The second radio station in Topeka, WREN, installed this bird statue on its roof in 1947. It was taken down in 1993 when the station changed its call letters. It was created in the 1930s when the station was located in Lawrence, Kansas. Chad and I were too tired yesterday to make a special trip to see it, so boy, were we excited when we rode past it on our way out of Topeka.

Today was another gorgeous 86 mile ride to St Joseph, Missouri. The weather held out, although we have now been introduced to 90^o temperatures accompanied by high humidity, much worse than the 80s we saw in the desert in California. Our first stop was Atchison. I visited the old freight depot of the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe railroad, whose route we have now traced.

The most interesting display was of an iron lung from the polio era, complete with operating instructions on the side. No mention of obtaining blood gases!

Then it was across the muddy Missouri (lots of recent rain) and into Missouri, my home for 14 years. I chose my Cardinals jersey to fly the flag in rival Royals territory. No one cared.

And now we’re in St Joseph, birthplace of Walter Cronkite and Eminem. I think they were unrelated.

In St Joseph we rode a long way on a bike path in a park winding its way through suburban St Jo. We sat and enjoyed a Coke while listening to a large variety of songbirds in the brilliant green trees. It reminded me of growing up in Columbus and of how lovely the Midwest can be.

The sigh of relief? Shortly after buying the Cokes Chad sat on a bench to wait for me (I was delayed with yet another flat tire). His wallet fell out of his pocket, an event he didn’t notice until hours later at the hotel. We got a ride to the convenience store where they were sympathetic but could offer no help. We started retracing his steps, planning on a fruitless 7 mile walk back to the hotel, when Voila!, there was his wallet sitting on a bench, undisturbed. Disaster narrowly avoided.

Tomorrow it’s a very hilly ride to Chillicothe, Missouri, the home of sliced bread. Oooh!