Gravel Cycling Hall of Fame: End Of Adventures And Going Home

Erik spent some time shooting a herd of horses we came across.

 "Oh-ho-ho! See that? Yeah, I'm sorry....we're definitely stopping for that.", said Erik, apologetically, and along the lines he'd apologized for several times already. This time it was for a lone, dead tree in the middle of the prairie. A statuesque hulk of twisted wood set against a backdrop of blue sky and green grass. 

We'd already had spent copious amounts of time shooting a random sign, a rusted hulk of a truck, and a herd of horses. We were supposed to have been going to Mile 19 and Mile 21, then onward to Mile 40 on the course to see some stuff that a photographer friend of Erik's had tipped him off to. We maybe were at Mile 20 now. Who knew?

Who cared? We were having fun, and I think, given the time and the beautiful day, we would have spent the entire rest of the day out there. But Erik had people he had to meet, and he was cognizant of my time limitations as well. But.....the shot! Gotta get that shot!

 

Another road grader we saw.

Originally I was wanting to get back into town by 1:00pm, no later than 2:00pm for sure, and then when the All Things Gravel Expo got started I would rifle through there, grab some images, and then hit the road for the 400+ mile trip home and hopefully get there around 10:00pm. But as I looked at Erik shooting an American flag with a chopper motorcycle emblazoned over it, I saw that it was now closer to 2:00pm, and we were quite a ways away from Emporia yet. 

I had run away with Erik with no idea what would happen. I realized that he was doing a job, I also realized he had a proclivity to stop to shoot anything his eye saw as interesting. This time we had spent was a treasure though, as far as I was concerned. As I have said, I love an unplanned adventure, and that's exactly what I had gotten myself into with Erik.

We'd gone off course earlier, we saw all kinds of great things, contemplated them thoroughly, and savored every vista and small flower. Life slowed down. It was actually very relaxing for me and I was very happy with my experience. I hope Erik was as well!

Our way back into Emporia was blocked in several places.

Once we decided to head back, the getting back to town was not as easy as we had hoped. Flood waters had cut off a lot of ways back into Emporia and we had a difficult time finding a clear road. Actually, Erik forded a flooded roadway to find our way back. 

Once we had arrived in town, I bade Erik farewell and walked off to my car. That was it for my time in Emporia. I had parked in front of my host's home, and as I walked up to it, I was reminded how I hadn't seen Brad, the owner, since I had arrived. 

Weird....

Oh well! I hopped in and took off, stopping only at the convenience store to resupply on some drinks for the trip. Then it was outta there for the time being. Who knows when, or if, I'll ever be back again? But even though I was in town for just under 24 hours, it was worth the bother, if only for the adventures with Erik. A lot can happen in 24 hours, and this trip proved that. Now- onward....

This was the very reason why I avoided Kansas City coming down. Traffic was horrendous.

 I reached Kansas City at perhaps the worst time I could have. At 4:30pm and I was just passing Olathe on I-35. Traffic was stop-and-go for most of the East-West bound section of 435, which made it a slow go until I reached Liberty, Missouri and faster going, finally. That section took an hour. It was about 40 miles. 

About 40 miles to go when I saw this spectacular Sunset over Iowa.

So, the rest of the trip went smoothly. I got home a little after 10:00pm, for a total drive time/stopping time combination of seven hours. Not bad, considering the mess in KC-MO I had to navigate. And that was it. I was in the Hall of Fame and I had an adventure unplanned for. Couldn't have scripted it any better than it went, I don't think, anyway. 

Tomorrow: Final comments on the GCHoF thing and a FN&V post. Two posts! One day! Bonus!