I need to fix up the map above. We went from Las Vegas, New Mexico (not Nevada) to Dodge City, Kansas.
We woke up at around 6:30am and went downstairs to where Shirley had prepared a hot breakfast with soup, sausages, eggs and other things for us. Nice start to the day.
We then headed out of Las Vegas, New Mexico and took the mountain roads past the Conchas Lake which met up with the Interstate 40 after 30 miles.
The mountain road out of Las Vegas, New Mexico
After this, the road was a fairly deserted bush road that was completely flat with nothing but dirt and the occasional grass shrub sticking out of the ground.
We continued on along more flat road until we reached the Interstate 40 at Tucumcari.
We then followed the interstate for another 30 miles, passing the famous Cadillac Ranch on our way into Amarillo, Texas.
The famous Cadillacs of Cadillac Ranch
It was lunchtime and we were freezing cold, so we stopped for lunch and a warm up.
The riding to here was all the same – stretches of lonely highway, with flat desert on either side. Nothing really to see, nothing to stop for.
We’d been told that most people just blast across Texas on across America trips – I can see why.
There ain’t a lot to look at.
Push On For Dodge City
I was keen to head towards Oklahoma and push on for Dodge City in Kansas, so after jumping off the interstate highway 40 we grab a bite to eat a Subway and waited till we’d stopped shaking from the cold.
We then drove across the road to a BP petrol station, filled up with petrol and put the small Texan town of Dumas into the GPS to get us out of Amarillo.
We reached Dumas, took the right hand option at Stratford and then followed more desert road to Texhoma on the Texas/Oklahoma border.
In Oklahoma after crossing from Texas
Guymon was 10 miles into Oklahoma and it was there we found that it was 30 miles to Liberal – just over the border in Kansas. It was 4:30pm and we only had 1hour of light left.
We pressed on along the Route 54.
We arrived in Liberal, Oklahoma just after dark.
Weighing Up Risks & Benefits
As you do on a journey like this, you’re continually reassessing. Weighing up risks and benefits.
We were about 2 hours out of Dodge City and thought it would be great to reach there, then spend a full day there the next day.
The trouble was the getting there – it was dark and whilst the road was a highway, there were stretches where we’d be on our own without any cars for cover.
That made us a lot more susceptible to nocturnal animals crossing roads and us getting cleaned up.
As much as I hate riding in the dark, on we went.
We’d traveled so far that I figured let’s just keep going and get it done. I’m stupid like that.
Almost Cleaned Up By A Deer
Just outside the small towwn of Minneola, as we’re riding along at 60 miles an hour, a deer darts onto the road from about 20 metres in front of us to our left and starts to run across the road.
Almost cleaned up by a deer in Kansas
He sees us and decides against reaching the other side – if he had made a dash for it, things were going to get interesting!
We stopped to refuel in Minneola and ask the Gas Station attendant how far to Dodge City. She told us 1 1/2 hours, which turned out to be a lot of nonsense as it was another 30 minutes up the road.
We Rode Into Dodge City
So we rode into Dodge (always wanted to say that!).
We saw a Super 8 sign on the main road Wyatt Earp Boulevard and checked in for a couple of nights.
We quickly unpacked the bike (takes about 30 seconds) and went and showered to warm up.
We headed out into the night on foot and found a shabby looking Italian restaurant across the road.
As is often the way, we were then served up great Italian food with excellent service. A couple of beers was enough, after 450+ miles, to have me ready for a nap to get freshened up to explore the old town of the Wild West the next day.
All up we rode 470 miles (750 kms) making it our longest day of riding for the entire trip.
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