On The Road Again...heading to Yates Center, KS

What a day for RAAM! We got to interview some amazing teams - Team FARA (4 man relay, 2 of the riders have ataxia - a neurological disease that impacts the brain's ability to "talk to" the body - photo) and Team Operation Progress (4 person mixed team includng two women - one who is turning 60 soon and the other who was former LAPD shot in the line of duty and is now paralyzed from the chest down - photo.) We also found out that one of the teams was in a car/rider accident and the rider is hospitalized in serious condition. Lots going on but the relay teams continue their way across the crazy windy Kansas state and into Missouri.




I am having a great time but working hard. I wrote my last two articles while sitting on a curb in a gas station parking lot or in the van at time station 27 (photo). It was convenient because I could talk to a couple of the people featured in the article as they were right there waiting for their team to come in. And then through the miracle of internet connection...voila - article posted. OK it took a little more than that but you get the idea. My favorite quote of the evening comes from Mary C. (one of the women I was interviewing) - "I just got yelled at for calling this a rest stop. It's a time station!"


We officially hit the half way mark between time stations 26-27 (Pratt - Maize) with 1,502.5 miles down and same to go. I have to say that the whole "crossing the half way mark" was very anticlimactic. We were greeted with corn fields, road, and construction dust (photo). So much for fanfare.

I gave a quick call to my parents so they know I'm not stuck in the middle of a corn field (that was a few nights ago - ha-ha!) My Dad, being the map guy he is, pinpointed my exact location. I told my Mom to tell him I was waving at the sattelite overhead so he should be able to see me - an inside family joke. My Mom was full of questions and wonderful support - thanks Mom and Dad!

We plan to hit the road hard tomorrow and make tracks to get to some of the relay teams farther up. I'm off to write one more article before calling it a night. Oh, and by the way...I'm off the curb and back in the van. Armed with coffee in my spiffy new "KwikShop" travel coffee mug, we are off. And no, I'm not driving right now ;-)