July 2, 2001.
Ness City to Scott City, Kansas. (57 mi.) Mile 2097
Family
connections in Scott City
Today's map instructions were
simple: go straight, very straight, on Highway 96 until you come to
wherever you want to stop for the day. This was the first day we have had to
battle the strong Kansas winds head on for most of the day. We have been
enjoying cross winds or light tailwinds. Today the wind came out of the S-SW
at around 20 mph at times, howled in our ears, knocked our bikes around, and
significantly slowed us down. This was occasionally punctuated by the roar of
a big truck passing, first pushing us with the truck's leading air cushion,
then sucking us along in the turbulent draft.
1) 
2) 
1) More flat land and heat
2) We took a side road in order to find a spot of shade
It was dusty and hot, another day
in the 90s. Even when the heat was tolerable, the suns rays burned, so I kept
putting on sunscreen and finally, a long-sleeved shirt. There are not many
small communities along this highway. When signs of civilization were sighted,
it was sometimes close to an hour before we actually reached them. We saw these
communities as a good excuse to stop for a short break off the bike saddles,
and eat and drink something again.
Not for the agoraphobic: we set our sights on a grain elevator in the distance that
may be an hour's ride against the wind.
It was with great
relief that we made it into Scott City, where I anticipated meeting family I
had not met before. My grandfather's family had moved to Scott City when he
was a child, and my great-grandfather, C.R.J. McInturff, was a judge in Scott
City at the time of his death. He is buried in the Scott City cemetery. I
learned recently that I still have cousins there.
What a warm welcome we
got when we finally arrived, hot and tired. Bruce Lewis, who is my dad's first
cousin, and his wife Pat gave us warm hugs and treated us to cold drinks. Then
we had an opportunity to meet Bruce and Pat's children, my second cousins;
Gil, Bill, and Lisa, and their spouses. Bruce took us out to visit the Scott
City Cemetery and the grave of my great-grandfather McInturff, and then out to
dinner.
Bruce Lewis
shows us where my great-grandfather (his grandfather) is buried.
Finally, we spent the
night in the home where my grandfather spent his
childhood. This home has been
continuously occupied and lovingly maintained by the family for nearly 100
years. We have met many fine people on this trip, but discovering some that I
am related to is an extra bonus of this bike trip.
Marilyn's great grandparents' home, Scott City, has remained in the
family since it was built
