Bike trip journal

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Day 11: 27-Aug-2002, Rest day in Cherokee

Got up, and had continental breakfast at the hotel, then walked to the nearby laundromat, and wandered through KMart while my clothes were washing.

After the laundry was done I walked to the Cherokee Mental Health Institute (no, not to check in). It is a huge facility founded in the late 1800's as an inpatient hospital. It sits on a huge site, with large lawns, Victorian buildings, and an erie feel. Half expected to see Jack Nicholson hanging around. The grounds are essentially a local park, with a path winding around the perimeter and some flower gardens and a prairie restoration along the way. The local newspaper had a front-page story reporting that 13 of the approximately 230 full-time employees were being laid off due to budget cuts. There are typically 65 patients admitted at any given time.

It is interesting that only a few days ago, in Greeley, NE, when I stopped at the town cemetery for a rest, the grass growing there was Blue Grama (the state grass of Colorado, btw) and it was in its full bloom, and about a foot tall. Around here, in the prairie, the Big Bluestem is also in full bloom, and it is as tall as I am.... What a difference only a few hundred miles makes in the weather and vegetation.

After walking around the hospital grounds, I walked downtown and had lunch at a local bar, The Gasthaus, then stopped at the combination Bike Shop/Radio Shack store for supplies and advice on routes north. Then I walked to the Sanford Museum and Planetarium, which had an exhibit of old bicycles (commemorating RAGBRAI, which had passed through a few weeks earlier), and a permanent exhibit of local history, archeology, and paleontology.