Home at last July 4th

I had a bite to eat at Super 8 this morning and grabbed a banana for later. The sky was mostly clear and it was 57 degrees out with a the north wind that was following me home. I stopped for gas shortly after entering Colorado on I-25. Its hard to believe how cheap gas is in the US. I was paying $1.25 per liter X 3.79= $4.74 per gallon and the very cheapest I found was .99 X 3.79= $3.75 per gallon. Much of this gas was regular and if you found premium it was more. Now our money is still worth a little more than theirs but not much. So when I started paying $2.69 for premium it was great.
I left Cheyenne about 7AM as I knew I was going to lose another hour when I hit Kansas. There wasn't much traffic going through Denver so I just zipped right through. I stopped at Limon for some coffee and a bite to eat, then continue on to Colby. I reached Colby at noon and the temperature reached 80 degrees which was the warmest of the trip. It continued to warm a little and around Salina went to 88 degrees. I just opened some vents on my jacket and didn't put on my mesh riding gear. I never used it the entire trip.
The winds were fairly strong out of the north but not as bad as western Kansas can be at times. The wind was good for keeping a breeze on me and also for these.

From July 2,3,4

Since it was July 4th I thought this was appropriate.

From Alaska Favorites

And one with the wheat already harvested.

From Alaska Favorites

Welcome to the Flint Hills of Kansas.

From Alaska Favorites

I made it home about 5:30 and I was tired so I guess that is why I never showed any enthusiasm for this photo.

From Alaska Favorites

Mary and I had some Corona's, a steak and some wine. After dinner we went out for some ice cream and came back and watched a few fireworks with the neighbors. By 9:45 I could hardly keep my eyes open and by 10PM I was in bed and asleep within two minutes.
Sunday was spent by going to church and thanking the Lord for my safe journey. In the afternoon I mowed, trimmed, and fertilized the lawn. Thanks to my neighbor Wade for mowing the lawn while I was gone.

I traveled 10,588 miles and took 533 pictures. I had a very safe trip and did not have any close encounters with other vehicles which is very unusual for me. I had a few scary moments brought on by antelope, moose and loose gravel and just plain inattention.
Thanks to all who followed along with me both on ADVrider and my blog. I had about the right amount of gear and it all performed well. I didn't use my mesh riding gear, tripod, and thankfully my first aid kit or tire repair kit and tire pump.
The AeroFlow windshield and fairing worked great as did the Russell Day Long seat. The Happy Trail panniers worked great and nothing got wet or dusty the entire trip. And they are American made in Idaho! The Spot tracker was great for those who wanted to follow me, especially my family. I left it on tracking the entire trip and sent out Okay messages if I couldn't call or Skype. Skype worked well most of the time. If I had a real slow connection, not so good. I had the video and also prepaid $10 for phone service of which I used less than $3. It costs less than .02 cents per minute to call.

Thanks to all the friendly people on the road I met and especially the Canadians. They are great people! If I come up with some dollar figures I may post them. I'm not sure I want to know how much.

So you ask what will I do now. Tomorrow morning another guy and I are headed to Rapid City, SD to pick up a Silverado pickup for Ed Bozarth Chevrolet in Topeka. That will be a 1,400 mile round trip in two days. Thank heavens for my Iron Butt!