Day 18

True to it’s reputation, we made it to near Emporia Kansas during the night in a torrential rain and lightning storm. I kept waiting for flying monkeys and some awful green faced witch to show up to try to take Sparkle (the stuff of my childhood nightmares…….still can’t stand the movie!), but it did not happen. I woke up to a lovely, sunny, warm, nice day. Bigfoot woke up around 3:00ish and we ate and piddled around the truck stop and hit the road. As you know, I have been very excited about this particular trip, going southwest for a change. I may have been a little overly enthusiastic, with this route anyway. We struck out through Kansas, which was very pretty. I have never seen so much ground. There was just ground as far as you could see. VERY few trees or anything else except cows. Just ground and earth for miles. It rolled and lolled along and was very pretty. Then it happened….. we turned onto to a two lane highway, normally my favorite, I think it was Hwy 54, and everything changed. It had to be the longest, loneliest stretch of road I have ever seen. There was nothing, nothing, nothing for miles. No trees, no scenery, no houses or farms, no businesses……….nothing. Every once in a while, some sort of big industrial site would crop in the middle of nowhere but that was it. Then, in a very odd fashion, a little town of sorts would appear, a little one block affair, with a little antique shop, gas station, high school, and 12 motels. It was just the weirdest thing. Who is going to that school? Who is staying in those motels? We passed a hospital along the way here and no lie, the emergency room was a portable building. I did not even seen a real building anywhere. I wondered who went there, what was wrong with them, and how much acute care they could give from a portable building. Then on and on for many more miles of nothing and then a little roadside bar would appear. It reminded me of something from a horror movie. The young couple travels along the dark road, stops in for something to drink and to use the pay phone. One bartender wiping the bar with one customer in the place, jukebox playing in the background……….then BAM here come the zombies! It was like this all through Kansas and I just could not take it. I went to bed. I got up several times to go to the bathroom (thankfully, there were some truck stops sprinkled along the way) and would look out the window as we left, and here came more of the same. We did pass the sign in Meade Kansas to visit the Dalton Gang hideout. I went back to www.roadsideamerica.com and looked up Meade Kansas and read about that attraction we missed. On that same page, I learned that when we went through Liberal Kansas, just past Meade, we could have visited Dorothy’s house and the Land of Oz. Could have……..if it weren’t for this 70 foot long beast that carries us across the country. Check out that website to see what we missed.

I missed Oklahoma and Texas, but Bigfoot says it looked the same as what I saw in Kansas, so I am not sure missed is the right word. We are stopping in Santa Rosa New Mexico, so I am very hopeful that there will be something to see tomorrow.

Thanks to those who are reading my blog and following our travels. There are several followers who I do not know who are nice enough to leave a little note to tell me they are enjoying my blog. Thank you for riding along and for dropping me a note. I always enjoy hearing the comments and it is very exciting to know our adventure is of interest.

AAAAAHHHHH!!!!! My face is nekkid!

Flint Hills Kansas

Flint Hills Kansas

Flint Hills Kansas

Flint Hills Kansas