Day 40 & 41: Wichita (Whi-chi-ta)

A few days into Kansas and the guys were looking forward to our first day off in Wichita. It is a decent sized town and we were staying in a hotel so that is always nice. We started off the day knowing we had a pretty large task ahead of us. The cyclists were going to have to ride really hard in order to make the rack point for the day. We had an arrival at a local organization called Rainbows United who was also our sponsor for lunch and a friendship visit. The organization provides care for kids with a wide range of disabilities and in my opinion, was my favorite friendship visit we’ve had this summer. We got there and the children were absolutely ECSTATIC to see us. 

The way the organization works is around a typical school or work day. They have an option for care in the morning prior to school and after school/weekend options. Each child is based on a scale of 1 to 3. That meaning if a child is a 1 then they get one caregiver. If they’re a 3 then there will usually be 3 children to a caregiver. While there we were able to have lunch with the children and play with them, we had a whip cream fight, we danced, and we created an awesome art project for the organization to auction off.

One of the highlights of the event was when we had a choir session with the kids. They got up and sang a song for us and it was truly a magical experience. One of the girls had the voice of an angel and gave us chills listening to her. A common thing that we see on the trip is the purpose and meaning behind doing this trip sparks everyone at different times. I think this one sparked that within me. I don’t know what it was about this one that made it different from the others because I’ve enjoyed them all, but this one sent me over the edge with amazement.

After the friendship was over we went to the hotel and found that we were given goodie bags courtesy of our sponsor and that we were going to be going to a Midian Shrine and a Mongolian Bar for our meals on the following day. I had never been to a Midian Shrine and I’d never learned a lot about the freemasons, but it was cool getting a glimpse into their world. It’s sort of like a fraternity outside of the collegiate years, in a sense. Not quite the same but from the way it was described to me that’s the vibe I got. 

The Mongolian Bar was to DIE for it was so good. If I had to compare it to something it would be a hibachi style restaurant. You went through the bar and picked out which meat you wanted, which pasta, vegetables, sauces, etc. Then you took it to the grill and they fixed it right in front of you before you took it back to your table. Oh! I also found really good sweet tea which is the mark of finally moving east!

Day 39: Pratt

Today was a pretty fun day for the team. After riding 80 miles we arrived at lodging with just enough time to shower and get ready for the day. We had a friendship visit/lunch with a separate part of Arrowhead West. We got to play water balloon baseball, we had a watermelon eating contest, and we also got to sing karaoke with them. The most fun though was by far the water balloon baseball. It ended up being a huge fight between the team members.

After that we had a few hours to relax before dinner with the Ninnescah Valley Archers. They cooked us STEAKS and we got to practice archery with them. The food was positively delicious and the guys had a great time shooting bows. It was really cool because an actual deer walked into the range while they were practicing and just stood there. It took a few minutes before the guys actually realized it was a real deer too.

Day 38: Gettin' the Hell Outta Dodge!

I’ve been looking forward to Dodge City for quite some time. Cody Perkins and I always talked about “getting the Hell out of Dodge” and when I found out that this is the town where that phrase originated I was too excited to see what it looked like. Dodge City used to be the town of a lot of criminals and they ran all of the law enforcement officers out of town. So that’s where the phrase came from.

When we arrived in town we had a friendship visit/lunch with Arrowhead West. We got to spend time with them making little buttons, playing ball, and dancing to the games on the Wii. Once we got done there we had a little bit of time before we had to head out for dinner.

Our dinner was sponsored by a lady by the name of Donna Marconette. She has a grandson that did JOH a few years ago and since then has started sponsoring them coming through. She took us to this place called Boot Hill. It’s an old western replication of a town and they had a shop where you could buy all sorts of western style gear. They had a museum at the top of the hill with information about the Indians that lived in the area and a general store too. Our dinner was in their dining hall and afterwards we got to see a reenactment of an old fashioned gun fight between the law enforcement officers and some scoundrels. 

After that though was when the real fun began. Donna also bought us tickets to see a variety show which was some of the most fun we’ve had as a team. It was a theatrical production that involved can can dancers. It was sort of a story that involved these two bartenders wanting a raise, the owners wife wanting to have a part in the show, the local attitudes towards alcohol and how it’s the drink of sinners, and so much more. It featured a woman known as Miss Kitty who apparently from what I’ve gathered is a television icon from years ago. The can can dancers gave the guys a real treat because they had garters for sale and would come to the guys and let them take one. 

