Day 17: June 18th, Largest Ball of Twine; Lebanon 3rd/Final Time

There’s a couple of routes to Lebanon from Salina: 81N to 24W to 181N or 81N to 36W and 181 at Lebanon.  I decided to ride 24 to see the Ball of Twine but 36 coming back to Salina.

The World’s Largest Ball of Twine is located in Cawger City KS on US24.  I saw noticed this last time on my run from Lebanon to Key West and decided to stop and take a pic on my way back from Key West to Lebanon.  It definitely is a large ball of twine. 

While there Kim and Tammy from Shingle Springs were visiting and were kind enough to take the photo’s for me.

When I reached Lebanon I went straight to the Post Office and got the requisite photo proof of visit.  Mary, who grew up next to Chuck Warner, who I met on my first visit, kindly took the photo for me.  Next stop was the gas station for refueling and I found Rex, Randy and Bill working there. 

Then off to the Geographical Center Marker once more so I could take some photo’s with Snoopy. 

Back on the road I decided to take US36 to US81 thinking it would be faster than US24 which had a lot of construction.  36 was indeed faster….longer, but faster as there were only a few towns to slow down for and no construction.  Interestingly, I discovered an America’s Best Value motel at the intersection of 36 and 81.  Had I known this I could have ridden at night on 81 to the motel without any problems and would have been better positioned for the ride to Lebanon.  Oh well.

Approaching Topeka the skies once again were getting dark.  Clouds were packed solid and the winds were gusting.  My weather birddog, GlideRider in Ohio was keeping me informed of the weather activity ahead of me.  The frequency of my stops have been increasing as I seem to be getting a little tired, and during these stops I was collecting the weather intelligence.  At one of the gas stations a fella checked his radar and said it the road to the east was relatively clear of cell activity but had rain and strong winds.  Buoyed with that news I rode ahead suited up in rain gear and did encounter rain but not the strong lightning or thunderstorms. 

It would have been nice if I could have reached the east side of St. Louis, but it got dark as I braved it through Columbia and pulled into Kingdom City once again to stay at the Days Inn where I previously stayed.  Though late, I was fortunate to get a single at a good rate. 

It was good to dry out, warm up in a shower and hit the sack!

C ya mañana,
Gonzo
Twitter: @GonzoCrossUSA
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