STE2 Hop 4
209 miles via US 77, US 400, KS 99, US 166, US 75 and US 60 with a refueling stop in El Dorado KS. Cumulative tow miles: 918. Truck miles: 209. Cumulative truck miles: 940.
The truck miles equaled the tow miles in the case because we did something we almost never do: we stayed hitched up overnight. That meant that we needed to plan a refueling stop for Hop 4. There weren’t a lot of options – we didn’t pass a single gas station in the nearly 90 miles to El Dorado. And we cut it close – the low fuel light popped on as we turned into the service station. But we made it, no problem. We even took a lunch break.
The route was, as usual in Kansas, boring. The only thing that made it interesting is that the corn and wheat harvests were in high gear and nearly every field had harvesting activity. Which also meant that there were a lot of trucks on the road hauling the harvest. But no major slowdowns.
Our one-night stop in Kansas was at the Owl’s Nest Campground. Our original plan was to spend 2 nights here, but we cut it to one in order to make it to Bartlesville OK on Friday – so we could get to the Osage Nation Museum on Saturday. It turns out that we didn’t like the campground much and were very glad it was just one night. The campsites were mostly small and the roads were narrow. Plus there was no cable TV and absolutely no over-the-air service. So we played cards, watched DVDs and left without looking back.
While we didn’t like our overnight stay very much, we had to appreciate it for what it was: the culmination of our 5-year goal to visit all 48 states.
Refueling stop in El Dorado
#48 – Kansas
Hitched up at our site