2014-08-01: Day 37 2000 Miles, Ness City to Leoti, KS

Post date: Aug 1, 2014 11:40:16 PM

Miles Today: 70 Total Miles: 2010

We crossed a new milestone today. Jon and I have now ridden more than 2000 miles. That puts us far out into the high prairie about 190 miles from Pueblo and about 36 miles from Colorado. This area of Kansas currently has some active oil drilling. We rode past one of the new drilling towers today. It's huge. Our hotel clerk mentioned that he had some oil drilling guys staying in the hotel. I asked the hotel clerk, how it could be that the oil companies's would be still be drilling now. I assumed that all the oil that could be found would have been found 30 years ago.

He told me:

  • The first time they looked for oil in this region they looked only west and north of town.
  • The new technology they are now using with 3-D imaging is much better. It is telling them there is oil south and east of town.
  • They believe the oil is 5000 feet down. (Almost a mile).
  • It takes them 7 to 10 days to drill down to that depth. They will know soon if they really have an oil strike.

We finished the day at Leoti, KS and noticed that the county fair was taking place. So, we immediately decided to head to the fair and rodeo tonight to take in some local flavor. We are headed out in a few minutes. So I will finish this blog tomorrow ....

I'm back. The fair was really great considering:

          • - The fair is organized and run by community volunteers.
          • - Parking was free.
          • - Fair entry was free.
          • - Every ride cost 25 cents. No kidding. Every ride = 25 cents.
          • - Parents bring their kids from all over this area of Kansas and Colorado to come to this fair. So the place was packed.
          • - The community supports this fair. We even noticed at the library that they are closed on the last day of the fair. Tomorrow, there is a community parade.