I woke up in the tent the next morning and thought squirrels were chucking acorns from the trees at our tent. The sun was just starting to rise, so I rested in the sleeping bag for a while waiting for the grogginess to wear off.

As the morning fog cleared from my head, the small army of squirrels bombarding our tent with acorns actually turned out to be rain. Frankly, I would have rather it been the squirrels. Good thing I had put the tarp on the motorcycle last night.

After waiting the rain out in the tent, we finally got back on the road around 8:30AM and picked up US 50/I44 again. By then, the rain had turned to drizzle, and by 10AM'ish the rain had burned off completely and we were on dry road.

On longer motorcycle trips, the only thing that you can guarantee is that you'll see a little bit of every kind of weather. I was sure this particular trip was going to be no different.

After a few miles US 50 broke off from Interstate 44. It was great to get away from the interstate and US 50 finally started to deliver a little of what I was hoping the "Loneliest Highway" would deliver: Interesting rural sights, great pavement, mildly hilly country, and plenty of gentle to sweeping curves thrown in for interest! A motorcycle rider's paradise!

US 50 was pretty much like this all the way into Jefferson City, MO. Through Jefferson City, the roads straightened up and sported some of the smoothest black top I've ever been on. I probably could have driven the bike hands free for 30 miles on that road!

The rest of US 50 through Missouri was ok, affording some nice views, light traffic, and interesting rural areas. As we approached Kansas City, though, I could tell we were going to be in for another heavy traffic experience like we had in St. Louis. Luckily, this time we had our ear plugs ready to go!

For the most part, US 50 through Kansas City wasn't too bad. It swung far enough south of the city that we didn't hit the traffic that we were expecting. The only bad part of the whole experience was when we merged with Interstate 35 - lots of traffic, mostly big trucks, made this a stressful stretch of road on a motorcycle. In retrospect, I would have chosen a different route that avoided Interstate 35, but we wanted to experience US 50 the whole way to Colorado and we held true to that.

In general, when planning any motorcycle trip, I always try to loop around the big cities even if it means a little more time or getting off course slightly. I ride motorcycles to relieve stress, not increase it.

US 50 separates from Interstate 35 at Emporia, KS. Having had a long day with a decent amount of miles under our belt - we decided Emporia would be our resting spot. With a quick glance at the map to confirm that there really weren't any camping sites nearby, we decided to rough it in a Holiday Inn Express with a quick meal at the nearby Applebees. I'm not sure if it was hunger, road weariness, or what, but the food at Applebees sure tasted good.