June 6, 2004 in the Flint Hills of Butler, Chase, and Marion counties. We started the day with a rendezvous in Cassoday, KS. This particular day was a "Biker Breakfast", where the sleepy town of perhaps a hundred residents awakes to the sound of motorcycles coming in from all over the state and beyond. After a rough count, we estimated there were between 1,500 and 2,000 riders in town by the time we we were ready to depart. Leading this ride was Kenneth Houk of Wichita, riding a KLR650. Gordon Polston of Herington rode his '87 KLR650, Bernard Smith of Hutchinson was astride his KLX650. Tim Bontrager of Manhattan was riding his KLR650, Brady Allensworth of Wichita rode his '87 KLR650, Luc Valentin of Manhattan arrived on his KTM 640 Adventure, and Roger Baugh of Wichita rode his KLR650. We rode east out of Cassoday to Teter Rock, and were able to see the wild mustang herd at close range. We then rode north to Matfield Green, then rode further north across open range to Cottonwood Falls. We stopped in Cottonwood Falls at the Emma Chase Cafe' for lunch. We were delighted to find live entertainment, and the place was packed. Cowboys were very much in attendance, as this was rodeo weekend in neighboring Strong City ... the largest and best attended rodeo in Kansas. We rode west to Elmdale, then proceeded further west to Clements and the nineteenth century arched stone bridge. We continued south to Wonsevu and Burns, and then criss-crossed our way back towards Wichita utilizing a number of seldom-used county roads. With the ninety-five degree heat, rider dust plumes became extreme, so we tended to "string out" for safety reasons. The wildflowers were spectacular this particular weekend. Daisy fleabane, lupines, and butterfly milkweed were profuse and colorful. No mishaps, no problems. We saw a lot ... and had a great time out there. Many thanks to Kenneth for leading us on this ride! 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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