saw many deer, rabbits, birds, and a couple of big fish in a spring fed pond.  Except for the blistering heat (it is supposed to be about 100 degrees tomorrow) and marginal electricity since a blackout two days ago, it is very pleasant here in this oasis in the prairie.  Scott City, the nearest town, is 12 miles away.

June 13 - Sunday afternoon

We went to see Jen and Ken at their campsite in Hesston, KS, and it looked like this.

We are staying 30 miles away from Hesston at the Kansas State Fairgrounds in Hutchinson, KS  and when we got home it looked like this.

A few hours later, another thunderstorm blew in, just like last night except this time the wind blew harder.  There were 60mph wind gusts rocking our rig.  Jen and Ken's tent has stood up well to all three of the pretty fierce thunderstorms we've experienced in less than a week.  Little Simon doesn't seem to mind them.

June 13 - Hutchinson UMC

We are told there are five Methodist Churches in Hutchinson, but this was the first one.  It was also the first one we found on the internet so it is the one we went to.  We also joined the 50/50 Sunday school class.  I'm not sure why it is called that but it is made of up folks our age and we enjoyed them and the class very much.  This church serves coffee in a lovely carpeted parlor that has a fireplace in it.

June 11 - Carnival

After one last delicious dinner at El Charro in Iola, we went to the carnival - a first for Shep.  He wasn't too sure about the rides at first, but it didn't take him long to decide they were fun.

Galen was careful about bumping into other cars too much at first because he wasn't sure how his passenger would react, but the more Galen bumped into the other cars the more Shep laughed.

I think his favorite ride was the motorcycle.  He went on this one twice.

June 10 - Band Concert

They have been having band concerts in Iola, KS for more than 100 years and one of the members of the band has been a member for 40 years.  It was a pleasant night for the hour long concert and the band played a nice mix of music. There is a farmer's market before the concert and on July 10, they will be having their annual CHARLIE MELVIN, MAD BOMBER RUN FOR YOUR LIFE 5k run and 3k walk.
     Iola was a raucous boom town 105 years ago with factories, smelters, brick and cement plants, and a bunch of illegal saloons.  Charley stole 1500 pounds of dynamite and blew up three of the saloons at 12:26 a.m..  No one was killed but many windows, brick walls, and bottles of liquor were lost in the blast.
     The run/walk starts at 12:26 a.m. on West Street in downtown Iola - the scene of the crime - and ends at the jail where Charlie was briefly held.  Folks are advised to come early to see the "Drag Race" - mostly dignified businessmen dressed as women.  It sounds like the evening will be a blast.  :-)