6/25-26/13: Tuesday and Wednesday, June 25-26: Columbia, MO, and Beautiful Kansas! Tuesday I passed quickly from Indiana, through southern Illinois, and on into Missouri, over the Wabash and multiple channels of the Mississippi rivers. The roadsides in Indiana, besides having the blue flowers (which may be blue flax after all), also had brilliant patches of orange daylilies. How they got there, I have no idea; someone must have gone on a planting spree, or maybe they spread by bullets. Very pretty!

   The landscape grew flatter, the weather hotter and stickier, and then I was in Columbia, MO, at a nice little campground just off the freeway. Suddenly, it seemed, I was in the Central time zone, so it was an hour earlier (nice!). I keep wondering when the terrain will be as flat as if it had been ironed that way. Except for road work slowdowns, zipping along I-70 is easy driving, much less tiring than negotiating the back roads of Pennsylvania, but the going is much less interesting on many counts. I remember being exhausted at Dingman's campground in the Delaware Water Gap after a day of following obscure roads from Lancaster, PA, and through the Poconos, but also bowled over by how beautiful it was.

   I have a fly in this van, a fly that needs some serious killing. No, it's 3 flies. In my enthusiasm for nailing one, I also killed an innocent piece of black fluff on the floor. Fly No. 3 is proving tough: How is it that these infinitesimal pieces of protoplasm can instantly see me coming with the swatter and escape my righteous wrath? I like that, so I'm going to write it again: Righteous Wrath. The beggars woke me this morning before 6, as it got light and warm, and they went exploring on my arms and shoulders.

   Here's another burst of creativity: Games for the Solo RV Driver! (1) Flying Coffee: See how far coffee can go when you leave a cup on the counter, forget it, and take off fast at a green light. Here's a Personal Best: kitchen sink to dashboard. Fun for nobody! (2) Pretzel, Pretzel: Imagine where all those pretzel sticks go after you drop the open bag you were munching on while driving! Your guesses will be compared to the actuality if you ever find them all. (3) Love That Kitty: Spend the rest of your life rousting bits of kitty litter out of remote corners of the van because the goddamn bag tipped over while you were rolling, and it wasn't sealed. Just a little moisture cements it permanently to any handy surface! A very similar game can be had with Random Dry Cat Kibbles.

   Beyond Columbia, I finally crossed two broad channels plus some islands of the mighty Missouri River. The scenery grew much more open, rural, and appealing. Suddenly: Kansas City and then a Welcome to Kansas sign! What was I in for now?

   And here is the day's Monster Surprise: I like the landscape of Kansas very much! I think it's beautiful! Its long, low, rolling "hills" are still velvety green, and between the hills lie -- ravines? gullies? little valleys? -- all of the preceding, often full of lovely trees, little dark-green gems in an emerald landscape that has long, long views. No more smothering trees eating up the roadsides. The few higher hills seem all the more dramatic in this very gentle terrain. However, the weather is relentlessly hot and humid, and after 2 nights of heat and sweat, when even wearing just underpants seemed to be overdressing, I am ready for an air-conditioned Motel 6 here in Junction City, KS.