March 23, 2003. Not a soul to be seen for miles, distant prairie fires on the horizons, clear-water crossings in multitude, weather perfect. This was the backdrop for J.L. Riedel (new guy) of Salina riding an '03 KLR650, Greg Mitchell (T-Bone) of Emporia on his DR350, and myself, Roger Baugh (Mr. Clean) of Wichita on my KLR650. Our rendezvous point was the Emma Chase Cafe in Cottonwood Falls. As always ... super destination and vittles! Living in the suburbs of Wichita, I was struck by the quiet and serenity on Main Street after I switched my KLR's ignition off. Would darn near pay money for moments like this .... We rode a similar route as March 15, but with Cottonwood Falls as our start and stop point. We were hoping to see the prairie being fired this weekend, as recent rains made the conditions optimum. Riding up from Wichita via Cassoday, I saw large tracts that had been fired either the day or evening before, as well as some acreage burning in northern Butler county. As it turned out, the wind velocity increased during the day, so we saw only a few distant fires during our loop of Chase county. You will notice a haze in many photos, the result of fires fifteen to twenty miles to the southwest of our location. As mentioned earlier, riding conditions were as near perfect as one could expect. Despite recent rains, road conditions were excellent, with next to no dust. The water crossings we made a week ago were now wider and deeper (yahoo!). Next time you see him, ask T-Bone about crossing a creek on his rear wheel only. Again ... I didn't have the camera ready! Sure beat choosing between buying the pink flamingos or the herd of deer display for the front yard! After 276 miles in the saddle this day, had many good memories of this unique spot in Kansas ... ed. Click on a thumbnail to view a larger image. Use your browser's "back" button, or the "left" arrow in the navigation bar to return to this page.

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