Our team was lucky enough to start the day with a complementary breakfast from Tioga Suites hotel, in a traditional all American style.

It was a beautiful restaurant with friendly staff, and we were all glad to fill our bellies with something substantial.

This set us up for a days running in perfect weather conditions- which was somewhat dryer than yesterday’s. We were all happy to find the forecast of heavy thunderstorms to be inaccurate. One day of torrential rain was definitely sufficient as some of us were feeling a little tired today. But, perhaps this was due to our indulgences at breakfast!!

The boys, having some free time after shopping for food items to prepare for lunch for the team, decided to drive around Chanute to try to get an electrical problem fixed in our R.V. After searching a number of mechanics we were led to Neeley’s Batteries, a shop run by Don Neeley. At first I did not think a battery shop would be able to solve this rather serious electrical problem in which one of our two batteries was not being charged by the engine.

We heard from others that Don had a very good reputation in town as the best automotive electrical expert around. He was a bit busy when we finally found him, but after hearing our situation he kindly put aside some of his other work and decided to help us almost immediately. It took a while to diagnose the problem and then to actually do the work of taking out and replacing an important electrical solenoid.

We even had the local Chanute newspaper come by to interview us and take photos as some people had called them after seeing us driving all around town looking for a good mechanic.

The work that Don did would have been quite expensive where I come from. But he gave us such an incredibly generous price for his fine work that I had to ask, “Are you sure it’s only that much?” He came back with the line, “If you don’t like my prices then you can go somewhere else.” His wit and humor again made our day along with the fact that our RV electrical system never worked better.

We passed through plenty of green green grass and beautiful country fields of Kansas, which brought us to the town of Coffeyville. We found this to be quite appropriate and it brought a smile to our faces!

But instead of coffee to wake us up, we were greeted by the boys and girls club at the community elementary school- who gave us a new surge of energy and inspiration.

The kid’s enthusiasm and joy for our project brought a warmth to our hearts and gave us a spring in our step for the miles ahead.

We are very grateful to Griffin Walker and Jennifer Bright for organising such a lovely ceremony that we will always remember.

We finished the day by setting up our tents at the Hawthorn Bluff camp ground in Oologah Lake.

This was the perfect way to end our day, as we spent some time relaxing by the water and contemplating our time on the road.

– Becky and Arpan

Distance: 95 miles

Team Members:
Arpan DeAngelo (New York), Atulya Lee Berube (San Diego), Mark Collinson (England), Kshetragna Ulanova (Russia), Surya Smolennikova (Russia), Vladimir Salnicov (Moldova), Kokila Chamberlin (England), Salil Wilson (Australia), Vajra Henderson (New York), Drsalu Gruenstaeudl (Austria), Becky Xerri (Wales), Maria Manecke (Germany)

Harmonemail:
You can send a message to the runners or read the messages.

Gallery: See more images!