Day Three

Hays, KS | Goodland, KS

145 mi | 2 hours 18 mins

Saturday Morning started early, my cell phone went off about 3am with the Obama campaign texting Joe Biden as their VP choice. Not a bad pick if he learns to keep his mouth shut. I'm currently located in Ellis County Kansas which is quite an interesting place. A major settlement of German Catholics came to Kansas to farm the land in the late 1800s. Being German and Catholic, I thought it would be interesting to tour some of the local churches including the Cathedral on the Plains, which is in Victoria a few miles east of Hays. William Jennings Bryan coined that phrase when seeing the beautiful building while campaigning for President. I also visited St. Joseph’s Cathedral in Hays, and St. Mary’s in Ellis. These churches have history and it shows, you’ll be able to see pictures as soon as my producer Dylan joins me in Denver. One funny note, the hotel clerk at the Best Western saw that I was from Wisconsin and said, " You should feel right at home here. We have many of Wisconsin’s favorite things including a liquor store and tavern on every block and almost as many churches."

My next ethanol fill up was in Oakley,KS at the Mitten Travel Plaza right off I-70. E-85 continues to be about 80 cents cheaper per gallon than standard fuel. I continue to be blown away at how much corn is actually grown in Kansas and how it fills the landscape. Unfortunately, I had to fly to Washington, DC last week and I can’t express to you how much more I enjoy driving. Seeing the big, beautiful, wide open countryside with the stereo blaring as I cruise down an endless expanse of asphalt, thats my little piece of heaven. On a final note, its been about 10 years since I’ve been through this part of I-70 and you would not believe how many wind farms have sprouted up. The Heartland is certainly the answer to our energy solutions. My final stop tonight is in Goodland, KS, tomorrow its Denver or Bust.