We left Hayes, KS and headed west on I70. The speed limit was 75 mph, so it made the boring terrain go by quickly. We saw more windmills and we think that we easily saw more than a thousand windmills. I checked and Kansas is the 4th in the states with the most windmills, after Texas, Iowa, and Oklahoma. On the way, we passed a little mountain sticking out of flat terrain. I believe that this might be the same material as Monument Rocks.
Our first stop is Monument Rocks National Landmark. Here is what I could find out about this unusual place, “In a region not known for excess moisture, the chunky pillars at Monument Rocks National Landmark in Gove County are reminders of a time when water was abundant. The towering rocks are composed mainly of chalk formed from an enormous amount of oozy sediment that settled on the floor of a Cretaceous inland sea about 80 million years ago.” Our Tesla was not so good at navigating to the rocks, and we drove on nineteen miles of dirt roads. Leaving, we only had to drive for seven or so miles on dirt roads. Bad Tesla! All-in-all, it was worth the trip.
We then headed into Oakley, KS to visit the Buffalo Bill Museum. We got to see the statue of Buffalo Bill shooting a bison and Ronnie and I posed for each other as Buffalo Bill and Annie Oakley.
We found a couple more quirky places thanks to a tip from our friend, Beth Dalzell and her daughter, Jenni. They told us about a web site (and an app) called Atlas Obscura. When you are traveling, you can use the web site or the app to find interesting things on your journey.
It found “Wheat Jesus” for us. It is a billboard in Colby, KS. It is owned by a couple who continue to pay to have the billboard lighted at night. It can be seen from I70 east or west.
Our last stop for the day was in Goodland, KS where they have the Van Gogh “Sunflowers in a Vase” reproduction. Cameron Cross selected a public domain Vincent Van Gogh sunflower painting and created a 24 by 32-foot reproduction of the painting on an 80-foot steel easel. The structure and painting weigh 40,000 pounds. I used my DJI Mavic 3 drone to take the photos.
About ten miles outside of Limon, CO, we could see the Rocky Mountains in the distance. It was a first for both of us. We ended out day in Limon, CO. We checked into a LaQuinta Inn by Wyndham. We had a pizza for dinner at a nearby bar and restaurant and were introduced to mountain time when our time backed up another hour. Ronnie can now say she has never been west of Colorado.
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Pikes Peak!