0630 – Wake; edit this blog site; shower, dress, pack.
0830 – Breakfast: waffle, highly homogenized scrambled eggs, orange juice, toast.
0945 – Pack the vans; weather briefing. The Great Plains will be quiet until Friday or Saturday. Blech! Time to play tourist on our way northwest.
1035 – Depart Days Inn.
1045 – Arrive Walmart
1122 – Dpt Walmart
1140 – Started using the GPS Tracks app to record our route. (Thanks For pointing me to this, Eric Meola!)
1230(est.) – Enter Joplin. Inspect 2011-05-22 EF-5 damage path.
1315(est.) – BBQ brisket and pulled pork at Sawmill BBQ (612 S. Main St. in downtown Joplin, MO; 417-782-7225). SO MUCH FOOD!
1418 – dpt Joplin
1449 – cross into Kansas on US160/MO96
1503 – cont E toward Sherwin, KS
1520 – At Oswego KS, briefly separated from the lead van. Reunited 3 min W of town.
1550 – Reach Jct US160/US169; continue W US160 to Independence, KS. 15 minute pit stop at Citgo.
1638 – cont W on US160
1700 – cont W from Elk Falls, KS
1709 – N KS99
1730(est.) – Stopped to take photos at Hubble’s Rubble metal sculpture exhibit (Howard, KS)
1744 – W on US400 toward Wichita, KS
1825 – Augusta, KS , going W on US400.
1836 – x I-35
1900 – re-enter US400 after meeting with Jim Reed (to get a set of keys); exit to I-235 N, which becomes KS96.
1933 – Haven, KS near KS96. We stop for some sunset photos. I tangle my hand in the latch for the van door after I loose my footing. I’m luckyt to not break a finger! My hand hurts so much, I almost miss a beautiful sunset:
EOD – Arrive Rodeway Inn, Hoisington, KS
EOD – Also ate dinner here: Grilled Chicken sandwich and a diet Coke (with a shot of cherry liquer).
| Start | Springfield, MO |
| Finish | Hoisington, KS |
| Route | I-44,US-160,US-400,KS-99,KS-96 |
| Miles | 307 (est.) |