Wyatt Earp via the Dalton gang

normally on the tour there is one group starting at 07.00 and another at 07.30,this has not really happened on this tour yet,but yesterday Paula announced that today there would be two start times.A real boost for Elizabeth's confidence and a tribute to her increasing strength that we were put in the late start group.So we set off at 07.30 in bright weather with only a mild breeze and a non jacket temperature.60 Kms to the first stop,and that fairly whizzed by with a light tail wind and a decent pace line.Just as well we had the distraction of concentrating on the wheel in front as the scenery was just enormous wheat fields or grassland broken only by the occasional nodding donkey

Plenty of land and very green but there were fields where maize had been harvested last year,and nothing more had been done.In a lot of depressions there was standing water,so it looked as if the ground has been too wet up to now to prepare for a new crop.

After 60 Kms we reached the first stop which was situated at the Dalton Gang hideout.A family of bank robbers that ran riot for 18 months before being gunned down.They used an underground tunnel from one barn to a small house,both of which are still extant,but renovated.In the lower picture you can make out the vague shape of the barn beneath the trees.

The house was furnished with bits and pieces from the 1860s,I particularly admired the small sewing machine.And just for Elodie(grand daughter)a couple of animals

A Bobcat

An albino racoon
Having refreshed ourselves at the stop we raced along to get some lunch in

A small mexican restaurant provided a sensible sized lunch ,after which we turned onto a delightfully surfaced road that was pretty flat and very straight.

On the way we saw some happy looking cows,Elizabeth very pleased,that tried to race along beside 

me,but I was too fast for them.The wind was by now a quartering sidewind,so still keeping us cool,despite an average temperature of 25°C.There was a sudden and welcome appearance of more roadside flowers

And the the long awaited sign

And so our hotel,with reminders of Wyatt Earp everywhere,both inside the hotel and outside.A very enjoyable day,with an average speed of 26.7Kph and 1416 miles completed.