After the show was said and done we got the chance to take our pictures with the dancers and the guys also got the chance to learn how to can can. It was pretty funny because they brought out a bunch of the dresses and the guys put them on for the real effect. It was by far one of the most fun nights I’ve had on the trip. A huge thanks to Donna for sponsoring it as well as providing us with delicious cinnamon rolls the following morning.

Day 37: Garden City

We’ve finally started making our way east! Today we traveled 100 miles to Garden City, Kansas. We changed time zones again which only makes us one zone away from being back in my home zone!! Other than that it was a pretty typical day on the road. We had a crew chief breakfast and dinner but were SUPER fortunate for our dinner. We were sponsored at Golden Corral. Normally I’m not one for buffet style meals but when you get the option for an all-you-can-eat on this trip you don’t say no. It was very well received by the guys. Some of them even had five or six plates of food!

Day 35 & 36: Pueblo & Lamar!

So I decided to put both of these cities together because of the lack of events that happened.

Going to Pueblo was a pretty cool day though because we got to have the JOH South teams coach, Dustin riding with us as well as Bruce Rogers. I don’t remember if I mentioned it before or not, but Bruce is the reason the Journey of Hope started and is what it is today. He and his company, KRG Capital, donate a ton of money and support annually. Scott and I also got to ride along with one of their sons, Leighton (that may be the incorrect spelling.) He was pretty cool and we got to see what he is involved in and into. He’s into biking but he prefers mountain biking instead of road bikes although he did ride along a few days before Denver.

We had lunch in Pueblo at the Gold Dust Saloon and were fortunate to stay in a hotel in town. The team is ALWAYS grateful for a hotel where we can get an actual bed instead of using an air mattress. We had dinner in town at this pizza place similar to Pies and Pints. We had a bunch of variety pizzas and specialty pizzas which was nice.

The next day when we set out for Lamar, Colorado. We had a crew chief breakfast and lunch and had dinner with the Minor family. We stayed in a wrestling gymnasium that may have been the hottest place I’ve ever been in. There were no air conditioners and with the temperature outside it didn’t help at all. We slept with all the doors open that night and still woke up sweating like a porcupine in a room full of balloons.

Day 33 & 34: Colorado Springs

I must say that next to Huntington and DC of course that this was my most anticipated stop on the trip. My brother and his family live on the air force base in Springs and I had planned on seeing them as much as possible during my time there. We arrived in town and we got to tour the Olympic Training Center which was SO cool. We got to see where Michael Phelps and the rest of the US Olympic Athletes train, eat, stay, practice, etc. It was really cool. We stayed in the residence hall of Colorado College, a local private institution that only takes 2,000 students. We had dinner with the staff of the college and I got to speak to the residence life director which was interesting because I was an RA and found out that some of the RAs will have multiple houses under their watch. 

After dinner my brother came and picked me up and took me to the air force base so I could see what it was like. As soon as we got on the base I got to see some mule deer which are cool to watch jump around. He showed me the chapel which is idolized in the architecture world as far as military structures go. Once we got to his house I got to see my sister-in-law and my nephew Cade. I’ve only seen Cade once so I was SUPER excited about that. 

Cade was asleep naturally since it was pretty late but he woke up after a little bit of me being there. The night was spent mostly just soaking in the fact that I was actually in my brother’s house. I’ve never been out west before and if it is one thing I’ve always hated its not being able to have the close-distance relationship with my brother that I would have liked to have. We have a great relationship for the distance there is, but there has always been a part of me that’s wanted to be closer. 12 years or so can do that for you I guess though. I’m just thankful and blessed to have had the time to see him while I was there. I definitely want to make more trips out there and have a large presence in Cades life.

The next day we had a sponsored breakfast and afterwards I texted Brandy to see what her and Cade were getting into for the day. She said they were going to see Brave for his first movie and to celebrate his birthday which was the next day and asked if I wanted to tag along. Of course I said yes! So we went to the movie and even though I’m not a huge fan of Pixar movies, it was really really good. The curls of the main characters hair were amazing! 

After the movie I headed back to the hall where we were staying before the group left to go to Rudys BBQ. Danny Gassaway, one of the team members, had his family fly out to spend time with him in Springs and they were gracious enough to sponsor our meal. It was soooo good and they had sweet tea too! You can usually judge a place by the quality of their sweet tea.

Once I got back from dinner I called my brother again and he came to get me so I could spend some more time with them before I left the following morning. I got to play with Cade some more and was able to get a load of laundry done at his place so I didn’t have to pay for it. That’s another huge blessing on this trip is free laundry!