Tuesday, September 15, 2009

Day 11 - Making Kansas Fun and Back in the Curves in Missouri

It is said that Albert Einstein gave the definition of insanity as "doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results." And to keep myself from going insane, I decided to figure out some other way to proceed across the final stretch of flat, straight Kansas other than doing what I had been doing. My different plan was to plot a hand-picked route along backroads that proceed through small towns. The current state of GPS devices and mapping software presumes that we want to travel "fastest" or "shortest" -- and I wanted neither -- I just wanted a meandering route that would be interesting and "scenic" over the remaining 120 miles of Kansas into Missouri.

It was labor intensive to plot but the reward was definitely worth it. I not only enjoyed the interesting towns and the pace of the trip, but I was also treated to unexpected curves even if they were primarily just 90 degree turns as one east/west road would connect to a north/south and then again to an east/west. All in all, a very satisfying way to finish off Kansas on another perfect motorcycling day (mid 70's all day and overcast). I also got lucky again on my breakfast stop in one of the tiny hamlets and enjoyed 60 cent coffee and $2.60 for a pile of hashbrowns and eggs. Gotta love small town prices!

I was excited to see the Missouri state line where I was soon back to the fun roads. At first, most of the "curves" were just where the road went up and down like a rollercoaster. But even those were more interesting than flat/straight. The roads soon returned to curvy and fun the closer I got to my destination, a condo on the shore of the massive and beautiful Lake of the Ozarks.

Once again I had arranged to stay off the road a day here in Osage Beach, MO -- and when I saw the view from the condo, I wished I was staying a week or a month!

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