On Monday, we went from Arkansas through Oklahoma and into
Kansas, pretty much non-stop, leaving the eastern woodlands for the prairie to
spend the night in Wichita.
Tuesday, we slowed down a bit and our GPS (aka
Sweetcakes or Cakes) having learned our methods actually took us off the
interstate all on her own and led us along a scenic route between I-135 and
I-70 that I could not recreate if at gunpoint. So, given the opportunity, I
took some pictures to break the tedium of the drive.
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Our first stop was Lindsborg, a neat, prosperous looking
town which seemed half community center and half charming tourist trap. We
stopped and even shopped.
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| In the 19th century the town ran on the work of blacksmiths and wagoners, today coffee. |
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| Yup, tourist shops |
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| The horse Sharon bought was a bit smaller |
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Then came something different, a prairie ghost town. Carneiro began
as a sheep stating in the late 19th cntury, but by the mid 20th
it began to be abandoned. Today it is described as a “tidy little ghost town,”
which neatly sums it up.
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| These homes are so neat and tidy it's hard to believe they are abandoned |
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| The church is still used for worship by a few families, no pastor is listed on the marquee/ |
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| According to an online history of the town, this school, built in 2016, has been closed since the 1960s and seemingly there is no use for this substantial building |
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| Nature, about to reclaim this house |
We even found a great little diner in Wilson
where we had lunch. Everything was good, the pie was great. No dinner needed
for us.
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| Town Hall |
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| Made From Scratch, the name sums it up. They are serious about smoked meats and pies |
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| But no more agricultural processing |
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| This abandoned house must have stories to tell, or not, perhaps. |
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| Across the road a prosperous farm. |
Interestingly, this morning I read in Inside Higher
Education how the governor of Kansas, Sam Brownbeck, has responded to the
state’s economic distress by cutting taxes and, essentially, defunding government;
the promise being that with no taxes wealth would flood the state. Apparently
it has not worked out that way.
It was interesting to see signs of distress as we drove
along. Not all the state stands in ruins, of course, but Brownback’s scheme
seems to have failed and the state legislature has gone home and is allowing
the governor to rule by fiat. Hmmmm.
Wednesday will take us from Burlington to Rawlins, Wyoming.
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