Wednesday, July 24th, 2019
Ride Report: None - Rest Day in McClave, CO (off-route)
Well, today started like a day should - especially a rest day - later than usual. I think Susan and I slept till something like 0730. Not especially late by my normal standards, but apparently once this waking up early thing starts, it develops a momentum of its own. We shall put it to bed (so to speak) as soon as the opportunity arises.
We had a good time chatting with Lora and Stan last night, and that was kinda the purpose - catching up. Today was likely a typical Wednesday for Lora and Stan, except for our mild intrusion into their daily schedule. Stan went out to take care of things on the farm. Lora did her morning chores. Among other things, she's trying to start a couple of shelter belts - typically long straight rows of trees/shrubs planted to prevent soil erosion. I know this because when I asked if there was a spigot I could use to wash Delta, she pointed me toward one near the shop that was currently hooked to a hose providing water to one of these new shelter belts. Needless to say, I made sure to hook it back up when I was done. For us the day was a normal rest day - catch up on laundry, bike washing, blah, blah, blah. By now the reader knows the drill. Oh - did I leave out napping? I took another in my long series of Rest Day naps today as well.
I thought I might give the reader some shots of what things are like around the Kline spread here in eastern Colorado. They look like this...
This is the old barn - by all appearances freshly painted in white with black trim. It's in remarkably good shape for an old barn - many of which have fallen into disrepair around the country as changes in farming practices have sort of left them behind. First thing one sees when walking out the front door in the morning. Not bad.
This is where we parked our "barn" last night when we arrived. We stayed with Stan and Lora in the house behind The Rig. It felt weird to have to walk more than three feet to find a recliner in which to repose. I managed to pull it off and have returned there to work on this post. I'm tellin ya, I have a body that must have been custom built for recliners...
First thing on my agenda was a bath for Delta. Lora said I was welcome to do it on the concrete by the shed. They must have a lot of bikes to wash here on the farm, because they had a whole building devoted to it. It was full of tools, air compressors, oil, grease - all the stuff you need to maintain a whole fleet of bikes. Though the fleet wasn't in evidence. People were prolly out riding them, having gotten up earlier than me. I may have to inquire.
As I was wandering about waiting for Delta to air dry (he hates bath towels) one of the hired guys came in from the field to fuel up this swather. It serves to cut hay while simultaneously placing it in a windrow for later baling. To the uninitiated it may look like a combine, but it lacks the capacity to separate grain from it's constituent plant, as does a combine. Plus, it's a lot smaller.
This is a shot of a crop duster working a nearby milo (grain sorghum) field and spraying for bugs. As the pic was taken, he was pulling up after having completed a pass over the milo field and was turning to prepare for another pass. There are small pipes along the back of both wings with even smaller nozzles designed to dispense whatever soluble solution happens to be the order of the day. In this case, an insecticide. These guys fly REALLY low. It's fun to imagine being in the cockpit.
Oh yes - allow me to introduce Brad Schoen - renowned cat lover. There were several of these half grown things wandering about. After I released this one, it was last seen chasing butterflies - with no success.
The inside of the aforementioned barn. Most of the ones I've been in lately (which admittedly isn't a lot) have been full of extraneous farm junk. It appears as if this one may still see occasional service.
This is the street view of Lora and Stan's house. I think Lora said she and Stan have lived here for something like 16 years now. Its been in the family for quite some time - Stan and Lora being the 4th generation to have lived here. Each generation has made their own contribution to the house - the original house being the two story section in the middle.
Well - an interesting visit and a good diversion from The Thin Blue Ride, but tomorrow it's back to the daily grind. I say this in jest, Susan and I are having the time of our lives. Though if the wind acts tomorrow like it has for the past two days, I'll likely reprise my role as an angry sailor some time tomorrow when cursing the wind. Should that prove to be the case, I will report same - sans quotes...
Gotta go. Susan should be back from the grocery store soon and will prolly want the computer to finish catching up on personal finances. I hope she gets milk. We're out. Kinda hard to eat half a package of Oreos without milk. I include this information in order that the reader may grasp the depths of my suffering.
Till next time.
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