We have been enjoying some fantastic weather in Topeka Kansas. We have ridden our bicycle over fifty miles in three days exploring Topeka. We are camped at beautiful Shawnee Lake. It boasts a complete loop bicycle/hiking trail just over seven miles long. There are other bicycle trails in town also and we have ridden most of them. We did get onto one trail that is not yet complete. It is a rail to trail conversion and we walked Path across a trestle that is still an open lattice of railroad ties. We also came across a homeless camp, so we returned to the streets for the rest of our ride to the Kansas Capitol Building.

At the Capitol building we discovered that we were just in time for the afternoon guided tour to the top of the dome. With about a dozen brave visitors we followed our guide to the ninth floor. This is inside the outer dome but outside the inner dome that only rises to the eighth floor. Then we scaled the corkscrew staircase up through the cupola to the walkway just below the Indian statue at the very top of the Kansas State Capitol Building. You just have to go below and check out the photos we took. I even got a shot of the statue on top of the dome by leaning waaaay out.

Going down was even more fun than going up. I was wearing my stiff-soled, bicycle shoes and I was also worried that I would see the wrong step in my bifocals.
We did find out one thing for sure; Downtown Topeka was like a ghost town with the legislature out of session and everyone out electioneering.

I am sending this blog out using my older tried and true method. Last week I tried a new e-mail forwarding service and no one sent back comments. I must assume that no one received a copy. You can check it out on the web-site if you want, but it was not a barn burner so you won’t miss anything if you don’t see it.

Next stop is Missouri so we will bid you adieu from Kansas
Gary and Judy