CHAPTER 2, August 2016: Kansas, Nebraska, and (this time) Mississippi
The next set of Atlantas was collected in conjunction with NAFO 5 in Montrose, Colorado. My Spotwalla track is
here.
Atlanta, Kansas, is about an hour southeast of Wichita. It’s a real town -- post office, fire station, and two dozen houses -- surrounded by miles of rolling hills, corn, cows, and something I’ll call wheat. I found it amusing that farmers or seed companies will post signs along the road indicating which particular sub-species of corn/wheat/grain is growing in the adjacent field, but I suppose that’s marketing.
Snapped a couple of photos of the Atlanta Post Office, and realized there was nowhere to empty my full bladder.
The town was too small and too open (no bushes) for a pee on the side of the road, so I rode two blocks to the Volunteer Fire Station where some guys were washing their fire truck and rescue squad vehicle. All this in the shadow of a huge grain elevator.
After I’d taken care of business, we chatted for a half-hour about the 1996 Atlanta Olympics (in Georgia) and the corresponding ‘Olympic Games’ held in Atlanta, Kansas.
They were amazed that I’d started the day in Georgia, but were happy to share a shortcut to Wichita, where I was headed for the night. The Wichita hotel was at the foot of the runway for the Beechcraft assembly plant. The Cessna assembly plant (and airport) are located about 7 miles away.
The next morning dawned cold and clear ....... after I’d already been on the road for 90 minutes. August in Kansas and it’s colder than 40F: balaclava, scarf, cold weather gloves, windscreen up fully, and grip heaters on ‘inferno’.
Turned left at Salina, then turned right at Hays, and arrived in Atlanta, Nebraska, about 5 hours after that cold start in Wichita. The sun was out fully, though, and the day was warming nicely. Snapped a schweet photo of the town’s water tower, and one of a metal grain elevator on the side of Main Street.
I had wanted to visit Camp Atlanta, the site of a World War 2 internment camp, but the road was also the entrance to the KLNE-FM radio transmitter, and was gated. The Camp is rumored to have held more internees at any given moment (3,000) than everybody who has ever lived in Atlanta, NE, during its entire existence.
This day was also supposed to be a Bun Burner IBA cert ride, but a major Interstate crash (not involving me), followed by string of navigational errors, missed communications with a buddy, and cloudy thinking on my part screwed that up. That’s a story for another time, however.
NAFO 5 was a blast. Met and rode with a bunch of internet friends, and saw a few I’d met the year before at Hooterville 2015. Rode the Million Dollar Highway, a beautiful ride! Unfortunately, you can’t really enjoy the scenery because the road twists like a writhing rattlesnake and there's NO GUARDRAIL between you and a four-thousand-foot drop to the canyon bottom. Oh yeah, and the other side of the highway has NO GUARDRAIL between you and an exposed cliff face that will smack your helmet if you lean that way a little too far.
A few days later, we saddled up for home, an SS1K, and a second attempt at Atlanta, Mississippi. The SS1K route was from Denver, to Salina, to Oklahoma City, and ended in Memphis at a Super8 that held my bed for the night. It was a miserably hot ride, but it got done. Many thanks to the I-35 Oklahoma Welcome Center ladies for letting me nap in an air conditioned corner for 30 minutes!
Atlanta, Mississippi is located close to Vardaman, which is located between Houston and Grenada. It's just a curve in the road with no signs.
How did I know I was there? The Volunteer Fire Department building. There were two houses within 100 yards/meters of the Volunteer Fire Department. While only one looked inhabited, I had to assume the other was inhabited because there was a car parked out front and a mean-looking dog wandering about. Was it a meth lab? Don't know; didn't ask. If so, it was smart to place it across the street from the fire department.
Seven down, ten to go.
