Solo to Denver
Having trouble getting this to post so trying this before adding all the text. OK. That worked but it doesn't want to let me post the whole report so I'm going to try one day at a time. Yahoo! It...
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DAY 2
The next morning I strolled along the riverbank, watching as a mist rose off the cold water.
After crossing from Missouri into Kansas I was ready for a break and stopped at a small roadside park. I was rewarded with this view looking back to the east. I made this panoramic view from three photos but still have some learning to do with the Corel software I used to stitch them together. This area is part of the flint hills. I’d read that the rocky land here had defied settlers’ plows, preserving this part of the prairie as grazing land. A fortunate turn of fate indeed as the area is beautiful.
I stopped for the night at Cheney State Park on a reservoir of the same name just west of Wichita, KS.
DAY 3
There were only a couple other campers there so I found a spot off to myself and had a peaceful night. The next morning I was enjoying breakfast at the dinette when as one bird chased another out of the tree outside my window. Thunk! They slammed into the glass and fell to the ground.
I went outside and found one of the birds stunned but in good shape. It recovered very quickly and flew off.
The other bird looked like it had been knocked cold, motionless except for its breathing. It was a warm morning so I figured it best to just leave the poor thing alone and see if it recovered. It took 10 minutes or so but it did finally come to, right itself, and eventually fly away. Probably looking for some aspirin.
I walked out to the end of a jetty to get a photo of my quiet site before continuing west on US 54/400.
Another 100 miles down the road I stopped in Greensburg, Kansas.
Being employed full time, on most of my trips I’m pressed for time and find myself passing up many interesting stops. This time I was determined to slow down. I’d passed through Greensburg a couple times on previous trips. This time I stopped and toured an iconic roadside attraction.
The Big Well Museum has a series of plaques describing the founding of the town and construction of the world’s largest hand dug well. Of course I also walked the many steps down into the well.
The plaques also covered the historic tornado that decimated the town in 2007 and the path the town has taken in its recovery. I remember news stories from that time.
One can get a good view of the town from an upper floor observation area in the museum. From there, I saw preserved older buildings, remnants of buildings destroyed by the tornado, empty lots, and new modern construction. Leaving the museum and walking into town, I browsed through a little antique store and made a donation to a group working to restore the town’s theatre. Maybe next time I come through I’ll be able to see a show there.
I left Greensburg, still on Hwy 54/400 until I came to the next town, Mullinville, where Hwy 50 veers south and Hwy 400 veers north. I stayed on Hwy 400 and came across a huge display of eclectic signs on the west side of town. I stopped and took a closer look. Hey, I remember seeing these on an American Pickers television show! The art was created by M.T. Liggett and often has a political slant.
The fields in southeast Missouri had been large but they were nothing in comparison with the fields in Kansas. And here I saw another crop I was unfamiliar with, quinoa. It was something to see vast fields of its red seed heads ready for harvest. I was surprised to see it being harvested with combines just like ones you’d see harvesting wheat.
Fall was also the time to store up the large rolls of hay needed for another prairie industry, cattle feed lots. Whenever I spotted a feed lot in the distance, I’d put the truck’s ventilation system on recycle. If I wasn’t quick enough a heady odor would fill the truck and take miles to clear out. Pewee!
One of my DH’s favorite places out west is Cimarron, New Mexico. So I couldn’t help but take a picture of Cimarron, Kansas, to share with him. There’s no chance of mistaking one for the other though as Cimarron NM is in the edge of the mountains while the highest point in Cimarron KS is the top of the silos that characterize this and most other prairie towns. These towns are also mostly located along a railroad like the one my GPS insisted I was on.
Continued ...
The next morning I strolled along the riverbank, watching as a mist rose off the cold water.
After crossing from Missouri into Kansas I was ready for a break and stopped at a small roadside park. I was rewarded with this view looking back to the east. I made this panoramic view from three photos but still have some learning to do with the Corel software I used to stitch them together. This area is part of the flint hills. I’d read that the rocky land here had defied settlers’ plows, preserving this part of the prairie as grazing land. A fortunate turn of fate indeed as the area is beautiful.
I stopped for the night at Cheney State Park on a reservoir of the same name just west of Wichita, KS.
DAY 3
There were only a couple other campers there so I found a spot off to myself and had a peaceful night. The next morning I was enjoying breakfast at the dinette when as one bird chased another out of the tree outside my window. Thunk! They slammed into the glass and fell to the ground.
I went outside and found one of the birds stunned but in good shape. It recovered very quickly and flew off.
The other bird looked like it had been knocked cold, motionless except for its breathing. It was a warm morning so I figured it best to just leave the poor thing alone and see if it recovered. It took 10 minutes or so but it did finally come to, right itself, and eventually fly away. Probably looking for some aspirin.
I walked out to the end of a jetty to get a photo of my quiet site before continuing west on US 54/400.
Another 100 miles down the road I stopped in Greensburg, Kansas.
Being employed full time, on most of my trips I’m pressed for time and find myself passing up many interesting stops. This time I was determined to slow down. I’d passed through Greensburg a couple times on previous trips. This time I stopped and toured an iconic roadside attraction.
The Big Well Museum has a series of plaques describing the founding of the town and construction of the world’s largest hand dug well. Of course I also walked the many steps down into the well.
The plaques also covered the historic tornado that decimated the town in 2007 and the path the town has taken in its recovery. I remember news stories from that time.
One can get a good view of the town from an upper floor observation area in the museum. From there, I saw preserved older buildings, remnants of buildings destroyed by the tornado, empty lots, and new modern construction. Leaving the museum and walking into town, I browsed through a little antique store and made a donation to a group working to restore the town’s theatre. Maybe next time I come through I’ll be able to see a show there.
I left Greensburg, still on Hwy 54/400 until I came to the next town, Mullinville, where Hwy 50 veers south and Hwy 400 veers north. I stayed on Hwy 400 and came across a huge display of eclectic signs on the west side of town. I stopped and took a closer look. Hey, I remember seeing these on an American Pickers television show! The art was created by M.T. Liggett and often has a political slant.
The fields in southeast Missouri had been large but they were nothing in comparison with the fields in Kansas. And here I saw another crop I was unfamiliar with, quinoa. It was something to see vast fields of its red seed heads ready for harvest. I was surprised to see it being harvested with combines just like ones you’d see harvesting wheat.
Fall was also the time to store up the large rolls of hay needed for another prairie industry, cattle feed lots. Whenever I spotted a feed lot in the distance, I’d put the truck’s ventilation system on recycle. If I wasn’t quick enough a heady odor would fill the truck and take miles to clear out. Pewee!
One of my DH’s favorite places out west is Cimarron, New Mexico. So I couldn’t help but take a picture of Cimarron, Kansas, to share with him. There’s no chance of mistaking one for the other though as Cimarron NM is in the edge of the mountains while the highest point in Cimarron KS is the top of the silos that characterize this and most other prairie towns. These towns are also mostly located along a railroad like the one my GPS insisted I was on.
Continued ...
