The Wayfaring Wood's: Finally On the Road…

After a quick stop over in Springville to do laundry, repack the car and camper, and have a fantastic send off feast of cheese and broccoli stuffed, bacon wrapped Halibut and grilled potatoes we hit the road headed west. Day 1 took us to Champaign, Illinois to visit Jess’s college roommate Tory. We enjoyed a fantastic home cooked meal, great company, and our last night in a real bed. In the morning we got up went for a quick walk around a local park then hit the road for the rugged interior of Kansas…

A full day on the road brought us to Wilson Lake State park, a large reservoir just a stones throw from I-70 in central Kansas. We rolled into Wilson Lake in the dark so we were quite surprised when we awoke in the morning. The landscape we found was a large meandering lake surrounded by rolling hills littered with exposed rock and sand with a bit of a desert feel. There were strange lizards, cacti, and even yucca plants to really seal the deal. The park is home to a beautiful network of mountain bike trails so with a few hours before we needed to get on the road again we set out for a ride. The riding was a blast, flowy sections, technical sections, wildflowers, and glimpses of the lake around every twist and turn. We put together a quick 10 mileish loop then made our way back to the car to get on the road to Boulder. I’m so glad we decided to stop here. It broke up the drive across Kansas perfectly and gave us a chance to experience some fantastic singletrack in a place we never would have guessed to find it.