Toto - (aka Lucy) we are not in Kansas anymore....

 
An oil rig...

just one of hundreds  that we saw  traveling through Kansas and the

Cathedral of the Plains (below) is in Victoria, KS and can be seen from I-70...the towers stand 141' so we noticed it from a distance, just before we left the interstate for the night in Russell. 

 

 

We hit the road yesterday morning in Russell, KS and even though it was 10am, with the temperature @ 40 & rising, we still needed coats for the wind that was  blowing.  Our heading - Boiling Springs State Park outside Woodward, OK…for rest and relaxation. 

 

We have taken to  driving the back roads, those 2 lane connectors between small towns like Hosington (pop. 2700, Hosington is located in the middle of Kansas at the junction of Kansas Highway 4 and United States Highway 281 and sits directly on the National Wetlands and Wildlife Scenic Byway), Larned (pop. 4600, Fort Larned, one of the best preserved Pony Express era military forts in the country); to Pawnee Rock (pop. 252)…that’s right, 252 – a state park is located there.  We also drove through the thriving city of Great Bend (pop 16,000)…named for the bend in the Arkansas River, which has all the usual fast food joints one finds in large cities.  Did not see a Starbucks, but there was a Mickey D’s, Pizza Hut, Sonic and the assorted other bistros….not to worry I am still on the hunt for the weird and unusual named establishments. And I found one in Phillipsburg, Kansas...The Chubby Pickle - need I say more? They sell, erm, wait for it......

 

hamburgers - was there ever a question.

 

A theme appears to run through Kansas towns…banner flags hanging from lamp poles. Each town proudly sharing either the local high school mascot, the year it was founded, or as in the case of Kinsey - which informs you that they are exactly...

 

half-way between NYC and SF.  The other similar note worth mentioning, although not limited to KS, is the once grand old theatres that are now shuttered or only open on weekends…such a sad commentary of our times. Phillipsburg, KS isn't one of them by the looks of their Majestic.

 I’ve been googling (isn’t technology grand when it’ convenient and useful), these small towns just prior to arriving to get a better sense of the demographics and for background.  An example: yesterday as we drove through northern Kansas we couldn’t ID the crop that seemed to be the major farm crop.

So I googled and discovered it’s sorghum.  Sorghum grass fields dot the landscape of Kansas...and many of the fields have oil rigs. (We were amazed to learn of the many uses for sorghum, besides as the flour I use for baking.) Used as Butyl Alcohol in industrial applications and as a diesel fuel additive.

 Coldwater, KS, (pop. 836), county seat and Lake Coldwater is the only city, county, or state lake in southwest Kansas that permits water-related sports. While we didn't stay long enough to use our kayaks, we did spend about an hour walking around the town.

The building, in the photo above,  was the first one we saw when we pulled into town. We could only guess....a hotel in it's hey-day?, a bank?, now it's a coin laundry and apartments...we decided it was a hotel - given the baloney.

A couple of original buildings...above the local newspaper and I have no idea what the building below was originally, it is now the county museum.

Coldwater was approximately 20 miles from where we are parked in the Boiling Springs State Park...

which will be most likely highlighted in my next installment. In the meantime, let me leave you with a short video of the deer, arrived at dusk, eating apple we tossed out to them...there were about 6. We hope to feed them every night we are here.

Until then~Ciao